The New 1340GT from PM

Havoc said:
Thanks Ray, after reading your post i feel much better about my 1340GT. I see that you have a PM-45M-CNC, I am looking to upgrade from my G0704, once i have the 1340Gt set up i will have to pick our brain about the Mill.

Danny
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CNC is a whole different can of worms. You can start-up a different thread and we can go-over all that in general terms, agnostic of brand/model/supplier etc.

As for the 1340GT, Matt sells around 150 per year and we've never had a serious issue and in all honesty, in the time I've been associated with Matt, I don't personally recall even any minor issues that would require more than 10-15 minutes of user time involving a screwdriver or allen wrench. Now do realize ALL lathes need to be setup properly when they arrive. No way can you expect a lathe to be aligned properly once it's been crated and shipped across a couple continents and a big ocean. Also, in days gone by, when lathes arrived at a customer site, a tech-rep would show-up and tidy-up the last minute details and do the alignment. Those days are gone and the user needs to perform that function.... Anyhow he ordered about 40 of them this last time around and only a handful are left. I'm sitting on a couple for people who are on the fence but Matt reserves the right to sell them if someone calls and puts money down.

For folks who are getting their first big lathe (or mill), relax, have a cup of coffee, take your time and enjoy the setup process. I can setup a lathe in one day but when I do it for myself, heck, I'll spread it out for as long as I want to. For folks who are first learning to use a lathe/mill and purchased something big like this, you've bitten-off a good bit of work for yourself. Go slow, and ask questions first and don't try to do everything all at one time. If possible, find a knowledgeable friend to help and of course, myself and others here can help too. This is not like buying a refrigerator at the big box store and it's not like buying a new car at the dealership. -Different nature in this game and totally different processes involved.

BTW, for CNC machines, the advise/recommendations are the same -but multiplied by a factor of 5 because there's about 5 times as much homework to do up-front.

Ray
 
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Hello, JPatMcConnel,
I'm expecting my 1340GT soon. I see that you've installed machine mounts on your 1340GT. Can you tell me what thread, English or Metric, the mount studs are? I want to install a set of the ball joint/vibration dampening type mounts due to my slightly sloped concrete floor. I 'd like to order them now from Enco so they are in hand when the lathe is delivered and set.
Good luck with your new lathe.
Thanks.
TFC
 
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TFC said:
Hello, JPatMcConnel,
I'm expecting my 1340GT soon. I see that you've installed machine mounts on your 1340GT. Can you tell me what thread, English or Metric, the mount studs are? I want to install a set of the ball joint/vibration dampening type mounts due to my slightly sloped concrete floor. I 'd like to order them now from Enco so they are in hand when the lathe is delivered and set.
Good luck with your new lathe.
Thanks.
TFC
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Doooh, I meant to get back to you on this... The recommended way is to use 5/8 threaded supports and put a nut and washer on top and bottom of the base -then, cinch down and lock it in place. The holes are about 3/4" diameter. Apparently there are some threaded holes too but, Matt recommends this method.


Ray
 
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I personally am not a big fan of the Mason mounts for machinery that needs to stay level. The Mason style mounts will give quite a bit, and throw the machine off level just by leaning on it. After some research I found out that they have a minimum amount that is required to "set" the mount so it doesn't flex under the load, and ideally it should be at least half way between the minimum and maximum. If I recall right the MLS 1000 mounts required a minimum of 500 lbs. each so if you use 4 then the machine should weigh a very minimum of 2000 lbs.
 
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tripletap3,
I hear what you're saying re. the "cushy" Mason type mounts and I agree. The Enco mounts I'm interested in don't have the thick pad as do the Masons. Just a very thin anti-skid bottom according to Enco. The ball joint action between the foot and the stud are what I need on my sloped floor to allow the foot of the mount to swivel or tilt to the angle of the floor while remaining 100% in contact with the floor. As far as vibration dampening, I don't really anticipate vibration at the speeds/feeds/doc's used in gunsmithing, especially, given the mass of the 1340GT. I never had such problems even with a lesser lathe so....
I have heard from another member in a p-m who has had the 1340GT for quite a while. He is using the studs and feet supplied with the lathe. He stated that they are sufficient for my requirement to level on a sloped floor as the stud and the foot are separate parts. The foot has a center drilled area to accept the stud which allows the foot to swivel on a sloped floor while keeping the stud inside of the center drilled area. Hopefully, those will be the type supplied with my lathe when it is delivered. There is a video on youtube of a fellow from another forum with a restored SB13 making a similar affair on that/for that SB13 lathe to replace Mason type mounts. However, I don't have time to machine my own mounts since I am severely in the weeds due to waiting on the 1340GT. Out of the box mounts will save me valuable time and no resetting the lathe to swap out mounts. Once the 1340GT is setup & broken in, it will be straight to the barrel work for which it was purchased and all else be ignored.... Although, I'll be forced to make my own outboard spider (a must have) since QMT no longer offers one.
Thanks.
TFC
 
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TFC said:
tripletap3,
I hear what you're saying re. the "cushy" Mason type mounts and I agree. The Enco mounts I'm interested in don't have the thick pad as do the Masons. Just a very thin anti-skid bottom according to Enco. The ball joint action between the foot and the stud are what I need on my sloped floor to allow the foot of the mount to swivel or tilt to the angle of the floor while remaining 100% in contact with the floor. As far as vibration dampening, I don't really anticipate vibration at the speeds/feeds/doc's used in gunsmithing, especially, given the mass of the 1340GT. I never had such problems even with a lesser lathe so....
I have heard from another member in a p-m who has had the 1340GT for quite a while. He is using the studs and feet supplied with the lathe. He stated that they are sufficient for my requirement to level on a sloped floor as the stud and the foot are separate parts. The foot has a center drilled area to accept the stud which allows the foot to swivel on a sloped floor while keeping the stud inside of the center drilled area. Hopefully, those will be the type supplied with my lathe when it is delivered. There is a video on youtube of a fellow from another forum with a restored SB13 making a similar affair on that/for that SB13 lathe to replace Mason type mounts. However, I don't have time to machine my own mounts since I am severely in the weeds due to waiting on the 1340GT. Out of the box mounts will save me valuable time and no resetting the lathe to swap out mounts. Once the 1340GT is setup & broken in, it will be straight to the barrel work for which it was purchased and all else be ignored.... Although, I'll be forced to make my own outboard spider (a must have) since QMT no longer offers one.
Thanks.
TFC
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I use my PM1236 exclusively for gunsmith work with the exception being making tools for gunsmith work. I built my own inboard and outboard spider and still plan to make a set of roller bearing fingers for my steady rest. BTW the ones that came with a Grizzly I use are sloppy and the bearings are junk so you need to make your own anyway. I had visions of lots of custom rifles but In all honesty most of what I end up doing are repairs and modifications to existing guns and I end up with all kinds of oddball shapes in the lathe so vibration is always a consideration. You also need a very solid base if you plan on using a bolt knob removing and threading fixture as it swings the bolt pretty far out. Works good but kind of scary. Because of vibration I ended up replacing my starter chucks with Fuerda Gators. In retrospect I think the TMX chucks are much nicer in the mid range chucks, but that is another story.
 
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Mike,
The TECO type you refer to are like the Enco mounts I was speaking of. Got your 1340GT yet?
TFC
 
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