Originally Posted by
philbur
A more difficult question would be, what is a worse cnc system for the price. A round column is not a good starting point for spending 2 times the value of the base mill on the CNC conversion. If you already own a round column and are thinking of converting to CNC is one thing, buying a round column already converted to CNC for USD 5,400 is quite another. 5" of z-axis travel combined with the round column kills it stone dead. A CNC Masters Jr. with spindle control is USD 6,550, a Tormach is USD 6,800. You would need to be crazy to buy the round column.
An IH, Tormach, X3 or SmithyCNC would be a much better point to start your research.
Phil