Quote Originally Posted by artman View Post
hi ,

yes i know you heard it a million times before !! can you help me ,i need a machine to do woodwork,3d,and aliminuim dont want to break the bank can any one tell me where to go,been looking so confused:confused: mainly my work will be a lot of wood projects some in 3d and design work out of ali.thanks for looking cant wait for some replies .hopefully :p
Hi Artman,

A few questions.....

What sort of size projects are you envisioning? I.e. will you need to cut whole sheets or is this more signs and craft sort of cutting?

You mention 3D, do you mean real 3d as in 4 or more axis or what people call 2.5d like a sign with a milled design on the face only?

Aluminium, how thick, sheet or block?

If you need a machine to cut 8ft x 4ft sheets of ply, you can almost certainly forget Aluminium unless it is 1-2mm sheet and you go very slow. If you are thinking more signs and craft then depending on your skills, you could build a router/mill that could be made rigid enough to cut a decent size house sign but could also take small cuts in block aluminium, it will just take much longer than a true milling machine but you could do it, design would be crucial. If you want true 3D, it could get very expensive, not to mention complicated.

Get some solid idea of what you want to produce and I'm sure we can come up with some ideas.

Whatever you do, don't give up on the idea, it has taken me a year to get to the stage of "almost finished" and cutting things I'm proud to put my name to but this is the most fascinating hobby I have ever had. It is like starting out on my apprenticeship all over again, I just wish I'd had this much fun the first time around :)

Regards, Jeff