I am in the market for a vertical mill. Intent is to use it mostly for head work, guides, seats, resurface the face. Have about a $7K budget.
1) Are my goals achievable with a bench mill? I looked on some machinist forums and the negatively was almost pouring out of my monitor.
2) What mill would you recommend? I've looked at a lot of the Chinesium mills (seems that's all there is currently) and the Precision Mathews seems to be a good choice but I am not saying they are the best choice.
3) Used? I've looked at used mills, primarily the Bridgeport Series 1 and for the most part they are hundreds of miles away with no means to load them out IF they are to be found. One that was advertised locally looked like it came from the hold of the Titanic.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any recommendations? Would appreciate any and all comments. I've been called an idiot before so no cherry there!
