Originally Posted by
pickled
Congrats on your second child! You must be one proud Father :-). I too went through the same thought process as you and picked up a second Tormach vs. another model. There was no need to repeat the learning curve of another manufacturer's machine (and potentially a different spare parts/support cost equation). I produce various prototypes for food processing and packaging development work as part of my consulting portfolio. After analyzing our capacity vs. actual future motivations and typical part dimensions I couldn't justify going another way. A drawn out analysis process had me settle on a 770 as my second machine because the intricate work I do with titanium alloys (requiring small carbide EM's) was made much more efficiently due to the higher base spindle speed capability of the 770. Basically, I now use my 1100 for mostly parts comprised of stainless steel and tool steels and the 770 runs the titanium and aluminum exclusively. The added rigidity of the 1100 is missed sometimes though, but the world is full of compromises :-). Hopefully the undulations of the boat ride have lulled your new mill into a state of optimal tram!