Looking for advice on a new mill

[Scott Crist]

Hello, and thanks in advance for any help. First I am new and definately limited on my knowledge of mills and machining , I am thinking about buying a PM-950V. I currently have a 25yr old harbor freight bench top. Believe it or not it almost does what I need but it's very loose and starting to wear out. I can't seem to find any "parallelism " specs (if that's a thing)on the Matthews brand. So I'm not sure how to compare it to others. I dont do any tight tolerance work, but if I'm going to spend that much without being able to see it I guess I am looking for a little reassurance that it's not a POS. Thanks again for any suggestions

 

[zjtr10]

I feel your pain about buying something expensive without having a lot of experience at it. I really had a hard time spending that much money without being able to touch it first.
I went with p.m. strictly off of Internet recommendations that they had excellent customer service and good products. The Internet did not lie to me about that. I have nothing but praise for their customer service or equipment .

I had outgrown a small atlas Lathe and decided to buy the biggest p.m. available at that time a PM 1440 GT made in Taiwan.

One year later I made the same decision to buy the biggest mill they offer a PM 1054 TV again made in Taiwan

I also bought a lot of accessories from them. My thinking was if I buy the accessories and the machine from the same company the machine people cannot point the finger at the accessory people if I have a problem with accessories working with their machine.

18 months down the road I am very happy and would do it all again.

 

[matthewsx]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Precision Matthews has an excellent reputation, lots of happy customers and they chime in on here often.

Just for giggles I did a Goggle maps search and found they're only 4 hours from you. Why not pay them a visit and get your questions answered in person? Just a thought....

Cheers,

John

 

[T Bredehoft]

Scott, does WFOB still cover that part of NW Ohio? I spent my first 20 years in Lucas and Ottawa counties.

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments about PM machines. I have one mill and one lathe from them. no complaints, whatever.

 

[Scott Crist]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Precision Matthews has an excellent reputation, lots of happy customers and they chime in on here often.

Just for giggles I did a Goggle maps search and found they're only 4 hours from you. Why not pay them a visit and get your questions answered in person? Just a thought....

Cheers,

John

Hi John, Thanks for the welcome. Actually the first time I have ever posted or got on a forum it's amazing what the fear of losing money will do. I called them yesterday and they said they are in stock but they don't have a showroom. He suggested this forum and looking on the internet.

 

[Scott Crist]

Scott, does WFOB still cover that part of NW Ohio? I spent my first 20 years in Lucas and Ottawa counties.

I agree wholeheartedly with the comments about PM machines. I have one mill and one lathe from them. no complaints, whatever.

Hello T, gonna show my ignorance here, I dont know what WFOB is. Closest place I can find is Willis in Toledo but even though they look similar ( I realize that doesn't always matter) they are double the price.

 

[matthewsx]

ESPN 1430 AM/ 105.7 FM WFOB

ESPN 1430 AM WFOB is a radio station located in Fostoria, Ohio. The station broadcasts on 1430-AM, and is popularly known as

wfob.com

Maybe this radio station?

 

[Scott Crist]

I feel your pain about buying something expensive without having a lot of experience at it. I really had a hard time spending that much money without being able to touch it first.
I went with p.m. strictly off of Internet recommendations that they had excellent customer service and good products. The Internet did not lie to me about that. I have nothing but praise for their customer service or equipment .

I had outgrown a small atlas Lathe and decided to buy the biggest p.m. available at that time a PM 1440 GT made in Taiwan.

One year later I made the same decision to buy the biggest mill they offer a PM 1054 TV again made in Taiwan

I also bought a lot of accessories from them. My thinking was if I buy the accessories and the machine from the same company the machine people cannot point the finger at the accessory people if I have a problem with accessories working with their machine.

18 months down the road I am very happy and would do it all again.

Thanks Z, it's good to know they will hopefully stand behind things if there is an issue. I dont use my current mill often but when I need it, I need it you know. I doubt I will ever wear it out as long as it is of reasonable quality. I appreciate your feedback
Scott

 

[rogerl]

Scott:
I have a PM 935 TS mill that I bought in April. I am very happy with the 935 TS. I came from a Enco clone of the RF30 with a round column. I really like the knee mill. I live in Northfield, Ohio. I am about 2 1/2 hours away from you. If you want to stop by you can take a look at my mill and see what your thoughts are.

Thanks
Roger L

 

[wrmiller]

You'll get better quality and accuracy if you buy one of their Taiwan machines (has a 'T' in the model number). I have two of Matt's machines, both Taiwan made, and couldn't be happier from a quality/accuracy perspective. Just my $0.02