PM 728VT question

Yota,
For the record I also own a PM728-VT. I started Machining back in 1980. I was 11 years in the Army, and had the 44e MOS (Machinist).
I will acknowledge that each person's experience creates a different lens to view their beliefs. There is a measure of validity to everyone's observations. I believe people tend to be true to their experiences, so I tend to not disregard any opinion without a full view of their life experience.
 
sounds like a pretty solid resume. are you happy with your 728? does it do everything you need it to?
 
yota said:
sounds like a pretty solid resume. are you happy with your 728? does it do everything you need it to?
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Yes, but my scale of use is not making large parts. I selected it to be large enough to be a partner for the other smaller equipment in my shop. I would not try to do Head work on a big block v-8, but I would consider perfectly fine for headwork on a motorcycle. For a reference, my lathe handles much smaller parts than this Mill. But I looked at all my potential operations, and realized the lathe didn't need to handle parts as big, as the mill potentially needed to. I bought the bare-bone mill, and added the X-Axis feed, and a third-party Digital read out (Precision Matthews did not have the DRO option, or the stand in stock) The lack of a stand originally displeased me, until I realized it opened the door for me to make my own steel table to support other tasks too (like a serious vice, which will use the weight of the mill to stabilize the table).

The first question you always ask before you buy any machining tool (lathes, mills, shapers, saws, etc), is "how big (x,y,z) of a piece of material will I ever want to machine. Then think about the "kind" of thing you want to do. Does the tool support all of the machining operation I will likely need to make that part. This mill met all of my needs, but you will need to make that determination for yourself.

I also Weld, so that helps with the equation. So, if I want to make something Big, can it be fabricated in reasonable length pieces (or be clamped and allowed to hang off the tool table), and process/machine the critical parts of the item. Sometimes the real art of fabrication can be the ability to break down a project into "bite sized chunks". Then I weld the pieces together, that also reduces the amount of stock needed to make some shapes.
 
I just got off the phone with Jeff at PM and made the switch to the 932M-PDF. it will be in next week and will ship the 16th. it comes with PDF, X axis power feed and Z axis positioning motor. I didn't really want the PDF but they are not getting any of the non PDF model for a few months apparently.

Thanks to everyone who gave advice and participated in this decision and you'll be happy that the whining will now end. :)
 
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