Leads on a homebrew 3 axis CNC milling machine that will cut steel parts?

Been searching the "Googles" for a kit or instructions to build a reasonably priced CNC milling machine that can cut plastic, aluminum, & steel. Haven't had much success, most of the info I found is for routers to do wood and won't do steel. Optimally, I'd like something with a 2 ft x 2 ft horizontal (x & y) range and 1 ft vertical (z axis). I realize a 2'x2'x1' piece of steel would weigh 960 lbs, so I won't be loading that much steel, but those dimensions should cover anything I'd like to machine. Speed isn't a huge concern, but accuracy/tolerances are. Anybody got leads for something that can be built for under $2.5k?

Edit to correct my typing. 1960 lbs, not 960.

My friend is into that stuff. He says that any milling machine can be converted to CNC with some inexpensive servos and a controller. He has said a few hundred for the electronics. So, given that you want something MUCH bigger than the $400 HF mill, I suggest buying a mill big enough to do what you want and then adding the CNC stuff to it. You should be able to do it for 2.5K. $1K mill, $1K shipping, $0.5K controls.

For 2.5k, you want a Bridgeport that some other sucker has already converted to cnc for you off of craigslist.

Unfortunately the answer is going to be 'no' in this case.