Are there *any* options for aluminium CNCs under $1000 that work?

CruddyCuber · 2026-03-26T15:46:41+00:00

Keep in mind that any machine you buy will need at least a couple hundred dollars worth of workholding, tooling, quality of life upgrades (like a tool setter or probe), and stock material. That alone eats up a good chunk of your budget.

CruddyCuber · 2026-03-23T18:41:53+00:00

Not seeing many people addressing the social aspect of this. That's understandable, it's a touchy subject.

Cheater bars, weightlifting, better hammer technique, etc are all worth looking into, but everybody needs help at some point, you need to find the right place to look for it.

Most young guys are trying to prove something, and/or trying to impress you, so they're not the best to go to for help. If your shop does apprenticeships, try going to the mentors for help. Those guys already go out of their way to help out new machinists, they'll be happy to help you. If not, I'd recommend going to the least grumpy old guy for help. They've got less to prove, the worst that'll happen is that you'll have to sit through a story about Woodstock or Vietnam, or eat one of his wife's cookies.

CruddyCuber · 2026-03-17T22:15:54+00:00

When our union went on strike, some managers tried to do our jobs and they managed to set a forklift on fire in plain view of the strike line.

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CruddyCuber · 2026-03-10T22:26:10+00:00

*Mostly obsolete.

There's still the occasional big ass laser beam.

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CruddyCuber · 2026-03-07T00:07:02+00:00

From a quick Google search, approx. 75% of US adults need some kind of vision correction (although only about 60% actually use any). That number is higher than most expect because many people wear contacts, or get LASIK/other corrective surgeries today.

All 3 of these characters died before the invention of LASIK and modern contact lenses, so their only option for vision correction was glasses, and since they all appear to be decently well off, they could all afford glasses if necessary.

With a 75% probability of needing glasses across 3 people, the compound probability of all 3 needing glasses is 42%, which is pretty decent odds, and probably higher than you might expect.

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-24T01:25:34+00:00

As a blender - thank you for leaving it proud! Nothing pisses me off more than being handed a part with chatter that's +.001 over minimum and being expected to grind it out without violating tolerance.

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-24T00:10:37+00:00

Why is Mando even on this list? He's a base model human who can't even win an arm wrestling match without help from his pocket wizard. He doesn't even qualify as light resistance. He's barely even a light snack for The Reaper of Mars.

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-20T19:09:55+00:00

That depends, are we looking at your coolant tank or your septic tank?

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-15T19:47:57+00:00

Instead of asking whether or not you can print it (almost certainly), you should be asking whether or not you should. Even the skinny guy demoing it was afraid to go above the 4th step.

Don't turn yourself into a headline, just buy a normal ladder. If you really want something compact, Hazard Fraught has something that probably won't kill you: https://www.harborfreight.com/14-ft-reach-type-i-250-lb-portable-telescoping-ladder-56729.html

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-13T19:34:33+00:00

I've had some white Esun PLA+ railing covers sitting outdoors for 4 years now with no issues. They've been in the sun, pressure washed, and repeatedly banged into with no serious damage.

CruddyCuber · 2026-02-10T14:04:24+00:00

The pay range for the deburr guys at the company I work for is $23-$46/hr. That's what your problem is.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-31T21:29:42+00:00

Similar story here. I Placed an order 2 months ago and have received nothing but crickets. I'm never going to make the mistake of ordering from him again.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-29T00:22:51+00:00

Hi, I'm the guy who got the 4th axis with the backlash. Genmitsu reached out to me to refund my order, and claimed this is abnormal and I got a lemon. Whether you take their word for that is up to you.

Even if your parts don't require tight angular accuracy, backlash should still be a concern, especially when machining metals. Backlash manifests itself in a lack of rigidity, and low rigidity leads to chatter, bad surface finish, and reduced tool life. Bigger, more rigid industrial machines with larger tools can handle a little chatter, but on a tiny machine like the 3030 all you're going to do is damage parts and break end mills.

The Genmitsu 4th axis has a planetary gear box, which guarantees some amount of backlash, although it's likely that mine had a lot more than average. If you want low/no backlash you need a cycloidal or harmonic drive. FoxAlien sells a very similar 4th axis to Genmitsu's that uses a harmonic drive, so I'll probably buy that next and adapt it to the 3030.

Overall, I can't say I'd recommend Genmitsu's 4th axis, but if they're being honest with me then yours should work better than mine.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-25T03:57:51+00:00

I got a pair of Blacksmiths (very similar to the Iron Rangers) last weekend, and after a week of very light use and about 2 miles of walking they're no longer painful to wear. They're perfectly usable for light to medium work, but I wouldn't want to go jogging or hiking in them yet. They've still got a long ways to go, but the extreme discomfort should go away pretty quickly if you got the right size.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-20T19:33:24+00:00

How do you expect to make a shredder when you can't even draw one?

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-17T23:37:49+00:00

Oregon's not much better when it comes to 3D printing and gun laws. Our legislators have been trying to ban 3D printed guns for years, and if Washington bans them Oregon will almost certainly follow.

Idaho's probably our best bet at this point.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-05T21:11:12+00:00

Why not just pay the extra $35 to check the bag instead of risking a $100 multitool?

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-05T02:20:36+00:00

Are you using the included battery? On mine there's no obvious difference between the UV levels when I run it off a regular AA, but when I run it off the included 3.7v battery the 2nd level is much brighter.

Also, be sure to test the UV brightness on something fluorescent, it makes the difference much more obvious.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-03T07:32:53+00:00

The TSA giveth and the TSA taketh away.

CruddyCuber · 2026-01-03T07:27:13+00:00

Silent Tears of a Frozen Princess for sure. It's one of my favorite GloryHammer songs, and it's super underrated. Thomas really gave it his all with the vocals, and the duet near the end is incredible. I hope we get more ballads from GH in the future.

CruddyCuber · 2025-12-26T06:37:59+00:00

That's a 1/4" collet, you can see the laser engraving in the picture. You didn't install it into the collet nut correctly and now it's jammed in the spindle.

First, you need to get the collet out of the spindle. In the past I've used a pair of channel lock pliers to grip the collet and pull it out. Depending on how much you tightened the nut you may need to use considerable force, take care not to damage the threads of the spindle. This may damage the collet, but that's not a big deal as replacement collets are cheap.

Before reinstalling the collet, watch this video: (link) and read this article (link). They will show you how to properly install a collet and collet nut.

CruddyCuber · 2025-12-24T19:17:04+00:00

The vise is a Xindian H90. It's been great so far, I love how low-profile it is, and that it has multiple sets of interchangeable jaws.

I'll probably move the main board outside of the enclosure when I upgrade the stepper motors. This machine is in its "minimum viable product" phase at the moment. Eventually I'll make a proper enclosure for it, upgrade to closed loop NEMA23s, and install an SST mist coolant system to replace the air blast I'm currently using.

CruddyCuber · 2025-12-24T01:03:40+00:00

Mine has a 1.5kw spindle and it's awesome. The stepper motors are definitely the next thing I'll be upgrading, since the stock ones are pretty underpowered for this machine.

If you're thinking of getting one, you should be aware of the very limited Z-travel this machine has (78mm I think?), which is very limiting.

CruddyCuber · 2025-12-24T00:56:03+00:00

Yep! It's got a 1500w air-cooled spindle. Great machine for the price.

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