[just_james]

hey guys, I was hoping you could answer a few questions. I've never used a CNC mill before but it is always something I've been interested in and would be a natural extension of my welding and metal fabrication.

-How do you price jobs? Is there something similar to cutting and welding where you price the total cost of the material, then per inch of cut/weld? Or is it all in the amount of time needed to run the part and the material cost?

-Is it really feasible to learn to operate a machine based on the Tormach workshops and youTube? I saw the book thread and there looks like some good recommendations, but are they really geared for a novice?

-If this turns out to be a terrible idea for me, what is the normal sale price on a used machine? 75% of the new cost? It seems like they are selling pretty quickly.

thank you all for your time.

[smokediver576]

John has a pretty good "30,000 foot view" on how to go about this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtFi9OQrBjk

As for used..... Let's see, I flew from Atlanta GA to Ft Collins CO, loaded a machine into a Uhaul and drove 28 hours / 1600 miles home with a used machine.... Purchased it within 12 hours of the guy posting it. So yeah, for a new clean used machine..... 60% to 70% of what you have in it. I would have been willing to pay more if it had been within a couple of hours drive.

[just_james]

thanks for the youtube video. Colorado is quite the drive, I live in Augusta and was just out there this summer. is this your first CNC mill?

[smokediver576]

thanks for the youtube video. Colorado is quite the drive, I live in Augusta and was just out there this summer. is this your first CNC mill?

Yeah, it was quite the haul but I think it was worth it for what all I got and a machine that had never actually cut the first part. This is actually my second mill. My first one was a Fadal VMC15, however, I wish I had known about the Tormach then. Never would have bought the Fadal. I never could get past the learning curve (1995 system with a DOS based green screen). Also, their was no where near the community willing to help with newbie type questions. Guess they figured if you were driving a dump truck that you at least know how to drive a straight shift (chair).

Still have to get my machine all set up but unfortunately that's going to have to wait until after Shot Show in January. Way to much to get done before the show to be playing with my new "toy" as my wife has taken to calling it.

Good luck on your search. There is a guy who posted his up that is south of Asheville, NC. Pretty well used machine but I'm sure you could negotiate.

Later,
Awall

[just_james]

I saw that, I'm not ready to buy one yet. I'm about to move, so I'm thinking more along the lines of this summer or next year.

[CadRhino]

Yes
If I can do it you can. Almost a year into it I am really glad I bought a tormach for my first cnc. The community and support from tomach have been great. Not to mention the generosity of users on this site.
I wanted to go the used route at first but I didn't really know how to check a machine out then but now I could.
If you can find a fellow local tormach user to check a machine out that would be nice.
Also, I wanted a warranty. One machine I looked at was so new that tormach would continue to warranty it.
When I started penciling in shipping and everything it ended up not being worth it for me. Also there were some items like sprutcam which you can get cheaper with a new machine.
If you go this route try to get a local machine.
Good luck and welcome to the forum
Nathan

hey guys, I was hoping you could answer a few questions. I've never used a CNC mill before but it is always something I've been interested in and would be a natural extension of my welding and metal fabrication.

-How do you price jobs? Is there something similar to cutting and welding where you price the total cost of the material, then per inch of cut/weld? Or is it all in the amount of time needed to run the part and the material cost?

-Is it really feasible to learn to operate a machine based on the Tormach workshops and youTube? I saw the book thread and there looks like some good recommendations, but are they really geared for a novice?

-If this turns out to be a terrible idea for me, what is the normal sale price on a used machine? 75% of the new cost? It seems like they are selling pretty quickly.

thank you all for your time.

[just_james]

thanks for the info as well cadrhino. I'm with you, I might end up buying a new one just because I have no clue what I'm looking at. I did the same thing with a welder years ago, now I know everything to check out for one of them.