Re: Mini Mill choices

> I am currently in the market for a desktop milling machine. I will
> want to convert it to cnc pretty soon. I have been looking at the
> mini-mills offered by sherline, Taig, Harbor freight, etc. etc. And
> whle those are all very nice little mills, they are just LITTLE
> mills. Is there any GOOD benchtop mills that are in between
> Bridgeport size and Sherline size?
> I know Grizzly make a mid sized mill. Is that any good? Any opinions?
> BTW, my limit is about $1200

I bought a Jet mill/drill a couple of years ago. I use it on a regular basis. As I recall, the price was right around $1000. If I had to do it again, I'd buy a used Bridgeport or similar milling machine. I can buy a nice used BP with no DRO (great for CNC conversion) for $1000 - $1500.

The only disadvantage I see in the mill/drill is it's milling capacity. You are limitied to using fairly smallo milling bits. I've used up to 7/8, but the machine is not rigid enough to handle it. With a mill that big, the cuts are not accurate.

Ross