Thinking on buying a PM 1340GT

MattM

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H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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I sold my Clausing/Colchester at an obscene profit and am looking to replace it. What's the word on the PM 1340 GT?
 
What do you think you'll hear when asking in the Church of PM?

To get truly objective input means going to as many home machinist sites to read what everyone's recommending. Going to any brand-specific forum highly biases what you'll hear.
 
I'm not sure I agree with this, KB58. From what I've seen from the experienced PM lathe owners here, they tend to be quite honest about the shortcomings of their lathes. I'm not talking about a new guy with a few months under his belt; I'm talking about an experienced lathe operator with enough time at the lathe so they know the significance of a defect when they see it.

The reality is that you do not know a lathe until you've lived with it for some time. Once you do and know that something is not up to par, there is no benefit to hiding those shortcomings. On the contrary, the stuff I've seen tends to be nitpicky and they point out every single thing they find to be substandard.

When I look into buying a machine, I want to hear from actual users. I agree that you should find these opinions wherever you find them but there is a concentration of PM owners here and it is simple enough to PM them if you need more info. I feel the majority of the PM owners here will have the integrity to be honest, especially when a fellow member is contemplating a major purchase.

Another benefit is that Matt, the owner of PM, also posts here and addresses issues as they arise; that is a major plus in my book.

I do not own a PM machine but I am a long-time HM member (yes, I am biased towards this site) and if I wanted to know about a machine, I would actually trust the guys here before I would trust some guys I don't know at another site.
 
Not sure how I should reply to this, or if it is even worth my time. I'll bet my lunch money that kb58 has no clue about PM machines, but he's already decided what people own them are like. I think you wasted your time Mikey. ;)
 
Not sure how I should reply to this, or if it is even worth my time. I'll bet my lunch money that kb58 has no clue about PM machines, but he's already decided what people own them are like. I think you wasted your time Mikey. ;)

kb58 just got a new PM mill but I'm not sure which lathe he owns.

@kb58, I'm not getting on your case. Just wanted to express the opinion that I think the guys here will tell you straight up if there is a problem with their PM machines. I own an Emco Super 11 CD lathe and while I think it is a vastly superior product compared to an Asian lathe, it isn't perfect either. I have over 30 years on a lathe and over 5 years on this Emco lathe and know every single shortcoming it has, and I'll tell you if you ask.
 
Hope you eat lunch at expensive places!

Anyway, fair enough, seems that makes two of us making groundless assertions.
 
There is a hole in my heart and my shop. The Clausing just went down the drive. It was/is a good machine.. it went to a friend who will appreciate it.

Now there is a stack of C-notes burning a hole in my pocket.

I noticed a few people said low speed was too high for comfortable threading. Not a problem as I do most of my threading on my 10EE.
 
Hope you eat lunch at expensive places!

Anyway, fair enough, seems that makes two of us making groundless assertions.

It wasn't much of a bet, as I had to retire early and I'm poor now. McDonalds OK? :)

And my apologies for my assumptions. But I'm curious as to why you think PM owners are only going to go on about how great they are? I'm sure there are True Believers out there regarding the PMs. There sure are a bunch of them in the SB or the 'made in USA' camps, but the PM owners I know/have talked to are not like that. Could just be my experiences though.

Just curious.
 
MattM: I have a early 1340GT. Overall I am pleased with the lathe. Mine is a 3ph with a VFD on it. But there are some things I didn't like.

The sheetmetal stands on the early models are pretty flimsy, but I hear the newer ones are better. Last I heard, Matt won't sell the new stands separately to those wanting one, but that may have changed now. The spindle hole in the geartrain cover is not centered on the spindle bore. It's a minor thing that I will get to one of these days. The oiling system for the Norton gearbox is not that great. Some folks have modified theirs and some even put a one-shot oil system on it. It's on my list. Some chips in the paint in various places, but I expect those.

I set up the late two years ago when I moved here. I check it periodically for alignment. Last time I checked about 6 months ago, I was out abut 3 tenths over a 10" span. Good enough for what I do. As for threading, I can't speak much to that as most threading I do is finer pitch (last was 40 tpi) and I actually have to speed up the lathe as I get bored waiting for the cut to finish. I also get a better finish with a little higher rpm. About 150-200 is what I use.
 
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I was going to buy a PM 1340GT, then I found my Clausing Colchester 15.
I love it.
From what I read in this forum, the PM 1340GT is a very good lathe.
 
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