As new as can be

[AbitNutzT00]

I'm looking at the PR-833T or PR-833TV. This is strictly for home use and is right in my budget when I factor in all the ancillary things I'm sure I don't realize I'll have to buy. I've read the descriptions of the two but having never used any milling machine I have no idea which one would be better for fairly light work. I don't care about noise being somewhat deaf as it is...gunfire doncha know. Variable speed as a general rule seems to be a good idea but so does gear drive vs belts. If anyone wants to advise an ignorant boob it would be greatly appreciated. Once bought. I'll be back asking about a P/P lathe....

 

[davidpbest]

The attached might help you in understanding some of the basics and tradeoffs.

 

[B2]

I'm looking at the PR-833T or PR-833TV. This is strictly for home use

Ohio, looks like you are only about a 3-4 hour drive from PM in Pittsburgh. You could go to PM and look at them. I live in Pittsburgh and I have driven to Columbus a lot of times.

I have a gear driven mill and some times I wish I had the belt driven version. The heads for the belt systems usually are lighter in weight and it is possible to have a head that is too heavy. The gears and the oil add weight. Anyway, either of these machines are probably pretty good. It looks like the belt driven version will operate at higher spindle speeds, which is usually desirable, especially, for smaller machines. Drilling a small hole usually uses a higher RPM. I commonly drill a < 1/8" dia hole at close to 2000 RPM. The PM manual says the VT has a VFD to vary the speed but does not say a lot more about it. Anyway, this is good. Usually a VFD version will cost you more so it is not clear why these two are the same price?

 

[Janderso]

I'm looking at the PR-833T or PR-833TV. This is strictly for home use and is right in my budget when I factor in all the ancillary things I'm sure I don't realize I'll have to buy. I've read the descriptions of the two but having never used any milling machine I have no idea which one would be better for fairly light work. I don't care about noise being somewhat deaf as it is...gunfire doncha know. Variable speed as a general rule seems to be a good idea but so does gear drive vs belts. If anyone wants to advise an ignorant boob it would be greatly appreciated. Once bought. I'll be back asking about a P/P lathe....

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Dabbler]

Welcome to the forum. Frankly it is no longer necessary (or from my perspective) desirable to have a mechanical variable speed milling head. VFDs do a better job. I have 2 mills with VFDs and one mill with a variable speed head, and that is also on a VFD, as I prefer using the VFD.

When I sell the one mill I'll convert it back to single phase and sell it that way and keep the VFD.

What you should base your purchase on primarily is work envelope and rigidity. It takes a lot of skill to use a mill that is less rigid, and people with that high a skill will buy the most rigid mill they can get.

Consider the work you will primarily do. that is the key. I can use a fly cutter to surface a large plate on a mill/drill, but a mill/drill won't do precision work wuith 3/4 inch cutters or neutral rake insert face mills. My big First mill can easily handle a 6" inserted face mill, but it might be far more mill than you acutally need. Truth is, any mill in the 2000 lb range will likely be rigid enough to do a very wide range of work, and it would take a lifetime to outgrow it.