I really liked the castors you noted from Woodcraft but couldn't find them in a weight handling capacity for the PM 935 (>1500 lbs plus base). I spent a lot of time researching castors and ended up going with the Albions which are surprisingly US made. Their profile is also reasonably small (3" diameter). They were on sale from Zoro (G0998155) for roughly $41 and can handle 1200 lbs each.
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Finally pulled the trigger: Ordered a PM932V/PDF
- Thread starter GA Gyro
- Start date
Question for you guys that own 45/932 mills from PM/QMT:
I have been reading threads of mills, both recent and past deliveries; many of the owners found varying amounts of crud in different places.
Should I plan to partially (or fully) dis-assemble my machine, inspect it, clean it, oil it, then re-assemble it... when it arrives?
(Or maybe I should just blow my budget wide open and get a 935TV... LOL; I am sure there would be some issues with a Taiwanese mill also.)
Not fussing... just trying to have a reasonable expectation as to time and schedule allotments.
THX
GA
I have been reading threads of mills, both recent and past deliveries; many of the owners found varying amounts of crud in different places.
Should I plan to partially (or fully) dis-assemble my machine, inspect it, clean it, oil it, then re-assemble it... when it arrives?
(Or maybe I should just blow my budget wide open and get a 935TV... LOL; I am sure there would be some issues with a Taiwanese mill also.)
Not fussing... just trying to have a reasonable expectation as to time and schedule allotments.
THX
GA
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2012
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- 7,855
Check out Footmaster Leveling Castors. I've always known that company to be the originals for those type of leveling castors.
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- Mar 12, 2014
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I say blow the budget to hell and get the PM935TV.
anic: I can't testify to the PM932/45 but I have seen a lot of them on here and owners seem to like them a lot. As far as the RF45 clones go, I think the Precision Mathews are the cream of the crop. I too had originally ordered a PM932PDF but after about a month of worrying whether or not I made the right call, my wonderful wife just gave me permission to upgrade to the knee mill and be happy.I can testify that the PM935 is a fantastic milling machine. Everything I had expected and then some. I see this providing decades of life easily. The overall build quality and the fit and finish is very high end.
On edit, I mentioned Matt's/QMT's RF45 clone being the cream of the crop. The only other one I personally would look at in this class and think hard about is the new one from Charter Oaks. With its' 12" of Y-axis travel that would be tempting and make for a tough decision.
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THX Will...
Amazon has 53 pages of casters...
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7xsd9s8mxp_b
Found a unit that is rated for 1100# (generally the total rating for 4 is the same as 2X single rating). This should be more than adequate for rock solid stability.
THX again!
GA
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I say blow the budget to hell and get the PM935TV.
I can testify that the PM935 is a fantastic milling machine. Everything I had expected and then some. I see this providing decades of life easily. The overall build quality and the fit and finish is very high end.
On edit, I mentioned Matt's/QMT's RF45 clone being the cream of the crop. The only other one I personally would look at in this class and think hard about is the new one from Charter Oaks. With its' 12" of Y-axis travel that would be tempting and make for a tough decision.
The knee mill (larger, heavier, more pricy, and major issues getting it into the basement)... however the Taiwanese quality is just bugging me. When I finally decided to spend the $$$ for the 1340GT... was happy I did. It is tough justifying the cost of both of these: 1340GT and 935TV... however the quality is just bugging me.
Guess I will have to send Ray/Matt an Email this evening and get them all stirred up... grin.
Will post what I find out/decide.
GA
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Ray needs a good roust from time to time. Nothing suits him more than helping folks get the right machine for their needs today and well into the future. And if Ray says it it is just about for sure the gospel at least as far as he knows for sure. If he doesn't know he will defer till he gets an answer from Matt. Good luck and enjoy which ever you do decide on, but I really would prefer the larger Knee mill if you can fit it into the budget without eating Ramen for the next 6 months...
Bob
Bob
THX Bob!
I had bugged Ray to death... kinda felt like I may wear out my welcome as they say...
Was gonna settle for an 'RF45' clone now... and rebuild a Bridgeport later. Then I get to reading the threads (again) where folks had to take apart their machines and clean out dirt, grit, dust, etc... then 're-manufacture' this part or that part.
Seems to me it would just work better to get a Taiwanese machine now... and let most of that time be spent making parts and $$$...
I am not naive about this... I fully realize any machine is gonna have some issues... and the Taiwanese ones are no exception.
From what I read... the PM machines are the Cadillacs/Lexus' of the Asian hobby market.
However honestly... it has been bugging me for over a week... Gonna have to find out if I can upgrade...
THX again for the heads up!
GA
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- Mar 12, 2014
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Yep, I was in the exact same boat. The 1340GT was an easy decision but was at the high side of my budge with that and the 932PDF when I ordered it. My wife could see the turmoil I was going through for a few weeks. I then sold a trailer that I was no longer using and some parts for my race car that I sold earlier in the year so it freed up a few extra dollars and the wife wanted me to get the machines that I would be happy with. That allowed me to call Matt about three weeks after my initial order and change from the 932PDF to the 935TV. Now after having the 935TV for a little over a month, I think it was the right decision. I am not putting down the 932/45 as they are very capable machines, I am just a little more anal about quality of tools and equipment than most.
Good luck in your quest. Please be sure to post up pictures of everything when you get it in and set up. We like looking at tool and machine porn.
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I would expect some of that. You may need to anyway to check certain things. I've taken apart and cleaned the cross slide and 3 jaw to make sure that the crud was out. Still need to do the saddle but its pretty smooth and accurate as is. The gear box was also worth cleaning on this lathe. Lots of gunk in places, lots of cosmolin.