4 mills in question
 

i gather that a taig is nice, and about 650 for bare bones mill straight from taig. there was a link for a private dealer around here somewhere....

the sherline has a better motor i read here, and is cheaper. $600 for the one with adjustable zero handwheels.

a harbor freight mill ($400) that i can only guess is more finicky and takes more work to get it precise.

what the crap is this?? it looks decent, but 200 bucks?
http://www.homier.com/detail.asp?dpt=1&cat=11&sku=03989



in time i will go cnc for sure. im leaning toward the sherline. all i need is some collets, a chuck, and an end finder i think. is there anything out there that is a bit nicer, say a grand or more with a nice motor and tight tolerances?

It would be very tough to CNC the $199 one. Since the quill has no leadscrew. (2 axis maybe)

Max. Spindle Travel: 2.5"

That would make things tough. Seems like you'd have to reset the column every operation...

If your going for CNC get the Taig. The leadscrews are huge compared to Sherline (backlash)

If your going 70% or more manual (more realistic) then the Sherline would be better (stronger motor)

Sherline is a little smaller.

Sherline mill/taig mill; I own both and have been extremely happy with both.

i will be going cnc in the future, but that could be months from now or longer. i should probably get the taig and live with the weaker motor for a while.

im looking at the 2019 taig with motor mounts and handcranks. i can buy the steppers and control box later and just hook it all up i guess.

I have finally decided to go with the HF one. I figure it'll do what I want just fine, and my local HF store has it in stock.

im still on the fence. i want cnc, but it will be all by hand at first because of cost.