Having got off to a bad start with my little machine...it's actually come though all this with its reputation in tact (my problems were to do with everything else!), so I can certainly recommend it for pcb work....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nk...bel+cnc&_rdc=1 (mine is identical to those ones, just mine is called a panther vs a sable) ...I'd stay clear of the controller & spindle (bought my frame on its own)

it only uses 1.5mm pitch threaded rod, but I'm getting very good accuracy with it.

I agree by & large with your sentiment re the CNC machine market...componded by the fact that I prefer a moving table to a moving gantry design, but there's very little moving table designs out there that are up to it IMHO.