Hi. I've been following the Shopbot for a VERY long time and am finally in a position where I have the time, space, and money to consider actually buying one. The latest "New to Shopbot" thread and the upcoming price increase have spurred me along a little bit and I'm hoping to place an order for a Alpha96 (with PC router) this week. At this point, I'm mainly looking at buying one as a hobby so that I can learn CNC and do some things in my woodworking hobby (general stuff like cabinets, bookcases, basic signs, etc.) that I can't do now. Down the road, I hope to generate some moderate side income from it and then see where things go from there. If I can make enough using it to pay off the machine cost in a few years, I will be happy.
Before I pull the trigger, however, I'd like to get a better feel for how much I should budget for the things besides the Bot that I will need to get started and learn the basics. Things like the table and the PC I already have accounted for. What I'm not sure of is how much I should budget for things like bits, trial material (wood), clamps, dust collection, special setup tools (aligning, leveling the table), or anything else that I need to get up and running. I'm just trying to avoid any big surprises or delays.
Could anyone offer any suggestions on the "must haves" and "sure would be nice to haves" for someone just starting out and an idea what they might cost? Thanks for you help.