# PM-833TV and PM-1340GT Delivery Today



## cday2021 (Mar 2, 2021)

Hi All,

I'm taking delivery of a PM-833TV and a PM-1340GT in less than 30 mins. For those of you that own these machines and have set them up, any pro tips before I start diving in? The 1340GT is 3-phase. I've bought all the parts and the VFD for it... I've studied Mark's schematics extensively so I think I have it sorted out.


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## Kiwi Canuck (Mar 2, 2021)

Congratulations, nice pair of machines.

Welcome to the site


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## parshal (Mar 2, 2021)

I have both of those.  You'll spend half the day taking the crate apart, unboxing the accessories and start cleaning off the cosmoline.

You'll enjoy them!


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## wrmiller (Mar 2, 2021)

I have the same lathe, and a 935 mill. Nothing special that I can recall in setting the lathe up. Enjoy those things, and post pics!


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## fursphere (Mar 2, 2021)

Take your time.  They're big and heavy - go slow.


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## Aukai (Mar 2, 2021)

I just set my lathe in place on the stand with the supplied foot bolts, and metal pucks. I do not have a lot of room to swing an engine hoist, but that may have been a better option. Set the stand first, and swing the lathe after. I do most of my stuff by myself, I had the lathe , and stand on rolling dollies then brought it to position. The floor jack is to tall, I used a block, and levered the stand to get it out.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 2, 2021)

Congrats on the new stuff!  I have a PM-833TV on the way to.  What trucking company is delivering yours?  Mine is currently about 40 minutes North of me and this morning it said "Scheduled for Delivery" even though they never called me.  This afternoon is says "Tendered to Partner TMSC" whatever that means.  Not sure if I should stick around home or not.


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## BladesIIB (Mar 2, 2021)

Congrats. I have the PM 1440TL and Mark helped me a ton with the VFD set up as well. My wiring diagram will be slightly different for wire colors and my VFD is larger; however, this video should help with understanding all the steps in getting it set up. And it sounds like you already have the correct wiring diagrams for your lathe. Mark has seen the video as well and had good feedback on it. If you already have it solid in your mind may not need to watch.  If you have any questions remaining this may have the answers.


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## cday2021 (Mar 3, 2021)

parshal said:


> I have both of those.  You'll spend half the day taking the crate apart, unboxing the accessories and start cleaning off the cosmoline.
> 
> You'll enjoy them!


Got the machines uncrated. Sooo... much... cosmoline! How are you enjoying the machines? Any limitations you're running into? Issues? What is your solution for the drawbar on the mill?


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## cday2021 (Mar 3, 2021)

Tipton1965 said:


> Congrats on the new stuff!  I have a PM-833TV on the way to.  What trucking company is delivering yours?  Mine is currently about 40 minutes North of me and this morning it said "Scheduled for Delivery" even though they never called me.  This afternoon is says "Tendered to Partner TMSC" whatever that means.  Not sure if I should stick around home or not.


Saia was the trucking company... did yours show up?


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## parshal (Mar 3, 2021)

I use a butterfly impact wrench on the drawbar.  No need for a lock.


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## Ischgl99 (Mar 3, 2021)

I have a 1236T that I got a couple months ago and I am still finding cosmoline to remove!  

My lathe is virtually identical to yours except for size.  If you do metric threads, you will find a few pitches are missing from the charts on the machine.  You need to do use the 32/40 gear combination to get those.  I have three phase with a VFD and started with the basic functions, I don’t even have variable speed yet.  I will be adding more features as I decide what is most important to me.  That is the nice part of VFDs, you can easily add as you go.

You are going to love your lathe, it is a joy to use.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 3, 2021)

cday2021 said:


> Saia was the trucking company... did yours show up?


Saia is delivering mine to.  No it didn't show up but it is close by.  I called Saia today and they said tomorrow or Friday.


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## DarinFred (Mar 3, 2021)

When did you order both of your machines?


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## Just for fun (Mar 4, 2021)

Congratulations on a couple nice machines!  

Tim


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## cday2021 (Mar 4, 2021)

DarinFred said:


> When did you order both of your machines?


I ordered at the very beginning of January.


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## cday2021 (Mar 4, 2021)

Tipton1965 said:


> Saia is who is delivering mine to.  No it didn't show up but it is close by.  I called Saia today and they said tomorrow or Friday.


Saia called me a day ahead of delivery to schedule a delivery window. The next day the driver called me about 45 mins out from my place to make sure I was there and ready. All went smoothly!


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## cday2021 (Mar 4, 2021)

parshal said:


> I use a butterfly impact wrench on the drawbar.  No need for a lock.


Great to hear... an impact is exactly what I was planning on doing based on feedback online. Which butterfly impact are you using?


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## parshal (Mar 4, 2021)

I'm using a 1/4" Monster butterfly.  I think any 1/4" will work.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 4, 2021)

cday2021 said:


> Saia called me a day ahead of delivery to schedule a delivery window. The next day the driver called me about 45 mins out from my place to make sure I was there and ready. All went smoothly!


They called me today.  My machine will be delivered tomorrow between 11AM and 3PM.


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## cday2021 (Mar 9, 2021)

I thought I'd updated everyone on my progress. I have the mill nearly squared away. I opted for the self install on the DROs, so I've spent many hours now having fun with that. I've had to machine two brackets to mount them appropriately. The Z bracket is final, but I'll have to machine a new Y bracket. I machined a small piece of aluminum that I coupled with two of the other brackets that came with the machine to get the Y functional. A bit of a pain. I'm really curious to know how PM installs these when you pay the $400 fee. I also got the X and Z power feeds installed. Everything seems to be working well.

For anyone with a PM-833T/TV, how hot does your spindle get on higher RPMs? At ~2000 RPM the spindle is hot to the touch, but not so hot I can't hold my hand on it. At 3000+ RPM it gets hot enough that it's uncomfortable to touch for more than a moment. Seems that this is probably out of spec... The manual says this:

_Especially during the first 10 hours of running time check that the spindle runs smoothly, without excessive heat build up (the spindle will run warm when used at high speeds over long periods, but should not be uncomfortably hot). Overheating can be due to excessive grease, see above, or an overtight spanner nut at the upper end of the spindle. Call Precision Matthews for guidance._

So maybe the spanner nut is a little too tight...

The lathe is on its stands and waiting for some love (and a vast amount of cosmoline cleaning). Beyond the normal setup/alignment I have the DRO to install and the whole VFD cabinet to put together (and controls to rewire). I imagine it'll be a while before the lathe is up and running!


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## Ischgl99 (Mar 9, 2021)

That is too hot.  Typically a surface temp of about 120-130f is normal.  At that temperature, you should be able to hold your hand on there without feeling like you are getting burned.  At 140f, you won’t be able to hold your hand on there for more than a few seconds.  You can try loosening the preload slightly, it might not take much, then run it again and see how the temperature changes.  Make sure you let it completely cool in between test runs so you are getting a valid comparison.

You can try spinning the spindle by hand and see how much rotation you get before and after adjustment to give you an idea of how much you have adjusted it.  Preload is a balance between rigidity at low speeds and ability to run at high speeds, so you don’t want to go too loose for high speed operation that you take away all the heat increase since that will reduce your rigidity at low speeds.


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## cday2021 (Mar 22, 2021)

*PM-1340GT Lathe Update*
I got the lathe up and running last night and turned my first chips today. This was my first time using a metal lathe ever... and boy is it fun! As I stated earlier I had opted for the 3-phase version of the machine with a VFD install. I studied the heck out of Mark's schematics and enclosure documents along with the lathe's control board schematics that are found towards the end of the manual to fully understand how the circuits were working and how I would need to wire things up. I opted for the two way jog joystick with 2-stage braking. Everything went very well. The VFD and all of the controls work as expected. A big thanks to Mark Jacobs for all of the excellent information he has put out there on the VFD conversion... I would not have attempted the VFD conversion if it weren't for the information he has put out there. I am extremely pleased with the VFD option. The jogging, braking, and speed control at the twist of a knob are wonderful to have. Thanks again Mark!

I still have the DRO to install. Looks like that will be a bit of a chore given the optimal place for the scale on the carriage blocks the use of the cross slide set screw lock. I really like sanddan's solution, so I'll probably do something similar (unless someone else has some ideas I should see):

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/installing-dro-on-pm-1340-gt.48653/


cheers,
Craig


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## Kiwi Canuck (Mar 22, 2021)

WOW that was quick to get the VFD done.

Take your time on the DRO install it's not too bad, I did the same install and had the cutout to operate the cross slide lock bolt.

You will need an extension for your drill bit and tap for the mounting block for the read head on the cross slide though.

I have some photos of my install, not awesome but hopefully you will get another perspective.









						New Member From Langley Bc Ready To Start Lathe & Mill Shopping
					

I build model airplanes and often take 3-4 years to complete one.   Always great to see a thread finished.




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




PS The DRO install starts on page 15 but I see a few photos are not showing up for some reason.

David.


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## mksj (Mar 22, 2021)

Hi Craig,

Glad it all worked out for you, the VFD is a real game changer on the lathes.

I prefer to add the cross slide lock to the other side using the follow rest mounting bolts. No fumbling for wrenches and very easy to adjust, I end replacing all the allen locking screws with level locks.








						ERL-1340 Cross Slide Lock for DRO Equipped Lathes
					

Often when doing tight tolerance work one needs to lock the cross slide to get consistent diameters along the length of the cut. My ERL-1340 was fairly tight when new, but over time I did noticed slight shifts in the cross slide position from my original setting.  I am using glass scales, and I...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




Mark


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## cday2021 (Mar 22, 2021)

Thanks Mark. I had seen a post with the lock on the other side like you have done.... the post had commented about using the steady rest mounting holes for the bracket... I think they meant to say the follower rest... and from your link above it looks like you simply remove the lock if you need to use the follower rest.... excellent. I was hesitant to use this solution because it blocked the follower rest, but as you point out, simply remove the lock if needed. Good stuff. I'll use this solution instead!


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## davidpbest (Mar 22, 2021)

Hey Craig,

Glad you got it all up an running.  You might want to check out what I did for the DRO install on the 1340.  I wanted the magnetic scales  on the X and Z pointing face down, and also wanted to integrate a drag-chain into the setup for the cabling and Fogbuster air/coolant supply to the cross slide.  It's all _*documented here*_, including how I dealt with the carriage locking screw.  Now that I've had it in use for four years, I'm thankful I took a little extra time to get the DRO mounted the way it is.


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## parshal (Mar 22, 2021)

I put my cross slide lock on the headstock side, too.  I also used 3M 9495MP tape for the cross slide and tailstock rather than screws.  I figured I'd try that first to see how well it held before drilling a tapping.  It's been well over a year and no issues.


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## Janderso (Mar 22, 2021)

Congratulations Craig.
I know we would love to see your new machine tools set up in your shop. Pics please.
You mentioned, this is the first time running a lathe.
Please be aware, you have a gear head lathe. They are not forgiving when it comes to their operation. They are powerful machines.
Please be aware of the lathe safety rules.
There are plenty of videos on Youtube.
Have fun and be careful.

Gavin does a good job with this video.


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## Tipton1965 (Mar 22, 2021)

Was wondering if you dug deeper into the spindle heat issue on your 833?


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## cday2021 (Mar 22, 2021)

Tipton1965 said:


> Was wondering if you dug deeper into the spindle heat issue on your 833?


I called PM support and they walked me through taking the spindle apart so I can loosen the bearings. I haven't done so yet, but they agreed they are probably just a tad too tight. The guy on the phone said it's a fine balance between too loose where you have spindle runout, and too tight where you have excessive friction/heat.


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## cday2021 (Mar 22, 2021)

davidpbest said:


> Hey Craig,
> 
> Glad you got it all up an running.  You might want to check out what I did for the DRO install on the 1340.  I wanted the magnetic scales  on the X and Z pointing face down, and also wanted to integrate a drag-chain into the setup for the cabling and Fogbuster air/coolant supply to the cross slide.  It's all _*documented here*_, including how I dealt with the carriage locking screw.  Now that I've had it in use for four years, I'm thankful I took a little extra time to get the DRO mounted the way it is.


Hi David,

Mark pointed me to your flickr album... some very splendid work you do. Extremely impressive. Thanks for the links to the DRO install. Great solution too. Are there any drawbacks to Mark's install with the lock on the headstock side and having it conflict with the follower rest?

cheers,
Craig


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## cday2021 (Mar 22, 2021)

Janderso said:


> Congratulations Craig.
> I know we would love to see your new machine tools set up in your shop. Pics please.
> You mentioned, this is the first time running a lathe.
> Please be aware, you have a gear head lathe. They are not forgiving when it comes to their operation. They are powerful machines.
> ...



Thanks for the safety tips. Great video. I've been a woodworker for 25+ years and have a shop full of tools that are ready to eat me alive, but the video was a great reminder to keep safe. The shirt into the lead screw would have been alarming! A good reminder to keep loose clothing out of the shop.


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## cday2021 (Mar 29, 2021)

Update #2 -- the DRO is now installed on the lathe. The cross slide was straight forward. I installed the other scale on the backside of the machine. I had to machine two brackets to bring the scale further away from the machine and to act as a mounting point for the cover. I machined a 3rd bracket to use with the two supplied brackets to mount the sensor head to the back of the carriage. I reused the bolt holes in the back of the carriage that are meant for the taper attachment for the PM-1340GT.












(without the cover installed)


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## Aukai (Mar 29, 2021)

How are we dealing with the cross slide locking bolt under the DRO scale?


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## cday2021 (Mar 29, 2021)

Aukai said:


> How are we dealing with the cross slide locking bolt under the DRO scale?


I'm going to do what Mark did on his cross slide. See the following link: 

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/erl-1340-cross-slide-lock-for-dro-equipped-lathes.78854/


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## Aukai (Mar 29, 2021)

Thank you, and Mark.....


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## parshal (Apr 1, 2021)

That's exactly what I did, too.


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## Aukai (Apr 1, 2021)

I have that bookmarked for when I get a day off, going on 8 12s in a row, starting to sound like Dave.


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## Jake P (Apr 2, 2021)

Congrats on your new machines Craig!  

I'm wondering if you got the stand for your 1340GT from PM?  If you did, I have a favor to ask as I have a 1340GT on order and would like to get some things done in advance.

I will be raising the lathe since I'm 6'1" and don't want to be stooping while working the hand wheels for hours while machining.

Could you tell me what the distance is from the base of the stand (no feet/levelers included) to the spindle center as well as the distance from the base to the center of the carriage hand wheel?

I contacted tech support at PM today, but they don't have the measurements.

Thanks!
Jake


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## cday2021 (Apr 2, 2021)

Jake P said:


> Congrats on your new machines Craig!
> 
> I'm wondering if you got the stand for your 1340GT from PM?  If you did, I have a favor to ask as I have a 1340GT on order and would like to get some things done in advance.
> 
> ...


Hi Jake,

I’m getting ~45” from bottom of cabinet (excluding leveling feet) to center of spindle and ~34 3/8” to the center of the carriage wheel. I’m about 5” shorter than you and everything feels like a good height to me. Leveling feet are probably adding another 1-2” to the numbers above.

cheers,
Craig


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## Aukai (Apr 2, 2021)

I have  mine on PM's stand, leveling pads, and a 3/4" cushion pad fronting the lathe. I'm 6'2" inseam 31", the cross slide handle rotated up hits me in the belly button, and my hands fall pretty much at control lever height. My 1228 was on risers, and I could not sit down, I had to stand to see operations. I have a bar stool that I use, and can see a lot better now sitting, I still get up when things get close. Just sharing......


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## Jake P (Apr 2, 2021)

cday2021 said:


> Hi Jake,
> 
> I’m getting ~45” from bottom of cabinet (excluding leveling feet) to center of spindle and ~34 3/8” to the center of the carriage wheel. I’m about 5” shorter than you and everything feels like a good height to me. Leveling feet are probably adding another 1-2” to the numbers above.
> 
> ...


Craig, 
Thanks so much for taking the time to get those numbers to me, I very much appreciate it!


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## cday2021 (Apr 2, 2021)

Jake P said:


> Craig,
> Thanks so much for taking the time to get those numbers to me, I very much appreciate it!


My pleasure. And I forgot to confirm that yes, I do have the PM cabinet... the heavy duty upgrade.


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## Systemsplanet (May 28, 2021)

cday2021 said:


> My pleasure. And I forgot to confirm that yes, I do have the PM cabinet... the heavy duty upgrade.


Craig, I recently ordered the 1340GT.
Can you tell me if it's OK to block access to the back of the right pedestal?  I want to push it against a wall.


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## Janderso (May 28, 2021)

I don't mean to be a party pooper but, I don't see any pics.
cday21, it is customary to post pics of set up equipment. Otherwise it could be considered just talk 
You see, we are all very jealous.


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## parshal (May 28, 2021)

Systemsplanet said:


> Can you tell me if it's OK to block access to the back of the right pedestal?  I want to push it against a wall.


You’ll have trouble leveling the lathe if you block access to that spot. My chip tray is a couple inches from a pole in my pole barn and getting wenches to the bolt is annoying.


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