Access Underneath the PM30MV?

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sfsteel

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I'm making a stand for my (not yet arrived) PM30MV.
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/pm30-milling-machine-stand.67755/

I'm guessing I might need to adjust to the Y axis drive assembly, but I'm not sure if I can just set it and forget it before I mount it to the table.

My questions are:
Should I make a cutout on the table so I can access the bottom of the mill?
Can I access the parts of the Y axis that I need from the top somehow?
If I need to access it, is it something I need to be able to visually see, or will it suffice to just reach my hand underneath and feel the parts that I need to manipulate?

Thanks!

A side rant, despite being quoted 4-6 weeks, it looks like PM added on at least another 6 weeks to the wait time. That's pretty concerning on if/when I will actually get this mill. These sort of yield delays often lead to compromises in order to get things out the door.
 
Side rant....
Maybe he needs the extra time to verify that everything is OK with his new mill shipment instead of ramming them out the door. You will get your mill, Matt is exceptional in his customer service, but sometimes situations are out of his control. Glass half full or half empty. Your choice.

As far as a cut out for your mill, if you don't plan on running flood coolant and need a catch tray for it, yes, I would do a cutout, or at least an access panel for it. Can't hurt anything.
 
7milesup said:
Side rant....
Maybe he needs the extra time to verify that everything is OK with his new mill shipment instead of ramming them out the door. You will get your mill, Matt is exceptional in his customer service, but sometimes situations are out of his control. Glass half full or half empty. Your choice.
Click to expand...

Can’t say I disagree with you, maybe this is expected when dealing with big ass machines coming from China (my first experience)
 
My two cents. Until recently, I spent about 35 years working at building the perfect company and I'm proud to say I take business as seriously as the Dali Lama takes spirituality.. every Monday since mid-1990, I participate in a business study group... the same 8 guys the whole time.. and the common thread is seeking business enlightenment and building a 200-year company. Please excuse me for entering on these personal details (to steal shamelessly from Darwin's first paragraph), as I give them to show I have been at this a long time and pursue it at a serious level. I have very little good to say about the vast majority of companies I get to observe, but Matt is one of only two business owners I've written to in my life congratulating him on his philosophical and business choices to pursue the high road and building for the long haul. He has resolved every customer interaction with me and others I know in the interest of the customer. One of very few I personally trust. I'll just say this.. in business, things come up and you can't control all things no matter how much you want to. Call it 3 cents...

CW
 
Rather than going off on a rant, why don't you give 'em a call and find out why the shipment is delayed? I suspect that you will find that it is a delay from the factory, or a delay in shipping, or a delay in customs, or a delay in freight getting the machine to PM, etc., etc..

I have many conversations with Matt, and this one thing comes up fairly frequently. Matt gives the best estimates he can, given the information he is given. But that information is not always right and/or subject to change at a moment's notice.

I had to wait, on three different occasions, for three different machines. Two came in either on time of pretty close to it such that I don't remember griping about it. The third one though... Lets just say that Murphy struck on that one big time. ;)
 
BTW this wasnt intended to be a serious rant, I have patience. Was only slightly concerned about manufacturing delays (PM didn’t give me a reason). My initial post sounds more dramatic than I actually feel. Everybody has appeased those concerns.

I really would like to get more insight on the hole in the workbench surface though. Do I need to be able to view the underside of the mill, or can I feel around for the parts I need to manipulate?

I ask because I plan to put a shelf under the bench which would really only allow me
To reach under the mill (vs slide underneath and directly view the y axis drive)
 
For a couple years, I was working with Matt helping to support the machines. To be perfectly clear, I’m no longer doing that but, I do want to mention a few things related to this thread.

Matt and Nicole are hard working and care about their customers and the business. There is nothing shady going on. He regularly visits the factories to maintain a good relationship but, many things happen outside of his control. In the time I worked with him orders got delayed because of bad weather, dock accidents, dock worker strikes, railroad strikes, railroad derailments, trade emargos, worker illnesses, delivery of the wrong units, damage during local delivery… The list goes on. The vast majority of orders go without a hitch. Machines usually ship in units of 25 so when something does go wrong, 25 people on the internet shout-out that PM sucks. The other 300-400 people who did not experience a problem quietly, happily use their machines at home.

As for support, I had customers who screwed-up their machines in the most idiotic of ways. People would take them apart and not be able to reassemble them, worse yet, reassemble them improperly. People would drop or tip them over. And of course, there’s the folks who buy a PM20 mill and a 6” vise that weighs as much as the mill, install an ER40 chuck with a ¾” carbide hog cutter and try to plow through a 4” piece of stainless steel in 1 pass (true story). The list is long (and actually somewhat humorous)… In almost all cases, Matt would still help the customer in a fair and reasonable way.

FWIW, when I bought one of my machines, it was delayed 6 months. It didn’t stop me from buying a mill right afterward. I’m working-up the nerve to rearrange my shop and upgrade my lathe and yes, it will come from Matt and I’ll wait like everyone else if it’s not in stock.

When problems happen, the crew at PM will respond properly and to the best of their ability.

Ray
 
Since I also have a -30MV on order, and I’m also building a stand, this topic interests me. I looked at the manual and it wasn’t immediately obvious what I would need to do from the bottom. Would you help me understand?
 
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