What are the Best CNC Machines?

The Top CNC Machines for Makers

When it comes to choosing what mill and lathe to buy, there are so many choices out there it can be intimidating. But at Bruce Charles Designs, the maker behind our products quickly settled on the Tormach 1100MX mill and the Tormach 8L lathe to develop new BCD products.

 Bill was recently asked why he went with the Tormach mill. Trying to keep it short (Bill says he could write a book about this...and who knows-he might someday!), he shared a few reasons that Tormach won out. Years ago, he designed his own conversion for a harbor freight mini mill and eventually ended up with LinuxCNC for the control. Next, he converted a PM25 mill to CNC, also relying on LinuxCNC. 

"Then one very lucky day my son and I found a used PCNC1100, in pieces, and got it very cheap. We got the 1100 all put together and running and realized how big a difference there was between it and the PM25. We both fell in love with its ease of use and superiority over the previous conversion mills.  So much so, in fact, that we both ordered 1100MX machines. I'm serial 2047, and he's 2048. PathPilot is a very nice customized version of LinuxCNC, so it was an intuitive and easy transition. Tormach has done a fantastic job with PathPilot! The Tormach is easy to work on, it's easily moved around the shop if needed, and it doesn't require 3 phase power. It is perfect for the small or at-home shop!" See the 1000MX in action here!

The bottom line - Bill recommends the Tormach 1100MX in particular for milling and any of Tormach's Lathes. Bill uses the Tormach 8L to prototype and make small parts for other projects and has been enjoying it as much as his mill. It has been a great way to quickly play with different spinning top stem designs as well as play with a pet project attempting to reduce aerodynamic drag on spinning tops. This is a perfect fit since his shop is in an airplane hangar!

Always creative and always spinning, Bill is using his Tormach machines to work towards his next creation to bring to our Bruce Charles Designs customers! 

Have machining questions? Bill loves to answer them! Email us at info@brucecharlesdesigns.com or DM us on Instagram!