Shopbot Buddy?

[Blake Koehn]

Is this a viable option for someone on a short budget to get into CNC? Does anyone here have one? Could you weigh in on this post? What about the Power Stick Option, is it accurate?

I have a sign shop, my work would be about 80% sign related with the rest being woodworking. Would the Buddy fill the bill?

Thanks for your comments.

[james mcgrew]

blake the buddy is discussed well here, i am sure it is a viable option, the only down fall to me is it needs 16' to run a 4x8, you can't but a used one as they are in demand, consider a used machine and have it retrofited.

there is an entire forum thread devoted to the buddy and sign making

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/discus.cgi

jim

[Neville Stewart]

I think that would be 12 feet ;-), there is always 4 on the table. Ive seen some pieces, a carved grape panel in particular, about 8 feet long by Oscar Garcia . It looked pretty good. They are a solid machine for 5 grand or so. and it's "mobile" to an extent. I have the 32 but didnt get the stick. They are well built & great support from the company & users. I have mine about a month & I believe I have a faulty X motor. Tech support called me back this Saturday afternoon ( I had left a message on their machine )and are shipping me a replacement on Monday. I cant say enough good things about the entire team in Durham.

[james mcgrew]

neville, does the gantry remain fixed or does it travel 48"? i was under the impression it was fixed. i will say that at 5 grand it's got the whole field beat!

jim

[Neville Stewart]

James I am wrong it would be 16. My apologies. The gantry is fixed. & The BT32 is 5K. I think the 48 is closer to 7K.

[Angus Hines]

I saw this thing run today. WOW they had it hooked up with their 8' power stick system.
And from what I heard today there is no substantial difference between this and a full table model other than the table moves and not the gantry. Especially if you have space limitations this might be a really good bet.

Now I must ponder again

[Mike Kelly]

Blake, if you have a sign shop and have the space, I would go for the full size machine, 5' x 8' or 5' x 10'. I have the older Benchtop ShopBot which I dearly love, but hold downs are a lot easier with a fixed and larger table. A vacuum system must move with the Buddy's table. The Buddy is a fantastic machine, but I think for a business you will need and appreciate the larger work surface.