Hank,

I haven't actually ordered anything yet. A Chinese gentleman is still making overtures for my custom (and offering to teach me Chinese), and I normally like to let purchase decisions rest a while anyway in case I change my mind. But at least having made a choice gives me a starting point for comparisons instead of wandering around in a mental fog.

I do remember seeing those Sable / Panther machines from a couple of years ago, and thinking they looked nice and workmanlike. My instincts agree with yours about moving the table rather than the gantry, but I expect it's a case of horses for courses. I'm not thinking of sculpting a new set of lions for Traffalgar Square, just flat PCBs.

But I haven't thought either about the pros and cons of moving the table in just one horizontal axis, as yours does. There's probably something to be said for keeping only one dimension variable. I need to do some back-of-envelope calcs on tolerances.

And I'm casting glances as I write at my trusty 125W rotary tool, which claims to do 20,000 rpm (a cheapo imitation of a Dremel). I've never measured it, nor have I any idea what its runout may be? But the shaft power should be adequate for milling off a thin sliver of copper. Has anybody tried using something like this for milling?

Ian