Hi All,

For all of my working life I'm been a freelance photographer, working for advertising agencies mainly in the UK with some international work too. Finally I've packed it in and want new challenges.

Prop making and set building I've always done myself whenever possible and woodworking too has always fascinated me. I have a reasonable workshop with a good lathe, bandsaw etc and I've acquired some level of skill turning. Computers do not present a problem for me, although all my experience in Photoshop, Illustrator etc has all been on a Mac platform. I have some proficiency with Sketchup, although I realise that I am in for a serious bout of late nights with the appropriate software.

A business opportunity has surfaced for me to supply quality ring/jewellery boxes. I am thinking about a CNC router and maybe a lathe too as a consideration. The working table size would not need to be much more than 300x200mm. The quality of the milling does need to be excellent though.

I realise it is probably a good idea to think bigger, but I want to put a toe in the water and not an arm and a leg, initially at least. I have no aspirations to build my own and ideally would want to buy a used machine.

If anyone could suggest a good options for me, with a budget of around 3K, I would be most grateful. I have seen the Proxxon FF 500/BL-CNC online, but there don't seem to be any great reviews for it.

Many thanks and all the best.