Quote Originally Posted by Snapper View Post
.... It's horses for courses really.
Bingo!

If you can afford the fees for a Haas, go for it.

From a perspective of someone that has to deal with this question from the sales side, it is all down to how much bang for buck you want to get.

A used Haas, will require some electrical work and a forklift to get it in your garage. It can be found for relatively cheap in a dirty possibly beaten up state. Will it produce good parts? Possibly... As with anything used, it will be a gamble.

A Tormach? Non-starter in my books. Equally so for a Novakon. Both run off a PC and that adds one layer of extra control I am starting to dislike. Add to that the R8 spindle taper, low top end RPM and you get a very expensive hobby machine. the Novakons have the servo motor package which is actually quite good but the spindle motor is too large to put an economical power drawbar on them. That said, they would be nice machines for the money with a full enclosure and a servo motor spindle on Bt-30. My last personal machine had the same castings and I was actually very happy with it.

Now we get to the Skyfire/Syil machines. We are looking at a actual rivalry here. If you got the cash and want the best you can get, I recommend a fully featured Syil X7 Combo. It has proper VMC credentials for its size. Both will do rigid tapping, both have servo's but there is a significant difference in build quality. The Skyfire has electrical issues that are being worked on constantly. The Syil X7 Combo... well for now in this light VMC category it is king. Very good customer support from the factory, a growing community and top notch electricals throughout. You do however pay for all that.

If anyone wants to discuss further on the last paragraph, then do reach out.