Vertical bandsaws are very versatile, while horizontal bandsaws are only good for cutting stock down to size. Horizontals are nice though because you can usually put the stock in and then walk away. I don't know about good brands, though MSC and Enco are usually good places to start. Somebody else will probably have a good recommendation too.
Definitely go manual before you even look at CNC. CNC, with tooling is definitely going to cost you more than 40k. If it was my money, I would rather look into fully outfitting a shop with manual machines first. Also, it is important to know whether you need new machines or are willing to buy used. Also, if you are going to upgrade later, you might as well buy larger now and save money.
This thread is great especially for CNC advice, but there are some decent recommendations for manual tooling too. Once you figure out what you really want we will be able to give you better advice for tooling too.
Once you answer some of these questions, we will be able to help you a lot better.
...instead of question marks swirling my mind I got triangles, circles and squares... - Dorienne [more] 
16-04-2014, 18:45
Threaded Mode