[GeeTwo]

Wow. A rookie team already considering both a lathe and a mill. We're entering year five, and aren't seriously considering either. I'm not familiar with Grizzly, but as far as bandsaws and drill presses are considered, I can say don't bother with the cheap ones. I expect that this is even more true for lathes and mills.

To borrow a phrase from my days at the stable, FRC tools are "rode hard and put up wet". Within a year in the hands of high schoolers, our Ryobi tabletop band saw was significantly less functional (not to mention precise) than our DeWalt "portaband", and our Ryobi tabletop drill press (same model as I have at the house and do reasonably nice things with) wasn't worthy to serve aboard the Millennium Falcon. Both are in the junk yard. I don't know if there is a sweet spot or where it is, but low end power tools are definitely not it.