Another Mill Decision Dilemma PM833T or PM835S

[Batmanacw]

Neither of these mills is very rigid. According to a former machinist I know, neither is a full sized BP. He called BPs 'hobby' or 'prototype' mills.

If you want the most rigid machine you can get in a hobby machine, think 940 bed mill. I had the CO version and for it's size it was an animal. But I digress...

The differences you should be looking at between the 835 and the 833 is the knee and articulating head on the 835. If you need/want this flexibility, look at the 835. If you don't need/want this, go for the 833.

I am moving up from a round column mill drill. I'm betting they are both a huge leap forward on rigidity for me.

The 833tv has a maximum height of around 20" spindle to the table just like most of the knee mills. That means the knee isn't a huge advantage at all.

The 833tv doesn't have the nod adjustment so I'm hoping it will be as easy to shim as my round column mill has been. The addition of the cant adjustment will make things easier.


I did see a video of a guy complaining about the rigidity of the 833t but he had the mill set up at near max height on a crazy setup.

 

[wrmiller]

I am moving up from a round column mill drill. I'm betting they are both a huge leap forward on rigidity for me.

The 833tv has a maximum height of around 20" spindle to the table just like most of the knee mills. That means the knee isn't a huge advantage at all.

The 833tv doesn't have the nod adjustment so I'm hoping it will be as easy to shim as my round column mill has been. The addition of the cant adjustment will make things easier.


I did see a video of a guy complaining about the rigidity of the 833t but he had the mill set up at near max height on a crazy setup.

People complain about all manner of things. Especially when they are over-taxing their equipment.

I personally wanted the articulating head and knee for my pistolsmithing, so I jumped from a 9x40 bed mill to a 935. But I did work for years with smaller square column bench mills.

This really comes down to your priorities and what you are willing to live with.

 

[Batmanacw]

People complain about all manner of things. Especially when they are over-taxing their equipment.

I personally wanted the articulating head and knee for my pistolsmithing, so I jumped from a 9x40 bed mill to a 935. But I did work for years with smaller square column bench mills.

This really comes down to your priorities and what you are willing to live with.

Right now I'm thinking I could start with the 835 and switch out the motor in a couple years with a 3 phase and VFD and then no more belt changes.

I have done some impressive work with the mill/drill I've got so working within my tools is really not a problem.

I am looking at that power downfeed and drooling....lol. Such a hard choice.

 

[Aukai]

Do not skimp on the power feeds, my Y is manual, and a smallish hand wheel. I have to park the table after every use for space purposes, it's not much of a hassle, but it's noticeable with the other ones power driven.

 

[wrmiller]

Right now I'm thinking I could start with the 835 and switch out the motor in a couple years with a 3 phase and VFD and then no more belt changes.

I have done some impressive work with the mill/drill I've got so working within my tools is really not a problem.

I am looking at that power downfeed and drooling....lol. Such a hard choice.

I put a VFD on my PM935TS and the only time I move the belt from the third pulley groove is when I need to drill larger holes and I move it down to the second step. I think I've only used the PDF on my 935 (same head as the 835 BTW) once.

 

[TX COWDOC]

UPDATE:
1st Thanks to all who replied. Particularly, thanks to Vinnito1 for the Craig's List info. That would have been a possibility worth exploring. Ultimately, I opted away from the knee mill class mainly due to the logistics of removing the table / gib to get that heavy sucker into my 3-6 doorway in my small air-conditioned area of my shop was a key element of my decision. As it turned out, I decided I wanted an all Taiwanese machine so I went with the PM833T. I am planning on adding to the base to elevate the table to a more suitable working height given I'm 6'-1 and don't want to hunch over.