Woo Hoo first post!
Hi all, I am a long time lurker on this site, and have finally got the space and money to get a mill for my small home shop.
I am tossing up between the Sieg X3 and the Vario BF20, and would like some opinions on which would be a better choice.
My comparison on the specs of each (In metric, I'm from Australia):
SIEG X3
DRILL CAPACITY : 25
FACE MILL CAPACITY : 50
END MILL CAPACITY : 25
SWIVEL ANGLE : 0
TABLE SIZE : 550 X 160
X TRAVEL : 160
Y TRAVEL : 300
SPINDLE TRAVEL : 80
MOTOR POWER : 600W AC
SPINDLE TO TABLE : 350
SPINDLE SPEEDS : 100 - 2000
SPINDLE TAPER : MT3 / R8
WEIGHT : 165
PRICE : 1700
BF20
DRILL CAPACITY : 20
FACE MILL CAPACITY : 63
END MILL CAPACITY : 16
SWIVEL ANGLE : 90
TABLE SIZE : 700 X 180
X TRAVEL : 175
Y TRAVEL : 480
SPINDLE TRAVEL : 50
MOTOR POWER : 600W DC
SPINDLE TO COLUMN : 230
SPINDLE TO TABLE : 380
SPINDLE SPEEDS : 180 - 3200
SPINDLE TAPER : MT2
WEIGHT : 113
PRICE : 1400
It seems to me the BF20 beats the Sieg X3 in everything but spindle travel and the taper it cames with, but I guess my biggest concern is the difference in the weight of the 2, I can't understand why the X3 is so much heavier, it looks like a lighter machine, does this effect the rigidity of the the BF20?
Any other opinions on this comparison?