Best machine for a begginer.

Your Garage is probably bigger than my back room. It's about as wide as one of those cheap metal sheds although I have more headroom and it's twice as long. I have a Zx45 in there, although in converting it to CNC I am going to have to flip it sideways to maintain some clearance for the X axis. God help me if I move.. anyways the 45 series clones are the largest benchtop you can get. if you plan on working steel with any sort of precision and speed I would recommend that it be the smallest mill you consider. it is best to go as large as possible. a Used Bridgeport can be had for the same price as a new 45 and is much more capable.
If the 45 is what you have to consider, stick with Precision Mathews(PM) or consider the Charter Oak mills (A little spendier but much better quality).
 
What are the opinions about a bridgeport that's now working and rebuilding it. Not sure if that is a smart move or not worth the time or money.
 
It's a great idea and a horrible idea. Depends on alot of factors of the machine and you. I own a 1959 bridgeport that was clapped out. I measured the slop and shimmed it. For what I got in it, I could not double my money and buy a bench mill even close to it IMO.

One day I will learn to scrap it in, or if I ever get me a cnc i will re cut the ways then light scrap. But that takes skills and practice or it takes money. Few grand at least. BUT it would be a brand new bridgeport in that regard for potentially a fraction of the cost.

So it really comes down to you, the price the machine cost, and what exactly a rebuild will mean. Spindle bearings and paint or a REBUILD are alot of dollars apart. Alot of time apart and alot of work apart. And neither are "to much" if you dont mind.

That being said, I would take a wore out knee over a new bench mill . Provided the new mill is under the 2k price point and the BP price is equal to the condition.

If I was doing cnc on the machine my opinions would change
 
You also live over on the Eastern side of the country which makes finding a used mill so much easier. living here on the West coast it's like winning the lottery to find a good used mill that's not being sold at the same price it was new.
 
Rebuilding a bridgeport is not very hard as long as you don't have to scrap ways. I redid an excello 602 and I say it took me 50 hours or so of actual work. Most of the time was waiting for paint to dry.
 
I like vintage machinery and don't like letting loose of any more money than I have to, so my opinions might not be something that is of interest to you.

First you have to be patient. There are some very nice older mills with tooling for a good price if you take the time to find them.

Secondly if you buy said mill and take care of it, in the future you can probably get all your money back out of it or even make some on it. That's not a option on a new piece of equipment.

Third is if you buy something used and it needs some work, take that as an opportunity to learn about the machinery.

Fourth buy bigger than you think you will need unless you are into building watches or other small projects and need it for that kind of work. You can do smaller jobs on a big machine but you can't handle bigger stuff on a small machine that just doesn't have the mass to do the work.

Hopefully you can pick the best advice that fits your situation and get a nice machine to fit your needs be it new or used. Please ask if you have any new questions, and when you do buy something please post some pictures of what you get.

Hardly
 
Worth checking on the electrical side too - you mention only having a few outlets, have you looked at how hard it would be to get 220V to your garage, and if the service will support a shop? Ideally you'd probably want a 30A 220 circuit for a full size mill, so keep that in mind. If you have an electric dryer, then chances are decent you can just plug into that outlet if it's close enough.
 
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