bridgeport end mill

J Head is the best starter and home use . Static Phase converter is all you need. If you add a lathe you can use the mill for a roto phase to run the lathe on sow speed. R-8 collet sets are cheap. Look for a machine with tooling and a vice. A angled vice as an extra is a plus . Also a right hand head attacment. Look for hash markes in the wheys . If they are worn off the machine is junk. I bought 4 bridge ports belt driven J's. They are easy to fix and repair plus all used parts are available. I paid between $200 and $400 a piece for all. I got every attachment combining the 4 and have extra heads. One had barely any wear but was broke. I have a like new machine with all attachments when done. and total investment ended up in the negative after the sale of one. and the weight of the junk parts left over . All of mine were bought private except one was out of world trade No#7. I have a lot of parts and extra tooling if needed. plus vices and indexers.

My son works a performance engine shop so this is for home use only. I broke my share of tooling learning when he is not around. I just throw them away and put another in its spot. What he don't know don't hurt em. My next investment is auto feeds. X, Y, and Z. The Z is only because I am lazy and changing tools would be easier. Other then use for the right angle head. Z is not really used much. The most important thing to look for is wear on the wheys.