Quote Originally Posted by richb77 View Post
Oh for the time :D

Modifying a Harley, Selling an house, starting a new job and now a desktop CNC...I must be mad. Either that or my better half is!

I had come to the conclusion to do it myself. I'll keep asking semi-stupid questions and keep you posted.
to mill aluminium you need in excess of 150 - 200W cutting power at the spindle.. that means 300+ W input. A Dremel is only 130W max input and the runout is poor. The generally accepted options in reverse order are:
a proper milling spindle... £400 up! main cons: complexity, size, weight
a Kress 1050W ~£170 cons: weight (2.4kg), price (there is an 800W one also for £120), small collet (8mm)
a good quality 1/2" router ~£100 - 200 cons: size, weight (typically 3 - 4kg), price maybe
a 500W die grinder ~£50 cons: runout (but not too bad), small collet (max 6mm dia tools) - this is what I use, it weighs 1.7kg
Proxxon ~£120-150 cons: low power, small collet
Dremel ... just dont bother... just about OK as a low end PCB mill/drill