Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHeard
For standard sized shaft work, the mill can easily be used as a mill. Put thi part in the spindle and clamp the tool in a vice.
This is assuming you can't have both.
Shapeoko is going to be pretty underwhelming for FRC.
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I do a ton of lathe work on the mill, and it is not fun at all. You can't work on anything longer than a few inches, because R8 collets do not have a through-hole like 5C collets do. Drilling a hole in the end of a shaft requires indicating the shaft. And you can forget about doing tapers or threading. It's definitely a good idea to invest in a cheap lathe instead of just $4000 on a mill and/or router.
I suggested the Shapeoko because for the price and value you can't beat it. The new Shapeoko 3 can cut aluminum out of the box without issues. If the OP is considering one, looking at the videos of it cutting aluminum are enlightening as to its capabilities.