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Old 11-25-2008, 05:27 PM
ztarum ztarum is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Mickleton, NJ
Cobra Make, Engine: Superformance #2731 (now sold)
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It depends what you want to do. Those round column mill drills are pretty crappy for milling. If you will use it mostly as a drill press with the occasional milling job it should be fine, but if you already have a drill press and want it for milling I wouldn't waste my money.
At a minimum I would look for something with dovetail way box column (not round). At least then you can raise and lower the head without losing X and Y position.

This machine is small, but will function better as a true mill for a reasonable price. Just make sure the work envelope is big enough.
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/pro...ll-Drill/G0619

If that one is too small, then you might move up to something like this. Same basic size as the one you posted, but with the box column/dovetail ways.
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/pro...th-Stand/G0484

By the way, I'm not recommending Grizzly. They just have a nice website with pictures. Most of the same machine can be had in other paint colors (Jet, etc.).

For what its worth, I started out with a Rockwell milling machine. It is small and compact, but is a true knee mill. Like a half size Bridgeport. It was a good machine. Much better than the imports I listed above, but still light duty machine.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/rockwellmillers/

My next machine was/is a Deckel FP1, which is fantastic. Small, but stout and extremely versatile. Unfortunately they are somewhat rare and expensive.
http://www.lathes.co.uk/deckel/index.html

Best bet really is to get a used Bridgeport or similar. You can get a decent one for the same price as the mill drill. Tooling is cheap and available everywhere. They do take up some space however.
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