[geh1]

This is not a bad gear drive benchtop mill. I recently converted mine to 4 axis cnc. I did some minor changes to improve accuracy to a satisfactory level without a ball screw conversion. The price is right
http://http://www.wttool.com/product...n_Swivel_Table

[boosted]

This is not a bad gear drive benchtop mill. I recently converted mine to 4 axis cnc. I did some minor changes to improve accuracy to a satisfactory level without a ball screw conversion. The price is right
http://http://www.wttool.com/product...n_Swivel_Table

Actually I really like that one.
One of the main things I like is the geared head, instead of belts.

Would you mind telling me some og the things you did to tighen it up? I will probably be ordering this one within 3 weeks.

[geh1]

Hey Boosted. the primary problem, "and not a big one to fix" with this machine is that there is no preload on the bearings that locate the drive screws to the table. The collars are simply pinned to the shaft. You can simply remove the pins and place a bolt in the end of the shaft 'wich is pre drilled and tapped already' with a pressure washer to give the desired preload. I went from .012 to .0025 backlash with this simple fix. Be advised that the bearings are not designed for extreme force and in the future should be replaced with a good angle bearing block assembel but this will get you started with a a fairly close tolerance machine at a fraction of the cost. Good enough to make something better with. -G-

[boosted]

I think I will be going with an enco one that is +/- a grand.
That should be good for now and leave me plenty of cash left (of a budget of about 2K) to convert to cnc, buy a few sets of bits and do some upgrades to the mill to make it a little more than decent.