Juddson

Wow, these responses are truly helpful. It seems fairly clear that I should be looking at scroll saws, parallel link arm types. The Dewalt you linked to looks good. The one from Jet gets good reviews too. I had not thought of buying a used one - that may be better. A better saw for my money if it makes the trip OK.

For work such as preparing frames and futtocks, am I better off with a scroll saw or a band saw? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these?

Folks, This has been a fantastic exposition on the common selection of mills (and lathes) and exactly what I was looking for. Let me answer a few questions and set forth my initial thoughts: I am undertaking a scratch build of a wooden ship. Leaving aside whether I am at all capable of this seemingly Herculean task, the mill's primary purpose will be to mill the sort of hardwood commonly used in such projects with some degree of precision. To this I would add a few limitations that are of some importance to me. I run a small solo business (well, me and a receptionist) in a nice office building within walking distance of my house. The space I have leased includes a large room that I do not need for my business and is being turned into a long-term dream of mine - a dedicated hobby space. However, there is a tenant on the other side of two of its walls and one above as well. ALTHOUGH I anticipate that all of my hobbying will be done after hours and on the weekends when I expect the other spaces to be unoccupied, a relatively more quiet machine is of great value to me. In fact, I am willing to pay a premium for it. My other main hobby is the scratch building of vacuum tubes amplifiers and preamplifier for HiFi use (and some "rehab" work on vintage equipment as well). Heretofore, I have been limited to off the shelf components (box break chassis from Hammond, knobs and dials from Digikey, etc). At some point, I very much imagine turning the equipment I have in mind on the production of metal parts used in such projects. At some point. So, long story short, milling hardwood and, eventually, the milling and turning of metals. Which leads me to the Proxxon MF70, which certainly has its adherents. The price is right, and it is very compact. All positives. But many report it is partucularly noisy, and that gives me great pause. What else gives me pause is the consistent reports that there is, perhaps, an unacceptable amount of slop in the table. I have watched the video referenced above regarding modifications that can be made to improve this (in fact, even the motor and spindle can be replaced and it can be converted to belt drive with effort), but after it's all said and done, I suspect I will be up near what the next tier of mills would set me back. Which brings me to the Sherline 5000. It seems to tic all the boxes for me. It is belt driven, which I believe cuts down on the noise (and, anecdotally, it seems fairly quiet in comparison to some others that I have watched in action on YouTube). It seems to be a precision machine, has many accessories available, AND the company sells lathe sleds and accessories that would seem to let one simply move the motor unit from one device to the other without shelling out for a whole new machine. I'm sure that gets old in a hurry - but it's a start. That being said, a comment set forth above has given me pause - it makes sense to me that a high RPM machine is best suited to clean and precise cuts in wood, which I certainly want. Should I be worried that I will be unhappy with the quality of the milling of wood from the Sherline? As a related aside, I have begun to gather a list of the machines I am likely to want for the project I am planning. These would seem to include, Mill Table saw (I like the Byrnes machine) (I have a full size machine for rough cuts already) Thickness planer (I also like the Byrnes for this) Band saw (cheapo WEN) Reciprocating spindle sander (cheapo WEN) Disk and belt sander combo (cheapo WEN) Lathe (though I think this will be purchased somewhat down the road - BTW, those vintage Unimat machines look the BUSINESS. They seem to scream quality!). Justin

To be honest, I was leaning towards the Proxxon. The price is right. I have had two concerns with what I have seen about it - many report it unusually loud and it vibrates quite a bit, moving around some unless bolted down (which will make it louder). And, some concern about some sloppiness in the table (though this seems less universal). On the other hand, going just a hair upmarket from the Proxxon begins to t into real money (and weight). I’m thinking the many Seig manufactured ones, which come in between $700 and $1100 and weigh 140 pounds. The Sherline strikes me as a very nice compromise. About $750 and reasonably small. AND, I like that if you tend towards the technical you can outfit it with CNC controlled stepper motors, which seems super great.

I’m going to be in the market for a mill soon, and I’m wondering what people are using who frequent this forum. I have som ideas, but I don’t want to cloud the comments here. What have you liked and not liked?

I don’t mean to add to the confusion, but I am confused by the references above to whether one framing method or style versus another includes 20% or more or less “spacing” between the frames. This would seem to suggest that the number or width of the frames used in the models were a matter of style rather than a reflection of what the plans called (Which I understood to be actual reflections of the original framing of the ship itself). Am I confused, naive or both?