# Coming soon, PM 1440GS???



## oregontripper (Jan 7, 2021)

Certain one of these will suit my needs. I have had an excellent first hand recommendation.

They say numerous changes on this next batch to be announced soon...

Any ideas? I am eager. LOL


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## Hozzie (Jan 7, 2021)

I have one about 3 years old.  It's crap.  I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.  

Get a Taiwan machine without a doubt.  I should have bought the 1340.  I will sell it soon, but will take a bath on it just to get rid of it.  

It came with a broken threading gear which I had to replace immediately.  I offered to pay to send it back and they wouldn't take it.  Even now it still kicks out of gear when threading if I don't hold a hand on the dial.  It's pathetic.


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## oregontripper (Jan 7, 2021)

Hozzie said:


> I have one about 3 years old.  It's crap.  I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.
> 
> Get a Taiwan machine without a doubt.  I should have bought the 1340.  I will sell it soon, but will take a bath on it just to get rid of it.
> 
> It came with a broken threading gear which I had to replace immediately.  I offered to pay to send it back and they wouldn't take it.  Even now it still kicks out of gear when threading if I don't hold a hand on the dial.  It's pathetic.


That's a bummer and I am sorry you had this experience. 

I would much appreciate if you would give it a little thought and list ANY other concerns with the lathe unrelated to the threading gear please? Anything at all. A feel, perception, cosmetic, mechanical, assembly, engineering, production, anything at all in the least. 

Much appreciated and I wish you success moving forward.


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## erikmannie (Jan 7, 2021)

I found this discussion online which pertains to your question:









						Gunsmithing - Precision Mathews Lathe questions
					

Hey all, I'm looking at purchasing a PM-1440GS 14″X40″ GUNSMITH LATHE w/2 axis dro. I'm having a very hard time trying to find reviews or videos on the machine. I've heard a lot of great things about the company and customer service is top notch. I looked at grizzly lathes but honestly, customer...




					www.snipershide.com


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

erikmannie said:


> I found this discussion online which pertains to your question:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks, I found all the linked information interesting.


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## erikmannie (Jan 8, 2021)

oregontripper said:


> Thanks, I found all the linked information interesting.



FWIW I have a (Chinese) PM-1030V & a (Taiwanese) PM-1660TL & they are both fine, although the Taiwanese machine is more beautiful and has tighter tolerances.


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

erikmannie said:


> FWIW I have a (Chinese) PM-1030V & a (Taiwanese) PM-1660TL & they are both fine, although the Taiwanese machine is more beautiful and has tighter tolerances.


Thanks.  Those TLs are sweet! 

The cost analysis I did, setup for a particular task, between the 1440GS and 1440GT left me thinking I could not pull off the GT.  I'll go ahead and use the same criteria and see how the 1340GT (which I have read so much about) pencils out.

I won't be choosing tonight. LOL


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)




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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Started cleaning up the mill. Have everything identified except for the red handled lever. 

Some sort of tensioner? 

Any clues? 


I thought I had the clone identified, but, alas I don't have a clue or manual. 

Two positions, two speed motor and four pulleys.


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)




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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Guess a bit silly to buy something I don't know what it is! LOL But it was 1/3 the other I was considering, a bit more than a dollar a pound.  Only 4 hours away. No slop detected. Only negatory is it's had some chips stuck in the table, minor of nature though...

Just don't let me do that with a lathe! Talk me into a GT!


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## erikmannie (Jan 8, 2021)

oregontripper said:


> Guess a bit silly to buy something I don't know what it is! LOL But it was 1/3 the other I was considering, a bit more than a dollar a pound.  Only 4 hours away. No slop detected. Only negatory is it's had some chips stuck in the table, minor of nature though...
> 
> Just don't let me do that with a lathe! Talk me into a GT!



I just bought a new Precision Matthews lathe a few months ago, and I can assure you that there is a 100% chance you’d have no regrets if you bought a GT.

I bought two Precision Matthews machines the year before that, and I have never had a single regret.


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## Hozzie (Jan 8, 2021)

oregontripper said:


> That's a bummer and I am sorry you had this experience.
> 
> I would much appreciate if you would give it a little thought and list ANY other concerns with the lathe unrelated to the threading gear please? Anything at all. A feel, perception, cosmetic, mechanical, assembly, engineering, production, anything at all in the least.
> 
> Much appreciated and I wish you success moving forward.


For me, I was pretty disappointed with the entire level of quality from the start.  I did a similar comparison as you and thought I would be ok with the GS.  I was wrong.  I will say, I did fully understand I was buying Chinese vs Taiwan and knew there would be a difference, but I never thought there would be such a big difference.

Fit and finish is just poor.  Does it turn and run, sure.  However, things like the engaging the half nut isn't consistent.  For example, if I am doing an even thread I should be able to engage at any main number.  I can't.  If you try to engage at 1 it works fine, right on the mark.  If you try to engage of some other number, it may jam a bit and you can't tell if you were too early or too late.  On one value it may be one way and another it may be the opposite.  So in the end I wait and always use the same number which means in many cases waiting for a long time for the dial to come around.  Then once you do that, hope the thread setting doesn't kick out of gear in the middle of the the thread.  Having had to take the front plate off of the machine a few times to try and fix it, now it leaks oil (albeit slowly) and I have to add new oil periodically.  I have tried to seal it with RTV, but the oil always finds a way out.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.  I need to just sell mine and order a new one, but it pisses me off every time I use it.  I think Precision Mathews is a good company in general, but I do feel like I have been let down by them on this machine.  Matt didn't seem to have any interest in trying to make it right from the beginning.  He basically said, well you bought a chinese lathe....   I get that, but I think at this point in time, it's clear they even know the quality was **** and they had to make changes to them.  I am the one sitting holding the bag.  

I don't know if I will buy from them again.  I am sure I would be happy with either GT version, but I feel like I was a bit left to hang out on my own with it.


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

erikmannie said:


> I just bought a new Precision Matthews lathe a few months ago, and I can assure you that there is a 100% chance you’d have no regrets if you bought a GT.
> 
> I bought two Precision Matthews machines the year before that, and I have never had a single regret.


I dig the awesome mods folks have been  doing! I have about a metric ton of threads to read still! 

Variable speed
Braking
Soft start
Tailstock DRO 
Stop button threading doodad 

So much coolness and presented with decency! What a great place!


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Hozzie said:


> For me, I was pretty disappointed with the entire level of quality from the start.  I did a similar comparison as you and thought I would be ok with the GS.  I was wrong.  I will say, I did fully understand I was buying Chinese vs Taiwan and knew there would be a difference, but I never thought there would be such a big difference.
> 
> Fit and finish is just poor.  Does it turn and run, sure.  However, things like the engaging the half nut isn't consistent.  For example, if I am doing an even thread I should be able to engage at any main number.  I can't.  If you try to engage at 1 it works fine, right on the mark.  If you try to engage of some other number, it may jam a bit and you can't tell if you were too early or too late.  On one value it may be one way and another it may be the opposite.  So in the end I wait and always use the same number which means in many cases waiting for a long time for the dial to come around.  Then once you do that, hope the thread setting doesn't kick out of gear in the middle of the the thread.  Having had to take the front plate off of the machine a few times to try and fix it, now it leaks oil (albeit slowly) and I have to add new oil periodically.  I have tried to seal it with RTV, but the oil always finds a way out.
> 
> ...


Thank you for taking the additional time to expand. Dang, I feel bad for you.


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Maybe that red handled lever tensions the timing belt ehh? I worked all night and ended up laying down now. Might have to wait until later, LOL.


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Off topic I know, but hey, it's my thread.  A lot of machine here. 9x42 is so much more real estate than the little mills I initially thought I was going for. Really excited.


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## Pcmaker (Jan 8, 2021)

oregontripper said:


> View attachment 350350



That's the high/low cam lever for switching between high and low gear spindle speeds


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Pcmaker said:


> That's the high/low cam lever for switching between high and low gear spindle speeds


Can you explain a bit?  Do I loosen this, then switch the other lever, then tighten this one back up.  Or what exactly?


Thanks a bunch.  Do you happen to know what this type head is called, or anything that may help me locate a manual? I keep striking out.


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## Pcmaker (Jan 8, 2021)

Should be similar to any step pulley bridgeport clones. You can download the pdf file of any step pulley knee mill by precision matthews

You have high and low speed ranges on that machine. If you have it on low gear, your rpm spindle speed will have a range of something like 50 rpm to 600 rpm

If you have it on high gear, your rpm range will go from around 600rpm to 1800 rpm.

If the red cam lever is pointed forward, it's probably on high gear.

To switch between high and low gear, first the machine has to be off. Then you move the red cam lever to the front or to the side, depending on if you want low or high. Then rotate the pulley inside by moving the V belt on the pulley. If you're going from low to high, you should hear a "thunk" when the front pulley "drops" into place. Then on the right side there, there should be a small lever with Low or High markings. Move that to match whatever speed you're going for. You have to do this in the order I posted.

1. Move cam lever to High (front) or Low (side)

2. Rotate the pulley by moving the V belt until the front pulley drops into place. This is necessary when going from Low to High. Don't do anything until you see or hear it drop.

3. Rotate the High/Low lever on the right side.

4. Turn on the machine. When you change from High to Low, the rotation of the spindle will go from clockwise to counter clockwise, so turn it on accordingly


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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Pcmaker said:


> Should be similar to any step pulley bridgeport clones. You can download the pdf file of any step pulley knee mill by precision matthews
> 
> You have high and low speed ranges on that machine. If you have it on low gear, your rpm spindle speed will have a range of something like 50 rpm to 600 rpm
> 
> ...


Super! That's it! 

What's added to my confusion is this also has a 2P/4P motor which is all handled by the 8 position rotary switch. High speed high gear, high speed low gear, low speed high gear, low speed low gear and the accompanying reversals. At least it appears as such.


Gosh, the manual was right there all along. 

I'll go check it out now.

Thank you!
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## oregontripper (Jan 8, 2021)

Indeed. The mechanism was gummed up a bit and not moving vertically on previous efforts at determining it's role.. Got things sorted out and now see how it works, once upon a ladder with a light.


Appreciate it PC Maker...


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## oregontripper (Jan 9, 2021)

Anyone know much about the Jet 1240PY? It is belt drive. Have seen a few threads, seems like a capable machine. Taiwan.


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