PM-932M or PM-835S on the fence

[Skowinski]

Skowinski, are you limited on height? Where will you be putting the mill? Do you have 220V 1 or 3 phase power?

Not limited on height, 9 ft. ceiling in the shop. It's the overall footprint of the machine I'm looking at.

I'm trying to fit a lot in this 1100 sq. ft. space. There are 8 motorcycles, 2 motorcycle lifts, 2 eight ft. work benches, a 10x10 ft. "moto lounge" (couch, TV, first aid kit - I mean beer refrigerator), 2 lathes, small welding table, blasting cabinet, parts washer, several tool chests with top boxes... that's probably an incomplete list. It seemed like a really big space when I designed it during the house build but now I'm thinking I should have made it 1500 sq. ft. Ok, I'm out of control here LOL.

Here's a photo of the wall it's going on, right in the middle there. That tape measure is the x-axis full travel distance for the 932. A welding table will fit on the left, I think a small one.

I do have a 220V single phase 50 amp circuit there.

 

[9t8z28]

Swowinski nice shop. Looks like you got plenty of room there for a big machine.
whats that lathe in the pic?

 

[9t8z28]

This is why I went for geared head mill. Having the torque and rigidity to use a flycutter, bigger than 3/8” end mills, and drill big holes. I just flycut and then spotted and drilled this 13/16” hole and the machine didnt even break a sweat. When I got into machining I didn’t think I would ever need to make/machine anything big except for the rare occasion and I figured when I did I could work around it. That was true in many cases but it took a lot more effort to get there. This is where the bigger machine stands out. go with at least the 932. You got more than enough space. If you can wait, hold out for the 940.

 

[Skowinski]

Swowinski nice shop. Looks like you got plenty of room there for a big machine.
whats that lathe in the pic?

Thanks, the lathe is a 1950-something South Bend 9A cabinet model. I posted some stuff about the rebuild here:

South Bend 9" Cabinet Model Rebuild

Way back in late July I looked at a SB9 and asked a bunch of questions here. Thanks to everyone who helped me out. I ended up buying it and now that it's fully rebuilt and function thought I'd post up a bit of the history of the project. I spent about 6 months working an hour here or there in...

www.hobby-machinist.com

Woke up this morning and had a PM mill and accessories picked out, mouse pointer hovering over the "Add To Cart" button... and backed away. LOL, at least I'm getting closer!

 

[wrmiller]

Last comment: You are the one who will be using the machine, so get what you want. Not what others tell you should want or need. Because once the money is spent, the experts here who are telling you what to buy will leave, go on about their lives, and completely forget about you and your machine choice. It happens all the time.

 

[d-haywood0921]

Interested to hear/read more about the 932... still think it might be more mill than I need, but probably better to go a bit overboard than to end up with something undersized and underpowered.

I've been all over the place since I decided to get a bench style mill. I've looked at and considered just about every PM model except the 25 now, sheesh.

I just received a PM932 and I'm just cleaning it up. I have not used it to cut anything yet but I have checked all functions to see if they work. I have never owned a mill before but I bought a PM 1030 lathe and have been very pleased with it so far. I have not been as happy with the PM932. My biggest complaints so far are the quality of the castings the base drip tray is full of Bondo. During the process of installing the mill on the base, I used a pry bar to move the two parts together. The edges of the drip trip now have numerous places where chunks are broken off and/or gouges into the tray itself. When I was looking at the bed I saw both ends have some black waxy substance in the pocket area on each end. On further inspection, I found Bondo under the waxy substance filling holes and gouges in the milled surface. Needless to say, I'm not pleased with what I'm seeing. I don't know if this is normal because as I said this is my first mill. I'm hoping the operations of the machine will be better than the quality of the finish.

 

[wrmiller]

You bought a Chinese machine. It should be functional, but it likely won't be pretty. I wasn't worried about pretty, but I wanted better quality castings, machining, and accuracy than I'd get with the Chinese machines (I've owned a few...) which is why I spent the extra money for the Taiwan machines. But not everyone worries about that.

 

[d-haywood0921]

Unfortunately for me, I didn't know/realize there was such a difference between Chinese and Taiwanese machines. Based on your apparent knowledge of these machines is there anything I need to do with these pits in the castings before can you the machine? I am especially concerned about the spill tray with the holes in the Bondo through the paint when and if I use coolant and oil and grease even if I don't.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Skowinski]

Unfortunately for me, I didn't know/realize there was such a difference between Chinese and Taiwanese machines. Based on your apparent knowledge of these machines is there anything I need to do with these pits in the castings before can you the machine? I am especially concerned about the spill tray with the holes in the Bondo through the paint when and if I use coolant and oil and grease even if I don't.
Thanks for your help.

Sorry to hear you've got problems with your machine. And, thanks for posting, it's information like this I need to help with a decision.

 

[wrmiller]

Unfortunately for me, I didn't know/realize there was such a difference between Chinese and Taiwanese machines. Based on your apparent knowledge of these machines is there anything I need to do with these pits in the castings before can you the machine? I am especially concerned about the spill tray with the holes in the Bondo through the paint when and if I use coolant and oil and grease even if I don't.
Thanks for your help.

Personally, I'd re-paint any exposed bondo with a oil-resistant paint to help protect it when I started using the machine. Voids in the ways themselves are just pockets for extra oil IMO.

I'm not sure if this is the 'correct' way of doing things, but it is what I'd do.