Ok, I got the mill...and the required buyers remorse. I'm hoping that is temporary. I knew going in the thing was never set up or tuned properly, but as someone pointed out the DRO's, Camtronics, steppers, software, four jaw, and other basic tooling would cost more than what I paid...so, I guess I can't complain to loud about having to put some time and a little money into my free mill

The backlash is ridiculous (like more than a half turn) so I think I'll start there:

Where should I look for ballscrews? I'd prefer close to zero backlash but depending on price could probably be ecstatic with .001 or settle on no worse than .0025-.003.

Specifically what type, size, and style fits the Bridgemill (model before Tri-Power)? Preferably without having to do any machining. I have spoken with one company, they said they can mill the screws for the chosen end bearing and the coupling end. I'm sure that costs something...but probably not as much as me messing it up.

What should I expect to pay? To me, it seems that the Shoptask X-Y ballscrews are pricey and some posts reported more than .008 backlash in spite of the claims of less than .003. Since I don't really know what to ask for, it is kind of hard to price them out.

Thanks in advance! By the way I did look through the old posts and they are several years old and didn't really give any specific details. I'm hoping for some fresh insight and current sources.