Pm-1440b

oldhank60

oldhank60

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I am getting ready to purchase the 1440B it has everything I am looking for and more standard options than my other choice 1340GT. except not made in Taiwan, I will use this mostly for gunsmith work, threading barrels either end. making some class III items , I do hold a 07 FFL license, I have a old Cincinnati tray top lathe that I refurbished a few years back, tooling is expensive for LO spindle. With what it would cost to buy or make for lathe I could almost pay for the 1440B and still not have what I will get Buying the new lathe. I have done search for reviews on PM lathes and mostly all I see is positive. I have contacted matt with email, I dont see any downside. I will also use this lathe for small contracts I can land in my area. I can retire at anytime now, If I wait the chance are I will not be able to buy new after retirement.
could some tell me what problems the 1440b's have if any.. I'm talking out of the box. all machines have something that has to be dealt with even the hi dollat machines seem to have little things that need attention before they settle down to run production or single parts.
What will it be with the 1440 B?

Hank
 
Hi Hank, and welcome to the forum. :)

Can't speak to the 1440B as I went with your other choice (1340GT). But I just wanted to say Hi and to say how pleasantly surprised I was to see someone as the question about out-of-the-box issues. Some people don't realize that all of these machines, regardless of cost, have things that have to be dealt with in order to get them all tuned up. I looked at the 1440BV as a possible, but decided I didn't want to deal with a lathe that large. We all make choices. :)

If I remember correctly, we have a few members with this lathe, and hopefully they will show up soon. Of course you know that when someone here gets a new machine we expect pics and a write-up. :)
 
Here's a video review of the PM1440-BV from one of our members. It's basically the same lathe as the PM1440-B but with variable speed.


 
Thank you darkzero for posting this video, very informative/nice review. The VFD variable speed is great for adjusting the speed on the fly, and getting the sweet spot dialed in. Would recommend getting the BV version if you go with the PM1440. If the 1340GT, consider adding a VFD for about $400 to the 3 phase model. A number of individuals have also gone to Set-Tru type or higher end type chucks, but the costs add up. If using 5C collets, consider a 5mt to 5C adapter from JFK Co Precision Products or for the 1340GT D1-4, a Lathemaster Tru-stting 5C.
 
Hank,
I have been quite happy with my PM1440E I posted tons of pics about it in an earlier thread http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/precision-mathews-pm1440e-lb-lathe.26414/ Matt told me it was basically the same machine as the B but without the step pulley from the motor to the spindle. Since the site was redone the pics are all very small.
I can only recall 3 things that I had to sort out with my lathe. 1) the forward/reverse switch was hooked up so that the lever up=forward which was backwards (Matt walked me through swapping the wires) 2)the plate the holds the tail stock in place was not machined well so it did not clamp the tail stock in place (quick clean up on the mill fixed). 3) the vernier dial for the cross slide was for a metric threaded machine. (Matt shipped me the correct part).
The stock chuck had very tight runout but I wanted the 2 piece jaws so I ordered a replacement. Not a problem, but something to be aware of.
Can't speak to the Taiwan lathes, but pretty much all of the 12x36-14x40 chinese lathes that I researched have difficult tension adjustment and really cheap v belts, so expect to do some amount of fiddling at some point there.
I'm happy with the wedge type qctp that came on my lathe (as a rank amateur) but of late the chinese BXA holders have been hard to get ahold of I suspect from spring festival shipping interruptions and the relative popularity of that size.
 
mksj said:
Thank you darkzero for posting this video, very informative/nice review.
Click to expand...

I once had my eye on the BV. The one thing I did not like about it which I did not know until that video, is the foot brake is not really a foot brake. It just cuts the power to the spindle. The foot brake on my 1236 is a real mechanical foot brake. In addition to cutting power, it engages a drum brake inside the spindle pulley.

Not really a deal breaker but I guess I'm spolied. My next lathe has to have a real foot brake too.
 
darkzero said:
I once had my eye on the BV. The one thing I did not like about it which I did not know until that video, is the foot brake is not really a foot brake. It just cuts the power to the spindle. The foot brake on my 1236 is a real mechanical foot brake. In addition to cutting power, it engages a drum brake inside the spindle pulley.

Not really a deal breaker but I guess I'm spolied. My next lathe has to have a real foot brake too.
Click to expand...

Are you sure its not electronically braked? For example I had a 19" band saw which tend to spool on forever with the large cast iron wheels. It had an electronic brake vs mechanical, there was something special about the motor as I recall, it was single phase. It would bring the band saw to a stop in under 3 seconds.
 
coolidge said:
Are you sure its not electronically braked? For example I had a 19" band saw which tend to spool on forever with the large cast iron wheels. It had an electronic brake vs mechanical, there was something special about the motor as I recall, it was single phase. It would bring the band saw to a stop in under 3 seconds.
Click to expand...

No, my lathe is stock single phase, no electronic VFD braking. I was not aware that you can eletronically brake a single phase AC motor. My foot brake has a bar connected to 2 brake shoes inside the double speed spindle pulley. The brake shoes look just like drum shoes on a truck/car, the pulley acts as the brake drum. The foot brake first engages a switch that cuts spindle power, then when you depress it more it engages the drum brake. I don't often use the brake to fully stop the spindle instantly from higher RPMs but I have & it has saved my ass.
 
darkzero said:
No, my lathe is stock single phase, no electronic VFD braking. I was not aware that you can eletronically brake a single phase AC motor. My foot brake has a bar connected to 2 brake shoes inside the double speed spindle pulley. The brake shoes look just like drum shoes on a truck/car, the pulley acts as the brake drum. The foot brake first engages a switch that cuts spindle power, then when you depress it more it engages the drum brake. I don't often use the brake to fully stop the spindle instantly from higher RPMs but I have & it has saved my ass.
Click to expand...
You can electrically brake a single-phase induction motor but it is not often done. You just apply DC to one of the windings. This makes it act as a generator, inducing current in the squirrel cage. It's shorted of course, so the kinetic energy of the spinning rotor is rapidly converted to heat.
 
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