Amazon CNC starter machine?

You could always use your Amazon points for tooling, regardless if you get the lathe or mill first, you will need to have tooling before you can use it. The exception to that is if you buy used you are likely to find something that includes at least some tooling, but plan on needing to buy more.
 
I bought a bench drill, mini lathe, small mill, larger lathe, band saw, 3D printer and just made a CNC router. Both lathes are converted to CNC but sometimes I use them manually. I think the 3D printer was my best investment that has produced a lot of (prototype) parts. Even my bigger lathe is using 3 3D printed gears for more than a year now.
Your choice should be based on what you are going to make. None of the machines can do it all. I personally would like to see and feel a lathe or mill before I buy it.
 
thequintessentialman said:
I've been toying with the idea of getting a machine tool for the garage for some time now but life keeps getting in the way (I travel a lot for work). Meanwhile I've been accumulating Amazon points from rewards from various programs (gift cards) so now have about $3k to spend on a machine tool. Also I've been dabbling with a 3D printer, Fusion 360, Gcode, and other related stuff. What are some decent "starter"machine tools I can acquire for that price range that are upgradeable to CNC after I figure out what I'm doing? I started down this road a few years ago but as stated, other things got in the way. Now as I approach retirement I figured I should pick up the pace. I'm starting to figure out these things are like boats; too small for what I want to do but too big to tow, and much more expensive than budgeted.
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Having experience in these areas this throws up a red flag for me.

A CNC mill is worlds away from a 3d printer as far as learning curve goes. With a 3d printer if you make a bad decision in your programming you're out .50c in filament whereas if you make a similar mistake with a CNC mill you're out $10-50 in material and tooling, not including the possibility of damaging the machine.

Then there's the skill and knowledge involved in learning what a machine or a given tooling component can and cant do.

I would recommend a manual machine along with a year or more of hands on learning before going any deeper. This will let you gain the knowledge of why you're killing tooling and how to avoid that. With hands on manual milling you will hear and feel when things are going wrong, vs a CNC where its "Oops, throw another $10-20 tool at it and try again" type of situation.
 
Kind of depends on what you want to make, and what materiel you want to make it from.

A CNC router will have a much lower cost than a mill. The limiting factor is that many of them, especially in that price range, use a wood router for a spindle. Those routers have 1/4" collets and run at 15,000 to 25,000 RPM. Spinning a 1/4" bit in aluminum at 15,000 RPM is *really* fast and not an option for steel and many other "hard" metals. So, you're limited to wood, plastic and aluminum. A router *IS NOT* a milling machine, and you won't get awesome results in aluminum - light weight machine with skinny bits and super high RPM will lead to lots of chatter.

If I had to pick between a CNC router or a small milll that I'd convert to a CNC mill at some point - I'd go buy a used Bridgeport style milling machine. Probably something made in Taiwan in the last 25 years. Wait, that's exactly what I did. It works for *my* situation, but may not work for you.

I'd give it a good long think about the why and what before making the purchase.
Are the any "maker spaces" in your area that you can use? $3,000 would go a long ways towards a membership, materials and supplies while you figure out what works for you.
 
The "maker spaces"around here are predominately 3D printers and LASER engravers at a few libraries. Since I already have a printer I don't frequent them much; got enough issues keeping my own printer working...

As has been suggested, the plan is to start with a manual machine but since I'm learning CAD/CAM for the printer, why not futureproof for CNC upgrade? I did build an aluminum gun part a while back using a Craftsman router, a milling bit, and a bench vise. It looks kinda like a tiny beaver chewed it but it works and all the ugly is inside. (I still need to electroplate it but that does not affect it working.)

Yes, I've already thought about milling accidents from wrong code.

I've seen 3D printers referred to as a Gateway Drug leading into garage machining, backyard casting/forging, electroplating, and it goes down hill from there. (Although, I was already considering a garage mill before acquiring the printer.)

Regarding plastic gears, I've seen where guys having the cheaper mills with the plastic gears make metal replacement gears. Heard of similar feats with 3D printers printing replacement parts.
 
thequintessentialman said:
I've been toying with the idea of getting a machine tool for the garage for some time now but life keeps getting in the way (I travel a lot for work). Meanwhile I've been accumulating Amazon points from rewards from various programs (gift cards) so now have about $3k to spend on a machine tool. Also I've been dabbling with a 3D printer, Fusion 360, Gcode, and other related stuff. What are some decent "starter"machine tools I can acquire for that price range that are upgradeable to CNC after I figure out what I'm doing? I started down this road a few years ago but as stated, other things got in the way. Now as I approach retirement I figured I should pick up the pace. I'm starting to figure out these things are like boats; too small for what I want to do but too big to tow, and much more expensive than budgeted.
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I think the short answer is no. Not with the points from Amazon. You could get a small import lathe or mill for those points, or a really nice 3D printer.
 
I don't know about converting it to cnc but I would start reserching bench mills that are available on Amazon. I would want one that is name brand for some sort of support with an R8 spendle.

At this point I wouldn't worry about one that could be converted to CNC. Buy the nicest mill you can with your points and save some points for a vice, some collets and some end mills. Do some research on the mills that fit your points budget, and ask here about the machine before buying. But remember your going to need a vice, some clamps, collets and some end mills at least.

Oh yeah and some measuring tools.

That's my 2 cents worth.
 
I bought a mini-lathe over 20 years ago and it has been a great (relatively inexpensive) tool for learning many of the principles behind accurate machining. A benchtop mill came much later, but, due to the experience I gained from the lathe, I was able to start making actually usable items not (too) long after I bought it.

I understand that you want to jump into CNC, it's an interesting technology. And sort of a rabbit hole to dive into. But I highly suggest starting out a little lower on the learning curve. The things you learn will serve you well when/if you decide to proceed into CNC. You can always sell your manual machines to help fund the upgrade: or use them to make the parts needed to convert them to CNC yourself. When I first started on this road I would never have thought of upgrading my machines myself, but now the primary consideration is: will I really put that capability to good use, considering the cost to do it. So far the answer is NO. But that's just my own take on it, yours may well be different.
 
homebrewed said:
I bought a mini-lathe over 20 years ago and it has been a great (relatively inexpensive) tool for learning many of the principles behind accurate machining. A benchtop mill came much later, but, due to the experience I gained from the lathe, I was able to start making actually usable items not (too) long after I bought it.

I understand that you want to jump into CNC, it's an interesting technology. And sort of a rabbit hole to dive into. But I highly suggest starting out a little lower on the learning curve. The things you learn will serve you well when/if you decide to proceed into CNC. You can always sell your manual machines to help fund the upgrade: or use them to make the parts needed to convert them to CNC yourself. When I first started on this road I would never have thought of upgrading my machines myself, but now the primary consideration is: will I really put that capability to good use, considering the cost to do it. So far the answer is NO. But that's just my own take on it, yours may well be different.
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Agreed. Your learning curve would be, near vertical for quite some time. You need the background of metal cutting, and experience on a lathe and a mill. A cnc requires this knowledge. All disciplines apply, and arguably is more important for cnc. It's not a plug and play like a cnc for wood could be. Also, life would be harsh and short-lived on your machine and tooling without.
 
My first machine tool was a knee mill that I traded for. It was first not by choice but happenstance. Having that experience I would go for a lathe first. There is a Japanese guy on YT that does a lot of very nice work with only a lathe that he has made some fixtures for milling.
Learn to use manual machines first. If/when you decide to go CNC sell a manual machine and buy a machine that is better suited for spending the $ to CNC it. The rabbit hole can get to be really deep in this hobby! Decent tooling and accessories can easily add up to more than the cost of the machine.
 
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