Hello,new guy that has a van norman mill,and southbend lathe but want to get a cnc. what is the best i can get for mostly metal work ,3axis for aprox. $5000+/-. Thank you for input!!!

That's kinda like asking "What's the best motor vehicle for $5000?".  Do you need a car?  Truck?  Motorcycle? RV?  Boat?  Does it need to haul cargo, or people?

What kinds of things do you expect to make?  How big are they?  What metals will they be made from?  Aluminum, steel, stainless, titanium are all have very different requirements.  Do you need coolant?  What size tools do you need to use?  Smaller tools require much higher spindle speed.  Larger tools require much more spindle torque.  What total work envelope do you require, taking into account vises, clamps, fixtures,, etc.  What kind of accuracy do you require?  What's more important - accuracy or speed?  Does that $5000 include all the necessary tooling, which typically costs nearly as much as the machine itself, sometimes more?  All these things and many, many more have to be factored into deciding what the "best" machine is for any particular application.

Regards,
Ray L.

I want to do some gunsmithing as a possibility. But overall it will be mostly aluminum and some lite steels. I am not a manufacturer of anything so im not as concerned for speed. I doubt any tooling will exceed 3/8-1/2". And tooling is a never ending need for money lol I will b making some things for my harley like engravings and such. i know im ignorant to cnc but i do have a van norman mill and southbend lathe and the willingness to learn as i have taught myself my whole life w books and hands on. I appreciate the help. i do not want to turn the van norman into cnc cause theres no parts available for my mill and the wear and tear would worry me. Im wanting at least a 24by24" area towork w on mill table. thank you!!

$5K is not going to get you much in the real CNC mill world. Even well used machines in that size will be 10-20K  and you will end up with almost 1/2 that much MORE in tooling before you are done.

Do you want tool changer or not?  I would say YES(;-)

24x24 is a LARGE table for most applications. 

You might be able to find a decent series 1 or 2 CNC bridgeport kicking around to CONVERT BUT it will not be a 24x24 work area and you are limited to 6" on the Z if it is quill driven and not table driven Z.

You will have the price of the mill PLUS the conversion price, maybe 3K to do a decent job. Then there is tooling  to buy.

(;-) TP

I think i have mistaken a prefabbed router mill for something more powerful. i guess theyre for engraving only pretty much? i think ur right,i need a full sized mill for millwork and an engraver for engraving.

Don't forget about the loading, shipping, unloading, and wiring cost. Don't have 3 phase? Add a rotary phase converter to the list.

I think ive got one pinned down. Its a cnc router 4 axis for 2drive screws on y axis w gecko,380 motors and buy mach 3 software. its on ebay by cnc conversionkits .

Sorry I thought you were serious and were looking for a real MILL.

(;-) TP

Nobidy is offering any help. i have a van norman vertical&horizontal mill and southbend 13" lathe. but im new to cnc and dont know if a $4000-6000 solid cnc router will work or if a knee type mill is the only way to go. doing mostly aluminum. i havent had anybody recommend a specific machine for me to look into. im accepting any and all recommendations for me to look at.

Nobody is offering any help

Please read the replies.
Why in the world do you need a 24"x24" table for what you described you are going to do?
You can use the CNC mill for engraving, just make an attachment for a high speed spindle. You said your not looking for
speed .....of what value is it if the engraving work takes an hour instead of 1/2 hour...?

I would say go with a mill, as it's more robust for metal work.

Funny thing about price.....you can have anything you want but once you pick what you want off the shelf you need to pay for it.  

RICH