PM935TV

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parshal

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I'm thinking of getting a larger mill than my LMS benchtop. I want more table size and, mostly, travel. I want VFD, power x-axis and a DRO.

My 1340GT is 3-phase and I installed Mark's VFD. I see the 935 can be ordered with single or 3-phase, both with a VFD. Is there an advantage to one over the other? Should I get 3-phase and put on my own VFD? I'd really rather not spend the time doing that if I can help it.

Thoughts for those that have done this?
 
This is just my opinion/reasoning:

I already had a 1340GT lathe, and wanted to upgrade to a knee mill. I went with the 935TS 3-phase, and bought the VFD from Matt at the same time.

I chose the stepped head mill because I didn't want the complexity and expense of rebuilding a Reeves drive sometime down the road, and I knew from experience that belt-driven heads are much quieter, smoother, and simpler contrivances.

I have one of Mark's control setups on my 1340, but I went ahead and did the mill myself as it is much simpler than the lathe setup. Basically it was a control box, some switches, and a pot.

Matt gave me the idea of mounting the VFD inside the mill base on the inside of the inspection plate. Keeps it from getting chips and whatnot on it.
 
I have some views to share on this, but first I’d like to know if you have any experience at all using a J-head mill, and if you do, how much time on one and which knee mill you have used.
 
I've never used a knee mill myself. I've watched a couple in use years ago. I have a simple LMS Sieg-type mill now.

Basically, I want more stability than one on a bench and I want to take bigger cuts and have a larger table. I hate pecking at things with this little mill.

Bill, that's interesting. I've not gotten that far into this yet to figure out potential future headaches.

It's good to hear a VFD install is simpler for the lathe. I really don't want to go building a box and all the other stuff for it like I did for the lathe. It's not that it's difficult but those hours need to be used doing other stuff this spring/summer.
 
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parshal said:
I've never used a knee mill myself. I've watched a couple in use years ago. I have a simple LMS Sieg-type mill now.

Basically, I want more stability than one on a bench and I want to take bigger cuts and have a larger table. I hate pecking at things with this little mill.

Bill, that's interesting. I've not gotten that far into this yet to figure out potential future headaches.

It's good to hear a VFD install is simpler for the lathe. I really don't want to go building a box and all the other stuff for it like I did for the lathe. It's not that it's difficult but those hours need to be used doing other stuff this spring/summer.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by 'bigger cuts'?

Prior to my 935 I had a 9x40 bed/bench mill that I could bury a 5/8" rougher end mill in chrome molly and I don't think the mill even knew it was chewing on something. Blue/black chips and burned up the cutter though. Stout mill. I won't do that with my 935. It may handle it, or it may not. I honestly don't know. But I didn't buy this mill to do serious metal hogging. I mostly build pistols and make hobby stuff. I have 1/2" roughers (coarse and fine) that I use when making fixtures and whatnot. For most of my 'smithing I use 3/8" and smaller end mills.

The main reason I 'upgraded' from my 9x40 to the 935 was to get the knee and a articulating head assy that I could easily set angles and tram. :)
 
I think I'm limited in my cuts due to the less than rigid bench. I could build a stronger bench but I'd still be limited in my table size. I need more X axis travel. Setting angles would be wonderful as well.

I don't build pistols but do my own rifles. For starters, I want to have enough table to mill the barrel channel. But, in the end, I just want something bigger.
 
Before you make a decision, don't discount the larger more advanced benchtop mills with their factory supplied base. READ the attached before you decide on a PM-935. If you'd like more information, let me know.
 

Attachments

  • Benchtop versus Compact Knee Mill 12-2021.pdf
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parshal said:
I think I'm limited in my cuts due to the less than rigid bench. I could build a stronger bench but I'd still be limited in my table size. I need more X axis travel. Setting angles would be wonderful as well.

I don't build pistols but do my own rifles. For starters, I want to have enough table to mill the barrel channel. But, in the end, I just want something bigger.
Click to expand...

Over the years I've found that gunsmithing isn't hard on machines. There is no 'hogging' massive amounts of material in gunsmithing. IMO accuracy and the ability/flexability to do different setups is more important. For me, the knee and articulating head makes a night-and-day difference. Is my 935 as rigid as my old CO 9x40? No. But for what I do, it's rigid enough. YMMV. :)

I've built pistols on a LMS mill. And on a tiny Sherline. That is not something I'd recommend to most people though.

If I were doing more rifle than pistol work, I'd want a longer table. Something like a 949TV maybe? Just a suggestion.
 
parshal said:
Keep the info coming. I do not not have my mind made up on any particular machine.

Here’s what I have now so you can see how much more I need. I want the size to complement the 1340GT.

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3990

I’m sure I can build a stouter bench.
Click to expand...

I had that mill. I even put a DroPros DRO on it. :)

The difference between that and a 935 is night and day, even though I consider the 935 a 'light duty mill'. But then I consider my 1340GT to be a 'light duty lathe' also. :D

OK, so knowing what I know now:

If space and/or money were a constraint and I needed to go with a bench mill, I'd buy the 833TV. Small, decent weight/rigidity, and Taiwan quality. Put a good DRO on it, and a power feed on both the Z and X axis

If I had the space for a small footprint knee mill, the 935 is still my choice. It's work envelope compliments the 1340GT nicely IMO.

Funds and space permitting, I'd go for the 949 Taiwan mill. I'd consider this the largest mill that would 'complement' the work envelope of the 1340GT. But that's just my opinion. Especially if I was doing long-gun work like fluting barrels and whatnot.


Just daydreaming here, but if I had the space and funds I'd have Matt's 10x54TS mill, his 14x40TL lathe, and a Sharp 1118H lathe to work on the small stuff. Not to make massive cuts, but to get the increased work envelope, stability and accuracy.

Let us know what you decide to get! :D
 
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