pm 25 questions

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bosephus

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i did some calculations today and realized i am not to far off from being able to buy a mill , so its time to do some real thinking and decide exactly what mill i want .
i have decided that the pm25mv / grizzlyg0704 size mill is what i want . the pm mill has a few features such as the better brush-less motor and belt drive that to me seem to make it well worth the extra money over the grizzly . plus the pm warehouse/store is close enough i could pick it up any maybe save a few bucks on freight .

but there is one thing grizzly offers that is very attractive to me ... a ready made power feed for the table .
i have looked around a bit and i cant find anything on adding a power feed to the pm machine ... excepting the cnc conversions of course .
i dont see any type of cnc conversion in my future ... but i sure can see a power feed down the road .

what are feasible options for adding the power feed to the pm25 ... will the grizzly unit adapt without to much hassle ,.. or is there maybe other alternatives out there for a power feed .
 
bosephus said:
i did some calculations today and realized i am not to far off from being able to buy a mill , so its time to do some real thinking and decide exactly what mill i want .
i have decided that the pm25mv / grizzlyg0704 size mill is what i want . the pm mill has a few features such as the better brush-less motor and belt drive that to me seem to make it well worth the extra money over the grizzly . plus the pm warehouse/store is close enough i could pick it up any maybe save a few bucks on freight .

but there is one thing grizzly offers that is very attractive to me ... a ready made power feed for the table .
i have looked around a bit and i cant find anything on adding a power feed to the pm machine ... excepting the cnc conversions of course .
i dont see any type of cnc conversion in my future ... but i sure can see a power feed down the road .

what are feasible options for adding the power feed to the pm25 ... will the grizzly unit adapt without to much hassle ,.. or is there maybe other alternatives out there for a power feed .
Click to expand...


I believe that there are some minor differences, but wrmiller (Bill) has a PM-25 with a power feed, from the pictures he has posted it looks like it is the Grizzly unit. I have the PM-25MV and am very happy with it. I think I would opt for a DRO before a power feed, as I am a complete noob to the metal working world. I don't mind cranking the handle yet, but we will see. Matt is a great guy and has provided great service. The PM also has a 3 year warranty, which is a major bonus given the Asian electronics which are notorious for poor longevity.
 
you bring up a couple good points , one of them is the customer service , i cant find anything negative there . and the warranty , i had not even really considered it
but that is a huge plus with the chinese electronics as you pointed out .

i do think along the lines of a dro coming long before a power feed as well , just trying to think everything threw before i pull the trigger .
 
I have the earlier version (I had to add my own belt drive) PM25 and while the major differences are the BLDC motor, belt drive, and column design I'm not sure the table is exactly the same. It looks like it is, but a cursory look can be deceiving. If it is (the same), the G0704 power feed is a direct bolt on.

If you could post a closeup of the bolt pattern on the left end of your table I can compare it to mine and see if there are any major differences.
 
wrmiller19 said:
I have the earlier version (I had to add my own belt drive) PM25 and while the major differences are the BLDC motor, belt drive, and column design I'm not sure the table is exactly the same. It looks like it is, but a cursory look can be deceiving. If it is (the same), the G0704 power feed is a direct bolt on.

If you could post a closeup of the bolt pattern on the left end of your table I can compare it to mine and see if there are any major differences.
Click to expand...


Hey Bill,

Here are some pictures of the left side of my table.

IMG_0196.JPGIMG_0195.JPGIMG_0194.JPG

IMG_0196.JPG IMG_0195.JPG IMG_0194.JPG
 
There are slight differences between the g0704 and the pm25, one of them is the placement of the holes for the bolts and pins for the end plates. I have come to find out the hardway that the are hand drilled and no two are identical, that is why that end plate has slots, so they can adjust for misalignment. On my machine, one pin hole is at a downward angle, and another is drilled with an angle towards the back. I am sure you can make the power feed work but you might have to tweak it a bit to fit
 
I've included a pic of the left end of the table on my PM25 with the handle and bearing carrier removed. My bolt heads are 1" below the table surface like yours, but as you can see the roll pin locations are slightly different. But that doesn't matter as you only use the bolts to install the power feed anyway. :)

As was said there may be some minor 'tweaking' involved, but I'd be very surprised if it was much at all.

DSCN4172.JPG

DSCN4172.JPG
 
woo hoo on the new software ..

thanks guys , big help so far .. a bit of tweaking to adapt the grizzly power feed wont bother me any now that i am sure it can be rather easily used .

i have noticed the mention of the column , or at least how it attaches being different then the grizzly , can anyone maybe give a general idea whats different .
not that it will affect my decision any i am pretty well convinced that the pm machine is the way to go .
the power feed was the only obstacle left to making up my mind .

i have also read a bit about a three bolt conversion that used to have to be done to the older grizzly machines , but was later done by the factory .. i want to throw a guess out in the wind and assume this was something also taken care of with the pm machines as well ?
 
Not sure if the new PM machines have the 3-bolt mod already on them or not. Brooks can answer that one. Mine didn't, but it really isn't that big a deal to do yourself. :)

My column attaches to the back of the base, just like the column for the G0704 does. The new PM25MV has a flange on the bottom of the column and sits on top of the base. Mine is easier to tram in X, and the new column is easier to tram in Y. :D

Some people believe the new one may be stiffer, but mine has more surface/contact area at the column/base interface. I doubt there is a significant difference between the two, but that is just my opinion.
 
There are 4 bolts that secure the column to the base. The 3 bolt mod is not included and on my list of to do projects. The single bolt that is supplied is a piece of junk. Mine came stripped from the factory. I replaced it with a higher grade bolt and have had no problems since. I have not noticed significant flex but I have also been taking it very easy so far as I am such a noob. I have to stop buying equipment and start doing projects. I have a whole bunch of material being delivered this week! And plan to make a brass hammer and a knurling tool over the next couple weeks.
 
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