Quote:
Originally Posted by scottandme
Not to pile on top of the previous comments, but also note that drill chucks are unable to safely sustain radial loads, even when used in a proper milling machine.
Some tiny benchtop milling machines do have morse taper spindles, but they are designed for (small) radial loads, and include a drawbar like a regular milling machine would have.
On topic - used is the way to go with your budget, but make sure you have someone familiar enough with a mill/lathe to make sure it's in decent operating condition. A beat to death bridgeport with a ton of backlash wouldn't be ideal.
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Good call on the drill chucks.
On backlash: it's not a huge problem if you have a DRO and a reasonably heavy mill. I've been meaning to ask our maching mentor about tightening up the backlash on our Bridgeport, as it currently has around 0.060" of backlash. It has never been a problem for us as we only take light to medium cuts in aluminum, so as long as you're careful and don't heavy climb mill it should be fine.
I agree that somebody knowledgeable about mills/ lathes whould go with you. Take along a checklist or something at the very least. Make sure that there's no rust in the spindle or on the ways, that it's not pitted to oblivion and flat, etc.