Milling machine for about $1449.00.
Engine Lathe for about $1299.00.
Table Saw for about $339.99.
Miter Saw for about $269.99.
Metal Saw for about $379.00.
Free shipping on orders over $1999.
Miscellaneous hand tools, drill bits, end mills, etc. maybe $500?
Total is about us$4000. You will have a hard time finding a used car for this price. And the machines will last a lot longer than a car.
If you do a little searching of different brands and sources you might very well outfit a shop for under three thousand. Oh, I forgot about the old Lincoln welder that I picked up used many years ago for $50. And my Craftsman skill saw cost me $20 used in 1968 and it's still running good, except the electric plug needs repairing. I got a wood cutting band saw (free) last fall but before that my metal saw doubled as a band saw. My electric hand drill costs me about $30 a few years ago. It replaced one that was worn out. My miter saw cost me about $199 a few years ago. My metal saw was about $149. I think my engine lathe was somewhere around $700. My milling machine cost about $1300 plus shipping. Of course inflation has pushed up the prices of tools since I bought mine.
My point is that anyone who is serious about making wheels should be able to afford a small machine shop. If someone has an idea then it is up to that person to nuture the idea, to test the idea, to learn if the idea will work and to make the idea grow and bloom or wither and die. Stand on your own two feet. Don't expect Mom and Dad or other older people to cradle and spoon feed you. The only difference between my shop and your potential shop is about $3000 or $4000 and about the space of a typical bathroom without the fixtures.
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