Let me start by saying I have no affiliation with Precision Matthews, I am simply a customer. Thought I would write up a review on various aspects of the company, and the products I purchased through them. I will try to be as unbiased as I can.
Background
I purchased a PM-932 with the power down feed option for my garage based hobby shop. A couple months later it turned into a garage based part time job, then about a year after that, I moved into a small shop as a full time job in the general fabrication industry. While the mill went through periods of "heavy" milling, using 3/4" roughers with speeds & feeds as high as the machine would allow, it was primarily used as a glorified drill press and precision hole placement machine. I occasionally used it for fly cutting and facing, both of which in my opinion exceed the mills spindle capacity, unless you're using it to for a very light skim cut.
Initial Purchase
I was a BIG cheapskate initially. I wanted something new, didn't want to have to deal with used, and the PM932 was the best bang for the buck out there, and I was looking for every possible way to save a couple bucks. I probably had over 30 different messages back and forth to Matt over at Precision Matthews and he patiently answered all my questions, offered a 2% discount if I mailed in a check, and threw in a free starter pack for the mill even though that promotion had technically expired. I was very satisfied with the initial customer service to say the least. Mill was on back order so I had to wait a few weeks before it came in.
Initial Machine Review
I will say I knew nothing about milling when I got this machine. My only experience prior to this mill was using a Smithy 3-in-1 machine where the motor would stall if you tried to move too fast with a 1/4" end mill. Even that machine I only used a couple times. My first project was milling a pocket out of 3/8" thick 304 stainless steel. Great beginners job!
I broke every single end mill that came with the mill before I finally started learning. A few youtube videos and lots of experience later, I had some of the basics down. The mill definitely has it's limitations, but with patience and the right speeds and feeds (appropriate for the mill), most anything can be accomplished on this bad boy. As previously stated, I purchased the power down feed option. I only used this a couple times. It wasn't that much extra and I figured I'd rather have the extra capabilities. Looking back now, I would not have purchased it. I prefer hand feeding drill bits, and I never did figure out how to bore properly (could be the cheap tool that I bought) so the surface finish was just as crappy when I used the power down feed as when I fed it manually. But that's my own fault. As for the starter pack, I think the collets were the only things that survived. Throw the vise away. The thing split in half after a couple weeks. 6" Kurt vises can be found used for pretty cheap. I was too cheap to pay for the DRO to be installed by PM, so I bought my own from TPAC Tools. I'm happy with TPAC and the DRO, but installation was a pain. For only a couple hundred extra bucks I could have had a nicer DRO installed by people who do this on a daily basis. If you are looking at a PM mill, pay the extra bucks and have them install the DRO. Unless you enjoy that kind of stuff... Also, I do not believe the machine has a coolant option, but it is VERY easy to install coolant. I think I purchased a pump, hoses, and NOGA magnetic coolant base and flexible hose system for less than $50, and had it all installed in less than an hour. I just put a large plastic bin inside the base and used a cheap Chinese fountain pump for the pump. It pumped out way more than I needed it to, but the flow rate is adjustable at the hose. I plugged the pump into a cheap on/off foot pedal switch to control the coolant. Though looking back, flood coolant on manual mills like this is awful. It makes a huge mess! It definitely has it's applications, but I now prefer just a simple spray bottle.
Final Machine Review
Well I outgrew the mill and needed something that could get the job done more efficiently and faster. So 3 years after the initial purchase, I sold the machine. One of the best parts about this mill was the resale value! I was not expecting this at all, but I listed the machine for sale for $1,500 and it sold for the asking price that same day! I had tons of people calling me from all across the country asking if it was still available. One person told me I had it up for sale for way too cheap. So I only had 3 years of experience on this mill. Even though the second half of it's life with me was used in an industrial application, it rarely saw industrial use. As previously stated, it was often used as just a drill press, So I really didn't get to really put it to the test. But here's what went bad and when and what happened with it:
The quill DRO went out on me after the first 6 months. I contacted PM about it, they said they would send me one right away and it never came. Contacted them again, they apologized and said they thought it had already been sent out so they again said it would be sent out right away. Still never showed up. I had an old scale type DRO very similar to the ones on the quill installed by PM, so I just cut down the scale to fit and swapped it out myself. This wasn't a big deal to me.
Mill started leaking oil at the quill right around 2-1/2 years. I contacted PM, they told me it was the spindle seals and sent me a new set right away. This one actually showed up 3 days later and they sent me the link here to the instructions. After seeing how much work it was, I opted to let it leak. It was a very slow leak anyway.
I broke both the X and Y-axis handles by year 2. This was primarily due to the set screw on the handles coming loose and the handles falling off. After 2 years of the handles falling to the floor, they were both broken and unusable. I inquired about the price for new handles at the same time the spindle seals went bad and they sent me two new handles for free. I offered to at least pay shipping and they refused. The shafts the handles go on have threaded holes at the end, I recommend putting a screw and washer in right away to further help prevent the handles from falling off! Not sure if these were originally included or not. Maybe I accidentally threw them away.
Start capacitor went bad right at year 3. I blame this one on my machinist as he was using the mill for power tapping and kept turning the mill on and off, forward to reverse very rapidly for several days. These motors aren't meant for that. I contacted PM about it, they told me it was the start capacitor, and offered to ship a new one or they gave me the specs to the capacitor and said any motor shop should have a replacement for cheap if I wanted it up and running that day. PM had been good to me so I told them I would buy it locally. Stopped by the local motor shop and they said the capacitor was a very strange size and they had nothing in stock to replace it. Contacted PM again, this time I told them I wanted to pay for the item and shipping to make sure I got the right replacement part. They refused and shipped me out a new one for free. Well the part got lost in the mail, so I went back to the motor shop after a couple weeks, there was a different guy there, and he almost instantly pulled out a replacement capacitor that would work. It cost $8 I think and took me all of 5 minutes to replace it. The start capacitor from PM did show up a couple weeks ago in a box from Global Industrial.
Overall
Overall I have to say that the saying "you get what you pay for" does not exactly apply here. Yes, it's true these are Chinese machines, they're not the highest quality, but relatively speaking, this machine is cheaper than the other mills of similar size and yet I have a hard time believing any of the other companies would offer the quality of customer service as offered at Precision Matthews. They are a great group of people (I've dealt with 3 of them), very honest, and I truly felt as though they had my best interest in mind. If you are looking for hobby grade mill, the PM-932 is the way to go. If you are looking for a production mill, or something to save you time, look into an older, used machine. Just my two cents.
Thanks a lot Precision Matthews!
Background
I purchased a PM-932 with the power down feed option for my garage based hobby shop. A couple months later it turned into a garage based part time job, then about a year after that, I moved into a small shop as a full time job in the general fabrication industry. While the mill went through periods of "heavy" milling, using 3/4" roughers with speeds & feeds as high as the machine would allow, it was primarily used as a glorified drill press and precision hole placement machine. I occasionally used it for fly cutting and facing, both of which in my opinion exceed the mills spindle capacity, unless you're using it to for a very light skim cut.
Initial Purchase
I was a BIG cheapskate initially. I wanted something new, didn't want to have to deal with used, and the PM932 was the best bang for the buck out there, and I was looking for every possible way to save a couple bucks. I probably had over 30 different messages back and forth to Matt over at Precision Matthews and he patiently answered all my questions, offered a 2% discount if I mailed in a check, and threw in a free starter pack for the mill even though that promotion had technically expired. I was very satisfied with the initial customer service to say the least. Mill was on back order so I had to wait a few weeks before it came in.
Initial Machine Review
I will say I knew nothing about milling when I got this machine. My only experience prior to this mill was using a Smithy 3-in-1 machine where the motor would stall if you tried to move too fast with a 1/4" end mill. Even that machine I only used a couple times. My first project was milling a pocket out of 3/8" thick 304 stainless steel. Great beginners job!
I broke every single end mill that came with the mill before I finally started learning. A few youtube videos and lots of experience later, I had some of the basics down. The mill definitely has it's limitations, but with patience and the right speeds and feeds (appropriate for the mill), most anything can be accomplished on this bad boy. As previously stated, I purchased the power down feed option. I only used this a couple times. It wasn't that much extra and I figured I'd rather have the extra capabilities. Looking back now, I would not have purchased it. I prefer hand feeding drill bits, and I never did figure out how to bore properly (could be the cheap tool that I bought) so the surface finish was just as crappy when I used the power down feed as when I fed it manually. But that's my own fault. As for the starter pack, I think the collets were the only things that survived. Throw the vise away. The thing split in half after a couple weeks. 6" Kurt vises can be found used for pretty cheap. I was too cheap to pay for the DRO to be installed by PM, so I bought my own from TPAC Tools. I'm happy with TPAC and the DRO, but installation was a pain. For only a couple hundred extra bucks I could have had a nicer DRO installed by people who do this on a daily basis. If you are looking at a PM mill, pay the extra bucks and have them install the DRO. Unless you enjoy that kind of stuff... Also, I do not believe the machine has a coolant option, but it is VERY easy to install coolant. I think I purchased a pump, hoses, and NOGA magnetic coolant base and flexible hose system for less than $50, and had it all installed in less than an hour. I just put a large plastic bin inside the base and used a cheap Chinese fountain pump for the pump. It pumped out way more than I needed it to, but the flow rate is adjustable at the hose. I plugged the pump into a cheap on/off foot pedal switch to control the coolant. Though looking back, flood coolant on manual mills like this is awful. It makes a huge mess! It definitely has it's applications, but I now prefer just a simple spray bottle.Final Machine Review
Well I outgrew the mill and needed something that could get the job done more efficiently and faster. So 3 years after the initial purchase, I sold the machine. One of the best parts about this mill was the resale value! I was not expecting this at all, but I listed the machine for sale for $1,500 and it sold for the asking price that same day! I had tons of people calling me from all across the country asking if it was still available. One person told me I had it up for sale for way too cheap. So I only had 3 years of experience on this mill. Even though the second half of it's life with me was used in an industrial application, it rarely saw industrial use. As previously stated, it was often used as just a drill press, So I really didn't get to really put it to the test. But here's what went bad and when and what happened with it:
The quill DRO went out on me after the first 6 months. I contacted PM about it, they said they would send me one right away and it never came. Contacted them again, they apologized and said they thought it had already been sent out so they again said it would be sent out right away. Still never showed up. I had an old scale type DRO very similar to the ones on the quill installed by PM, so I just cut down the scale to fit and swapped it out myself. This wasn't a big deal to me.
Mill started leaking oil at the quill right around 2-1/2 years. I contacted PM, they told me it was the spindle seals and sent me a new set right away. This one actually showed up 3 days later and they sent me the link here to the instructions. After seeing how much work it was, I opted to let it leak. It was a very slow leak anyway.
I broke both the X and Y-axis handles by year 2. This was primarily due to the set screw on the handles coming loose and the handles falling off. After 2 years of the handles falling to the floor, they were both broken and unusable. I inquired about the price for new handles at the same time the spindle seals went bad and they sent me two new handles for free. I offered to at least pay shipping and they refused. The shafts the handles go on have threaded holes at the end, I recommend putting a screw and washer in right away to further help prevent the handles from falling off! Not sure if these were originally included or not. Maybe I accidentally threw them away.
Start capacitor went bad right at year 3. I blame this one on my machinist as he was using the mill for power tapping and kept turning the mill on and off, forward to reverse very rapidly for several days. These motors aren't meant for that. I contacted PM about it, they told me it was the start capacitor, and offered to ship a new one or they gave me the specs to the capacitor and said any motor shop should have a replacement for cheap if I wanted it up and running that day. PM had been good to me so I told them I would buy it locally. Stopped by the local motor shop and they said the capacitor was a very strange size and they had nothing in stock to replace it. Contacted PM again, this time I told them I wanted to pay for the item and shipping to make sure I got the right replacement part. They refused and shipped me out a new one for free. Well the part got lost in the mail, so I went back to the motor shop after a couple weeks, there was a different guy there, and he almost instantly pulled out a replacement capacitor that would work. It cost $8 I think and took me all of 5 minutes to replace it. The start capacitor from PM did show up a couple weeks ago in a box from Global Industrial.
Overall
Overall I have to say that the saying "you get what you pay for" does not exactly apply here. Yes, it's true these are Chinese machines, they're not the highest quality, but relatively speaking, this machine is cheaper than the other mills of similar size and yet I have a hard time believing any of the other companies would offer the quality of customer service as offered at Precision Matthews. They are a great group of people (I've dealt with 3 of them), very honest, and I truly felt as though they had my best interest in mind. If you are looking for hobby grade mill, the PM-932 is the way to go. If you are looking for a production mill, or something to save you time, look into an older, used machine. Just my two cents.
Thanks a lot Precision Matthews!
