I had every intention of buying an X3 or G0704 or other somesuch square column mill/drill and following someone's recipie (probably Hoss' as his stuff seems to be uber complete and well written). My problem was and still is budget. Like everything else in my life, the minute I plan something out and execute it, fifteen other things that suck away every available cent pop up.

I happened across a deal, my boss had a buddy who passed and left a shop full of tools rusting away in the Florida humidity. Two of these were mill/drills. I ended up with a Jet JMD15 and a Jet JMD16 both for $600. I know the purists here will cringe at the round columns, but for what I need, these will fit the bill just fine.

The previous owner had braced the columns so that they would not turn and wired forward/reverse switches into the power supplies. As I clean them up, I am discovering all sorts of mods that serve some purpose or another. My plan is to convert the 15 to cnc with the primary purpose of engraving and small parts manufacture. I'll leave the 16 manual for now, probably using it to make parts for the 16 as well as parts I have been hogging out for years manually.

I ordered a kit from Automation Technology with motors, drivers, BOB, power supply as well as a box to house it in. A computer buddy hooked me up with a desktop with a Pentium D, WinXP, gaming Nvidia graphics card, and stripped the software package to the basics. He installed Mach3, Lazy Cam and Mill Wizard.

Once I put the box together next week and hopefully make motors spin, then I will start making brackets and sourcing pulleys and belts.

Wish me luck!