The most important things to have in order of value
1. Bandsaw
2. X-CarveŽ ( can cut aluminum, BUT you need to get the correct formulas
before doing it, this was designed for wood but it can cut metal so don't treat
it as a metal cnc mill)
3. Mill or jig bore
4. drill press
5. chop saw with metal blade
6. belt/disk sander are nice but files work the same.
7. CNC plasma cutter (this is the one machine i have not used so that's why it's at the bottom, and i would highly suggest getting another view on it)
After you have got the more cost friendly machines, i would suggest this \/\/
if you have around $7000-8000 dollars the next year. I would totally invest in a Tormach PCNC 770 Series 3 or PCNC 1100. You can go look at NYCNC on youtube, he's a machinist that uses this machine and shows you how to use it. it's worth taking a look at
https://www.youtube.com/user/saunixcomp