Dream Machines?

[Ray C]

Any info on the 1340GT's yet? Are they still on schedule for the first part of May? I am hoping Matt saved one of the 932's that he had in stock for me to ship out with my 1340 when it shows up.

Mike.

Indeed, if you placed an order, it will be fulfilled... -Didn't ask about the arrival of 1340's but I can only assume they're in progress.

We'd like to think that all manufacturing and shipping goes like clockwork -but it frequently doesn't. It's the nature of the game and even if Matt had more warehouse space, it would not solve the problem of not being able to get enough machines faster...

Ray

 

[nickmckinney]

You seen one in person? How is the fit/finish? How do you think it compares with the Grizzly G0509G or the Jet 1440-W?

I definitely would prefer a Taiwanese machine, but of course, none of the above three are...

thanks.

Something I realized only recently, the 1440B and 1440E-LB are the only "smaller home shop type" lathes I am aware of that have 2" spindle bores. I was considering the G0509G myself until I saw this. Its a rare feature I never considered previously. The bed is not as wide so if you are going to do a ton of heavy work you should get a wider bed unit which is more industrial and usually is 3 phase too. I am about decided that one of the PM1440 2" bore is going to be our next shop lathe.

 

[wrmiller]

Next shop lathe?!? I thought this was a 'hobby' site! (just kidding...) :LOL:

 

[Ray C]

Something I realized only recently, the 1440B and 1440E-LB are the only "smaller home shop type" lathes I am aware of that have 2" spindle bores. I was considering the G0509G myself until I saw this. Its a rare feature I never considered previously. The bed is not as wide so if you are going to do a ton of heavy work you should get a wider bed unit which is more industrial and usually is 3 phase too. I am about decided that one of the PM1440 2" bore is going to be our next shop lathe.

This is true and thanks for putting the word out. These are good machines for advanced hobbyist and light industrial garage shop work. In the hands of a careful hobbyist, it will last a darn long time. They're not intended for constant heavy stock removal -for that, in the 1440 size-range, you're better off with something in the 3000lb range and 5HP or more. When used in their intended work envelop both are equally precise.

A general rule of thumb is that the largest diameter shaft a lathe can comfortably cut (assuming you have the proper horsepower) is 75% of the bed width. If you have a 10" wide bed and plenty of horsepower, it should be able to man-handle a 7.5" diameter shaft or pipe. When diameters exceed that guideline, the cutting forces are not pushing down on the carriage as much as they're pushing it away -and in general, that's not desirable. You can of-course cut all the way up to whatever fits but, DoC needs to be scaled back accordingly.

And FWIW, we just got some of the E, LB's in stock...

Ray

 

[Leagle]

You are correct regarding the fact that the PM machines are the only "hobby" level machines that have a 2" bore. This is one of the many reasons that I have decided to purchase a PM machine (1440BV). With Grizzly, you have to go with their HD machine to get a 2" bore and you will pay right at $10,000 for that machine. Anything else has a 1.625" bore. I have spent far more hours that is good for me and my productivity comparing PM and Grizzly and the PM wins no matter what criteria I use.

One thing I would like to point out. There have been some criticisms of the inability to speak with Matt at PM. (I have personally never had that problem.) This is unusual as in no other circumstance have I seen a situation where someone expects to speak with the CEO of any company. I have spoken with the folks at Grizzly a number of times. They are always available. They will always answer your questions. However, even with my level of knowledge (which is something less than that of the village idiot) I can tell that the answers being given are either "canned" or made with the purpose of satisfying you without providing any useful information. This is not to say that they are not good machines. I just think that the PM machines are a better value.

PM machines are at a "price break." You can buy "better machines," but plan to spend double when you do so.

 

[nickmckinney]

Next shop lathe?!? I thought this was a 'hobby' site! (just kidding...) :LOL:

I am more of a custom shop, this lathe will probably see 20 hours a month of use. I imagine many hobby guys log more hours than that on theirs. We just don't take in much outside work, most of my work is done at clients locations away from the shop. But when you need one man it sucks to be without. We moved a couple months ago and I let my buddy take my 1340, oops.......

 

[zmotorsports]

UPDATE to my previous post.

I thought I would correct my previous post on this thread. Originally I had ordered a PM-1340GT and a 932PDF but would have loved to have the 935TV but opted not to due to budget and space restrictions.

Well maybe it was a blessing in disguise that Matt did not have these machines in stock which caused me to wait and rethink things a bit. I never wavered on the purchase of the 1340GT as I fell in love with it from the start. Especially the fact that it is a Taiwanese machines which I think are a pretty good cut above and beyond the Chinese at the time. Nothing against the Chinese machines as they have sure come a long way over the past decade plus.

However, I kept getting a gut feeling that I wanted to get a small knee mill rather than a larger benchtop mill/drill and some of the issues that I have been hearing/reading about. Although maybe minor to some these issues were really unnerving to me and got me rethinking the benchtop mill/drill purchase. I want this to be my last lathe and mill purchase and want to get on to making chips vs. working towards getting something bigger or nicer down the road.

My wife has been awesome and wants me to be happy with my tool and equipment purchases, she always has been that way. She knows how anal I am and that I take extreme pride and care in my tools. We had agreed on how much from our savings we would spend on tooling/equipment when we decided to invest some money into upgrading our shop machining equipment. After speaking several times with Matt I decided to upgrade to the Taiwanese knee mill that he offers and get the purchase over with.

On Monday I spoke to Matt and changed my order to now encompass my "dream machines". I have a 1340GT lathe and a 935TV knee mill coming which will compliment my shop very nicely.

I will do a full review and report my impressions of the machines when I get them because the available information on the internet is very, very limited concerning these two machines. Hopefully I will be able to provide the needed information for anyone interested in either of these machines.

Mike.