Help me please.

[thayne_1]

Hi all

My name is Thayne. I have been a member here for a while. Mostly a reader.

Here is what I need help with. I am thinking about buying a PM1440B lathe. I have been colecting pennys for some time and now have a pile big enough to by a lathe. Been hunting for a south bend for a while. Not a lot of luck finding a lathe in ND. So I started look at these. The large spindle bore and the cam lock spindle have got me leaning this way.

Any of you that have 1 of these if you could leave me some feed back I would like that very much.

 

[Rbeckett]

The PM line of equipment is imported by Matt at Precision Machine and he does an excellent job on QC and follow up with all of his customers. It is however an Asian machine so be prepared to change and clean it as well as spend a bit of time dialing it in perfectly to suit your needs. This is common on all machines not just the inports or the domestics. The new SB's are also made in Taiwan now too, so you really are comparing options and price for what you want and need. I would not hesitate to buy from Matt or Ray and feel like they do an outstanding job when there is or isn't a problem or question. So the PM may indeed be the better choice between it and a South Bend machine. I know they are certainly a lot less money because you are not buying a name and data plate. Just My .02 abouy PM and the guys who make it go. They are all members here so they will see any issue that happens to arrise and move quickly to correct any valid warranty or repair issue you may ever have.

Bob

 

[Sparkymacker]

I have the 1440 E version. It has a lot of features for the price, but as the previous poster noted there are bound to be some idiosyncrasies you have to deal with. In my case the lathe has leaked oil since day one, I have fixed a couple of the major leaks but still chasing them. I looked around a lot before I bought mine, narrowing it down to the PM or Grizzly. Talking to Matt on the phone a couple of times swayed me his way. I also wanted a DRO but did not want to install it myself, Matt installs them but Grizzly does not.

Overall I think you will be happy with the purchase if you decide to go that route.

 

[mgalusha]

I purchased the PM1440BV, same lathe with a VFD, in February. As others have said, like all Chinese machines it needs some lovin' to do it's best. Another member asked me about this yesterday, below is my response to him. The youtube link is for a quick video I shot to demo how to swap the change gears, that was his biggest concern.

While I'd have loved to find some old iron in good shape, they don't seem to turn up in my area very often.

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Video here: http://youtu.be/16D7QDw10t4

Overall I am happy with it. Like all the Chinese lathes, it needs some TLC to perform it's best. The 3 jaw was gritty inside but once cleaned and lubed I routinely get < .003 of runout, often about .002, which is quite good for a cheap 3 jaw. I had no trouble leveling it enough to cut .0005 of taper/ft. I had to modify the factory installed cover on the cross slide DRO, it ran into the light base, I suspect this lathe has a larger cross slide than the other 1440's do and they just didn't notice the interference problem, nothing a pair of tin snips and a file didn't take care of. The coolant pump wasn't bolted in but the bolts and nuts were in the sump, so a few minutes to correct that.

I really like having the big spindle and large bore. The D1-5 spindle has 6 mounting posts vs the 3 on the D1-4, while I can't say for certain it's more rigid it should be. The variable speed is great, I get close based on SFPM and then play with it until the cut seems right, a very cool thing. While not as massive as old iron, it's pretty heavy, the delivery company showed 1780lbs, so figure perhaps 200lbs for crating and such, I'm guessing the lathe is about 1600lbs, so a bit more mass than some in that class.

 

[Uglydog]

I won't pretend to know anything about PMs.

However, if you are looking for a used lathe, there are multiples in MN in various sizes.
Craigs List and various auctions.
Because you are a HM member I'd be happy to help you load, and perhaps haul (cover my fuel costs) if you need that. I might even be able to shelter (for a short time).
Looks like Grafton ND is on the east side of ND.

Advise if you are interested. There is a growing number of MN HM members that would likely be willing to watch for the "right" lathe if you'd like assistance.

Your call.

Daryl
MN

 

[zmotorsports]

I looked at the PM-1440 lathes before ordering my PM1340GT and was really waffling back and forth. The 1440 looks like a lot of machine for the money and and I wouldn't hesitate getting one. I went with the 1340GT mainly because it was a Taiwanese machines vs. the Chinese.

Mike.