All I can say is that you can't ask for a better deal than what Lee is offering. I have a rough idea what he is making on each machine and it is not very much. Factor in the few hours I have spent on the phone with him over the past couple of weeks and he is practically giving the things away. I figure that he will make his money with repeat customers and his support packages. From talking with him, he certainly knows his way around the machine, so the support packages are probably worth it as well.
I think I got the first machine he sold as I called him to order a fixture for a machine I had on order. After speaking with him, I canceled my order and went through him. At the time I placed my order, he was not ready to release these yet, but had a fixture built within a day or two in order to get mine out to me as soon as possible.
The machine arrived well crated and ready to go. It took me under an hour to get it all unpacked and set up. From there, it was just getting it talking to my computer, which for me, turned into a real pain in the butt. I had a lot of computers lying around, but they were either too old or didn't have printer ports. I finally got it going with the system I wanted to use and it's been pretty smooth ever since.
Lee built a bed that slides in the T slots on the table. You can inlay an entire cue on the machine, but it will take some moving of the bed or turning of the cue (Lee is working on a bed with full travel which any of these machines will be able to be upgraded to in the future). So far, I have elected to just slide the bed. It takes only a couple of minutes to move it and I found that if I pull the bed forward as I tighten it, my alignment stays where it should.
The machine is quiet and seems to have enough power to handle anything you throw at it. I haven't cut any V Points in using it as I have another Mill set up for that, but I know cue makers who do and don't have a problem with it. It also seems very accurate. I cut 20 pockets into a butt today and then changed to a smaller bit to go clean each one up. One of the patterns was a 6 pointed start type figure and it is sharp and you would have a hard time prying it out once the piece is pressed into the pocket.
So far, I'm very happy with the machine. It's only been a week, give me a few more and I'm sure I'll find something that I wished it had but at present, I can't think of anything. If you're thinking of getting into CNC, I think you're going to wait quite a while to beat this price. I will certainly be upgrading the table when it's ready to go. There's also supposedly \a Kress Spindle upgrade in the works. I'm sure I'll be getting that as well.
That's about it. My reviews suck. I should have just said "Lee's machine hits a ton" and then he'd be back ordered for years.
I think I got the first machine he sold as I called him to order a fixture for a machine I had on order. After speaking with him, I canceled my order and went through him. At the time I placed my order, he was not ready to release these yet, but had a fixture built within a day or two in order to get mine out to me as soon as possible.
The machine arrived well crated and ready to go. It took me under an hour to get it all unpacked and set up. From there, it was just getting it talking to my computer, which for me, turned into a real pain in the butt. I had a lot of computers lying around, but they were either too old or didn't have printer ports. I finally got it going with the system I wanted to use and it's been pretty smooth ever since.
Lee built a bed that slides in the T slots on the table. You can inlay an entire cue on the machine, but it will take some moving of the bed or turning of the cue (Lee is working on a bed with full travel which any of these machines will be able to be upgraded to in the future). So far, I have elected to just slide the bed. It takes only a couple of minutes to move it and I found that if I pull the bed forward as I tighten it, my alignment stays where it should.
The machine is quiet and seems to have enough power to handle anything you throw at it. I haven't cut any V Points in using it as I have another Mill set up for that, but I know cue makers who do and don't have a problem with it. It also seems very accurate. I cut 20 pockets into a butt today and then changed to a smaller bit to go clean each one up. One of the patterns was a 6 pointed start type figure and it is sharp and you would have a hard time prying it out once the piece is pressed into the pocket.
So far, I'm very happy with the machine. It's only been a week, give me a few more and I'm sure I'll find something that I wished it had but at present, I can't think of anything. If you're thinking of getting into CNC, I think you're going to wait quite a while to beat this price. I will certainly be upgrading the table when it's ready to go. There's also supposedly \a Kress Spindle upgrade in the works. I'm sure I'll be getting that as well.
That's about it. My reviews suck. I should have just said "Lee's machine hits a ton" and then he'd be back ordered for years.
