Quote Originally Posted by garyrmck View Post
Thank you for good advice. I just needed someone to honestly tell me that these machines won't cut it on aluminium consistently, despite what youtube videos seem to show.
Yes exactly, those videos really don't tell the whole truth and in some cases, I personally think they should be banned or come with a BullShit warning.!

Building a machine to do what you want is quite do-able, even for a new builder provided they have a decent range of tools and the knowledge to use them. Or they have others that can do this for them, but this obviously increases costs.

If you think you have the ability and patience to build then my advice is to do the research regards Design and components required, read lots of build threads etc and then DONT start the build until you have the funds or saved the funds. Even then the Golden rule is DONT BUY ANYTHING until it's required and you know 100% what your buying is correct for the machine and you fully understand why it's best.!

Then GO FOR IT because you can build an AMAZING machine even at DIY level that will match many commercial machines for a fraction of the cost.

Or save your money and buy a secondhand commercial machine that needs a little TLC.! . . . . Thou often these will need special or advanced knowledge a new builder will struggle massively with.!! . . . Also can eat money quickly if you buy a lemon so really need to know what you are getting into.!