Which mill on 2k budget

PM-30mv is my final choice unless I find a used machine very soon. Leaning toward DRO but not 100% on that. I know my budget has been blown.

You would be shocked if you learned how inexpensive some DRO kits are. I picked up a 3 Axis kit sized for my mill for only 183 bucks last week. It was courtesy of eBay. It arrived yesterday and I connected it all up to do a basic function check; it looks good. They even sent an upgraded display with it, which was nice.
 
You would be shocked if you learned how inexpensive some DRO kits are. I picked up a 3 Axis kit sized for my mill for only 183 bucks last week. It was courtesy of eBay. It arrived yesterday and I connected it all up to do a basic function check; it looks good. They even sent an upgraded display with it, which was nice.

I would be interested to see which seller you purchased this from. I purchased my DRO from one supplier for my lathe but I would never purchase from them again.
 
Papa Charlie,

Here is a picture of the purchased unit from the webpage. The actual display I got is better than the one pictured.eBay DRO 184 bucks.jpg
 
I've used both a Central Machinery and Enco table top mill. I've also used several floor model knee mills.

All cut metal.

However both benchtops have significant rigidity issues. That translates into having to take VERY light cuts and still getting vibrations at the cutter that make accurate results almost impossible.

A solved the benchtop accuracy problems somewhat by adding a DRO and making table adjustments constantly as I cut stuff.

If I had the space (and the 3-phase power) I would have skipped the benchtop completely and gotten a knee mill.

Gary
The lack of 3 phase isn't a big deal now that single to 3 phase VFDs are relatively cheap. If you have several 3 phase machines it is probably worth getting a rotary phase converter, or better making one. They are very easily made if you can come by a used motor.
 
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