If you still haven’t heard of the new mini milling machine and the effects its having on small-time hobbyists and local shops, then you either must be living under a rock or are not very much into the crafting scene.
Mini milling machines are machines which are able to carve intricate designs into metal and wood far beyond a typical cutter. They can rotate and turn in order to create curved shapes and turns which simply cannot be replicated by other machines.
For example, mini milling machines can be used to cut keys for example and are able to be programmed with a CNC in order to execute these designs. They can be programmed to do all sorts of cutting, and not just keys.
The real benefit of the mini milling machine is that when combined with a simple plasma cutter and some sort of welder, there is not a single project that is out of the reach of a hobbyist. You can get all three of these machines combined for just over a thousand dollars and be able to do any sort of metal work you might want to do around your home. This can save a lot of money as metal work can easily run tens of thousands of dollars even without much work being done.
So, perhaps there is a hobbyist in your life who really wants to do metal work but just can bring himself to buy a mini milling machine, then this might be a great gift this Christmas. Also, if you run a maintenance division at a large building like a school or office park where you end up making a lot of keys, a mini milling machine on site can really save you time and money that you might otherwise spend getting keys cut.
If you just do a little wood work here and there, it can still be useful for carving designs into wood, but really you can do this sort of thing by hand for the best results and mmore personal touch. A mini milling machine is really best suited for metalwork.