Anyone have a PM-835S?

[davidcarmichael]

The Taiwan made lower body does have some advantages. With the PM935 you get Meehanite castings and Turcite B way material. The Turcite ways should outlast the cast iron ways. You get a one shot oiler with the 935 and a 5 year warranty. Again, depending on what you are going to do with the machine these items might not be worth the extra money. For me they were the reason I bought the PM 935.

Just my 2 cents
Roger L

FYI the 835S also has a one-shot oiler.

 

[kb58]

If you're going to be cutting hardened material, your feed and speed directly dictates how big a machine you need to avoid chatter and deflection.

 

[mksj]

If you are talking about an 835 vs. 949, you are giving up a significant amount of travel and mass. The 835 has a Y travel of 10" vs. 13" on the 949, and around 1100 lbs in weight. Overall the Taiwanese machines (compared to their lower priced Chinese counterparts) are better made and you are less likely to have fitment and QC issues. As far as how hard you can push these machines, usually more limited by the operated as opposed to the machine, and also your selection of tooling. The 835 is an entry level knee (cost wise), the 935 fits well for people that have limited space, do not need a larger table/travel and/or are limited as to ability to offload the mill of a larger size. Having used a number of different size machines, weight does matter in both rigidity and vibration resistance. The 949 is only $400 more than the 935, so if you can swing the cost, I would buy once/cry once. Otherwise you will probably start thinking about upgrading shortly after you get a smaller mill. I also was poking around on Craigslist the other day looking at used full size mills, used Bridgeport's were running in the 3500-5500 range and pretty heavily used. When you consider the the PM-949 starts at around 5800 with a 5 year warranty and service support, I would go new before I purchased used.

 

[wrmiller]

If you're going to be cutting hardened material, your feed and speed directly dictates how big a machine you need to avoid chatter and deflection.

I cut on hardened parts all the time, and hit my target dimensions. Mostly.

I don't take very large cuts, as I really don't need to, and try to use nice sharp cutters to reduce stresses on the machine. If I do have to remove larger amounts of material, roughing end mills are my friends.

 

[Pcmaker]

The main issue with the 949 for me is, how do I get it home. They don't liftgate delivery on anything heavier than the 935

 

[kb58]

Equipment movers are the easy answer, at a cost of course. Also, beyond some weight (and I don't know what that is), the workshop concrete slab needs to be thicker than the typical 4".

 

[wrmiller]

The main issue with the 949 for me is, how do I get it home. They don't liftgate delivery on anything heavier than the 935

The expenses and knowing that I was going to have to move out of state in a few years is what kept me from buying a larger mill.

 

[davidcarmichael]

The expenses and knowing that I was going to have to move out of state in a few years is what kept me from buying a larger mill.

Since all 945 models are OOS or backordered it may not be for some time anyway.

The extra 1000lbs is a huge increase for the extra height and other dimensions. Are you sure, if you really want the extra size and quality (whatever that may buy you if you are not an industrial user), that this is worth it over the 935? A 3-phase 935 with a step pulley and a VFD would be a great tool and unless you really need the extra size then maybe you should consider ALL of the extra expenses involved. I had the money for a 935 or 945 when I bought my 835S, but being in-stock, ready for delivery with all accessories, and certainly big enough for any job I could imagine made the extra $500 for the 3-phase motor and $200 for the VFD worth it to me.

If cost and time are really no object, I would go for a 1045 TS with a vfd. They will ship it anywhere for $599 and all you need is to hire a fork lift to unload it. Or maybe that and a reinforced concrete pad to set it on. BTW these are REALLY tall machines. I hope you are.
You may need to dismantle the head to get it in your workshop. I almost did with a 835S.

 

[Pcmaker]

Yeah I hear the 949 is pretty tall. Pain in the butt every time you gotta access the drawbar. Might push me towards the 935 or 835

 

[Skowinski]

Good luck with your decision. I was seriously looking at both the 835 and 935, but in the end decided they would both just take up too much space in my already crowded shop. I'm sure either is a really nice machine.