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New Mill and Lathe
- Thread starter BigCasino
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2016
- Messages
- 286
Hello Big Casino and welcome to the forum.
The PM30V and PM1236 machines you are considering will certainly work very well once setup and you'll have fun learning on them, the DRO's are awesome to have as well.
If after using the machines for a year or so and you find they are too small or the finished work you are producing is not fine enough (not likely though) then sell them and upgrade, you will have much more knowledge about what your needs are by then.
Unlike cars the resale value is excellent on these machines when in near new condition and most of your tooling and accessories will work with your new machine(s).
I came from using a drill press and hand tools to buying a PM935 Mill and PM 1340GT Lathe and love having the use of quality machines that will produce a very nice finished product. I had a very flexible budget, started out looking at 3-1 machines for $3,000 and I've spent north of $20K with no regrets.
Everything I've worked on so far, would have been possible on the PM1236 and PM30V.
The machines are only one part of the equation, the tooling and work holding are as important as to which machines you buy.
I'm the limiting factor in the quality at the moment because it takes work to set up these machines, the learning curve has been steep when it comes to work holding and machining steps.
I bought the 5" Homge Vise from PM but are now looking at buying (2) Kurt 6" vises because I often mill long (and wide) pieces and the Kurt vises open much wider than the Homge vise I currently have.
But can I justify them at about $850 CAD each, I certainly can when I ruin a piece I've worked on for 2 hours when it starts chattering on a final cut because the hang over is too far from the supported vise holding it.
I bought a 6" Vertex Rotary Table on sale, but have not used it yet but glad I got the 6" as it's pretty damn heavy, I imagine the 8" would be at my limit for lifting by hand, I'll also buy an index kit for the RT or a dedicated indexer from Vertex as they are fairly well made.
To sum up my experience so far is, no matter what I knew before buying my machines, it's the setup of your machines and putting in your time to gain experience that determines the quality of the finished product and cutting corners in any area will likely be the limiting factor in weather you have fun doing this or become frustrated and have a negative/bad experience.
Cheers,
David
The PM30V and PM1236 machines you are considering will certainly work very well once setup and you'll have fun learning on them, the DRO's are awesome to have as well.
If after using the machines for a year or so and you find they are too small or the finished work you are producing is not fine enough (not likely though) then sell them and upgrade, you will have much more knowledge about what your needs are by then.
Unlike cars the resale value is excellent on these machines when in near new condition and most of your tooling and accessories will work with your new machine(s).
I came from using a drill press and hand tools to buying a PM935 Mill and PM 1340GT Lathe and love having the use of quality machines that will produce a very nice finished product. I had a very flexible budget, started out looking at 3-1 machines for $3,000 and I've spent north of $20K with no regrets.
Everything I've worked on so far, would have been possible on the PM1236 and PM30V.
The machines are only one part of the equation, the tooling and work holding are as important as to which machines you buy.
I'm the limiting factor in the quality at the moment because it takes work to set up these machines, the learning curve has been steep when it comes to work holding and machining steps.
I bought the 5" Homge Vise from PM but are now looking at buying (2) Kurt 6" vises because I often mill long (and wide) pieces and the Kurt vises open much wider than the Homge vise I currently have.
But can I justify them at about $850 CAD each, I certainly can when I ruin a piece I've worked on for 2 hours when it starts chattering on a final cut because the hang over is too far from the supported vise holding it.
I bought a 6" Vertex Rotary Table on sale, but have not used it yet but glad I got the 6" as it's pretty damn heavy, I imagine the 8" would be at my limit for lifting by hand, I'll also buy an index kit for the RT or a dedicated indexer from Vertex as they are fairly well made.
To sum up my experience so far is, no matter what I knew before buying my machines, it's the setup of your machines and putting in your time to gain experience that determines the quality of the finished product and cutting corners in any area will likely be the limiting factor in weather you have fun doing this or become frustrated and have a negative/bad experience.
Cheers,
David
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I’m leaning towards the 1340GT because I never see a negative comment on them, still thinking the 30MV. Good to know I’ll be needing 6” vise. Now doing research on 3 phase with vfd, not sure about that yet. Hard to see ay calm and do more research. Thanks for the reply.
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2019
- Messages
- 6,553
Have you looked at this thread?
www.hobby-machinist.com
PM1340 - the Best & Jacobs Full Custom Edition
It’s been several months since I took delivery of, and posted about my PM1340 lathe. It's time for an update since I’m nearing completion of what started as a straight forward VFD conversion project, and then took on a life of it’s own and led to a substantial customization of the stock PM1340...
www.hobby-machinist.com
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2018
- Messages
- 106
BC,
I'm very new to machining and bought a PM1340GT. I picked it because of the length I can cut , The spindle bore size, and the accuracy it's capable of. I live about 50 miles East of Jasper. You are welcome to come play with it if you get down this way.
PM me for my number if you would like to talk.
Shelly
I'm very new to machining and bought a PM1340GT. I picked it because of the length I can cut , The spindle bore size, and the accuracy it's capable of. I live about 50 miles East of Jasper. You are welcome to come play with it if you get down this way.
PM me for my number if you would like to talk.
Shelly
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2014
- Messages
- 1,111
I feel a bottom end of 90 rpm is rather fast - especially for threading. The bottom end on my two lathes are 45 rpm on the 15" and 30 rpm on the 11" - sometimes that seems fast when threading to a shoulder. If you go with a VFD, then you can get that 90 rpm down pretty well as slow as you wish.
Did you happen to get the QCTP with it and is it any count? What side cutters 3/8,5/8, or 1/2 is best? If I can get down that wat I’ll let you know. Did you do a VFD
Yes I saw that. OCD all the way, but I really like itHave you looked at this thread?
PM1340 - the Best & Jacobs Full Custom Edition
It’s been several months since I took delivery of, and posted about my PM1340 lathe. It's time for an update since I’m nearing completion of what started as a straight forward VFD conversion project, and then took on a life of it’s own and led to a substantial customization of the stock PM1340...