[AnotherCNCNewbie]

Greetings All!

First off, forgive me for I know not what I'm doing or what I'm really asking as I am not completely familiar with the machining world. :P

Recently, I got into the hobby of refinishing golf putters and I want to be able to do more detailed work on pre-made putters (not make a whole custom putter).
Looking to do things such as milling the putter face with various designs (no more than a depth of 0.05"), add sight dots/line, etc...
Will be working with materials such as brass, copper, carbon steel and stainless steel.

I'm looking for advice on what kind of machine to get as I was thinking of getting something like in the link below, but the few people I've chatted with say I cannot do stainless steel with. But at low volumes and low amount of material removed, why can't it?
https://smile.amazon.com/SainSmart-G.../dp/B07ZFD6SKP

Thanks in advance!

[Jim Dawson]

I guess if you use carbide cutters it would eventually chew up some stainless. It just won't take a very big bite.

[webphut]

For just tinkering in the garage/workshop, There are several things that come to mind, so bear with me as I am going to make this through many little jonts and jiggles. I think a used machine would be a good start, but the downside is that machines worth buying used are three phase or 220 single phase. Now I’m talking about a knee type milling machine, a used Bridgeport knee mill with variable speed. Be very suspicious of the ones with new paint and the ones all cherried out. I most often tend to be attracted to machines with the caked on grime and the ones that look like they are just nasty. My experience has been there’s a diamond under that yuk. This the cheap part of the conversation though. The expensive part is the tooling.

If you have a community college near you, take a machining class and get the feel of the machines. This will give you an idea of what machine are like. I am the type that shy's away from the new stuff and leans towards the stuff from 1940/1950's. I like stout and stout is pre hippy.

Now if you do decide on new, I have had many phone conversations with Precision Mathew’s and I have come to feel that if I am going to buy Import then I think Precision Mathew’s has made a niche out of the import market. There’s a lot of information on forums in them, good and bad, but there is information and that is gold when it comes to new import milling machine.

Going back to buying used, try to find one locally and you will want to rent a pallet jack and a truck with a lift gate. Even with help, pallet jack and lift gate helps a lot.

As for the time it takes to machine the putters. That depends on the materials the putter is made from. Speed and feed, need to find the happy medium with the feed and speed. Coolant, depending on the cutter material and putter material coolant plays a role too.

eBay is a great source of milling machines for look and see purposes, but when you want to pull the trigger and buy the milling machine, most times the seller wants the buyer to take 100% responsibility in the shipping and handling. Now with this said, there are companies who specialize in machine repair who buy used machinery, refurbish them and then resale as refurbished. This is actually a great route to take and the reason why is because they have the resources to not only get it delivered to you, but actually get it wired up and running for you. Most likely for a fee, but this has been my best route in the past when buying used machinery. Make sure to use google maps and search machinery sales. You will be surprised at the number of used machinery resales there will pop up.

Tormach machines
Back to new machines; For a small unit, Tormach is way more money, but there is a much larger support for it. Titans of CNC Makerspace you tube channel. It’s in there channels tab in YouTube. Titan Gilroy has a phenomenal support system he and his family have been building over the past few years. Far more advanced than I personally ever see myself aspiring to, he does acknowledge the beginner via Tormach machines. Tormach machines are the avenue he uses to spread his wealth of knowledge with hopes of inspiring the future of manufacturing. Tormach are not Industrial grade machines, but they are a really refined system that has a large support base and they are affordable enough to get into a residence.

Sorry for the number of edits and the wall of text. I hope I have some good ideas on machine options, but the one you linked I honestly think is inadequate for what your intentions are.

https://tormach.com/machines/routers/xstech-router.html