Hello everybody! I'm new here and wanting to buy a smallish CNC mill. I've been lurking the threads and have become attracted to the Fadal machines.
For background, I sold my company interest 2 years ago and the wife and I bought an RV and full-timed toured the country. Between my inclination to replicate a small-scale workshop of sorts in the RV and running into trouble with the law in Montana, we are settling back down in Texas. Our plan was to convert a 1968 Clark Cortez RV we purchased into a food truck serving shaved ice (a la Hansen's in New Orleans). I didn't want to skimp out on the food truck build out and this required a workshop. In the process of gearing up, we found a month-to-month quonset hut and moved most of my small tools from storage. During this time, the workshop bug came on in full force as there are other projects I would like to work on as well. This would require some investment in the quonset structure and a CNC mill would open up many possibilities. Shortly, I was able to locate a Fadal 4020 with 4th axis from an individual nearby that was performing light machining.
Well, within a few weeks of moving in, the landlady received a phone call from the recently incorporated Texas small-town questioning the number of residents on the lot. The lot has a home onsite which she rents out via AirBNB and we were connected to an RV hookup behind near the quonset hut. Naturally, this foiled any plans for a permanent workshop even though it sounded like the Mayor and other city officials would overlook this but we couldn't get any certainty. Beyond our wildest imaginations, we were able to find in less than a week a suitable workshop with residential zoning in a small town located halfway between Houston and San Antonio at a price we could afford. Closing is in 2 weeks so I hope everything goes well.
During this rushed process, I let the Fadal contact linger and he eventually had a change of heart. Bummer. So now I'm looking for a CNC again. I don't have any hard requirements except easy maintenance and versatility for a wide range of projects. I don't foresee any needs for high precision. It would most likely expand my capabilities in woodworking and welding, past major project being old school Fender guitar amps replicas. I could foresee future projects being electric guitar bodies or Mid Century style furniture. I know there is some some disagreements on cutting wood in a VMC but I promise it will also see some time on aluminum and steel.
My past experience is with designing and cutting a 2 part aluminum enclosure for housing a sensor. It is about 1 inch in size (see picture). This was done in house at my company using a Tormach 1100 and ran production until we finally got it outsourced.
I'm also interested in a CNC lathe but am not as familiar with them and I can use my Precision Matthews 1127 to complement the mill for now.
I was contemplating getting a Bridgeport about a week ago for the time being but figured I wouldn't be happy with it. I think I would be OK with reaching into the VMC for one-offs and manual work compared with the capabilities I would gain. I would ideally be supporting production of finished projects I make in house but could offer services as a workshop specialized in general fabrication.
Does anyone need to clear some floor space in the Texas area?
-Paul
For background, I sold my company interest 2 years ago and the wife and I bought an RV and full-timed toured the country. Between my inclination to replicate a small-scale workshop of sorts in the RV and running into trouble with the law in Montana, we are settling back down in Texas. Our plan was to convert a 1968 Clark Cortez RV we purchased into a food truck serving shaved ice (a la Hansen's in New Orleans). I didn't want to skimp out on the food truck build out and this required a workshop. In the process of gearing up, we found a month-to-month quonset hut and moved most of my small tools from storage. During this time, the workshop bug came on in full force as there are other projects I would like to work on as well. This would require some investment in the quonset structure and a CNC mill would open up many possibilities. Shortly, I was able to locate a Fadal 4020 with 4th axis from an individual nearby that was performing light machining.
Well, within a few weeks of moving in, the landlady received a phone call from the recently incorporated Texas small-town questioning the number of residents on the lot. The lot has a home onsite which she rents out via AirBNB and we were connected to an RV hookup behind near the quonset hut. Naturally, this foiled any plans for a permanent workshop even though it sounded like the Mayor and other city officials would overlook this but we couldn't get any certainty. Beyond our wildest imaginations, we were able to find in less than a week a suitable workshop with residential zoning in a small town located halfway between Houston and San Antonio at a price we could afford. Closing is in 2 weeks so I hope everything goes well.
During this rushed process, I let the Fadal contact linger and he eventually had a change of heart. Bummer. So now I'm looking for a CNC again. I don't have any hard requirements except easy maintenance and versatility for a wide range of projects. I don't foresee any needs for high precision. It would most likely expand my capabilities in woodworking and welding, past major project being old school Fender guitar amps replicas. I could foresee future projects being electric guitar bodies or Mid Century style furniture. I know there is some some disagreements on cutting wood in a VMC but I promise it will also see some time on aluminum and steel.
My past experience is with designing and cutting a 2 part aluminum enclosure for housing a sensor. It is about 1 inch in size (see picture). This was done in house at my company using a Tormach 1100 and ran production until we finally got it outsourced.
I'm also interested in a CNC lathe but am not as familiar with them and I can use my Precision Matthews 1127 to complement the mill for now.
I was contemplating getting a Bridgeport about a week ago for the time being but figured I wouldn't be happy with it. I think I would be OK with reaching into the VMC for one-offs and manual work compared with the capabilities I would gain. I would ideally be supporting production of finished projects I make in house but could offer services as a workshop specialized in general fabrication.
Does anyone need to clear some floor space in the Texas area?
-Paul
