New Member; Need Advice for Cheap CNC Machine

[Machinery Jones]

On the subject of power, one example claims to come with a spindle that is 'rated' at 60w but with a 'maximum' power of 120w- I'm not sure how to interpret that really! I've seen people use these things to carve wood, but perhaps not anything as hard as maple (which is what I was hoping to use). I would also require square edges at the bottom of the routing for the inlay- this will presumably require an end mill. Could this throw another potential spanner into the works? To my untrained eye, V-bits look a lot more rigid than end mills- especially when it comes to the smaller tool sizes. I have very little prior experience with CNC, but I understand the basic principles of creating a toolpath and the significance of cutting depth and feed rates. I was thinking that one of these machines would be ideal for learning on, but I was also hoping I could find something that was capable of doing this particular job for me!

[JAZZCNC]

Don't want to put you off but what you after doing just can't be done reliably by these cheap nasty things. To cut inlays with fine details will mean you are using tiny cutters and these snap for fun on even sturdy machines with spindles that have very little to no runout and lots of power.

If you just want to learn the principles of using a CNC machine and cut a bit of balsa wood etc, then go for it. But don't try putting any expensive hardwood materials or guitar necks near these things that you don't mind scrapping.
You'll get very frustrated quickly if you buy this with the intent of doing any meaningful work with it.

[cropwell]

To cut inlays with fine details will mean you are using tiny cutters and these snap for fun on even sturdy machines with spindles that have very little to no runout and lots of power.

The 0.2mm ones snap if you just look at 'em funny. The 'spindles' on these very cheap machines will have so much run-out, you probably wouldn't get 0.5mm ones to last the plunge, even when carving warm butter.