# PM1030V First impressions



## Dean Segovis (Jan 19, 2017)

I received my PM1030V last week. It shipped on Jan 10th and arrived Jan 13th. Total price including shipping was $2098. It came with the QCTP, two dead centers, one live center, drill chuck, 3 and 4 jaw chuck, face plate, tools and a user manual. The user manual leaves a lot to be desired but it's good enough to get you familiar with the lathe. It was nicely packed and bolted in place in a wood crate. Everything inside arrived in tact.
I built a steel stand for it with adjustable feet for leveling. With the help of an engine hoist I placed it on the table and loosely bolted it down. I'll get to the leveling later. The overhead light needs to be mounted a bit further from the shelf and I'll be installing better lighting on the ceiling soon. 
I cleaned off the packing oil and tried to run it. _*No go.*_ First thing I thought of was the safety switch on the left side cover. Sure enough it was not engaging properly. I temporarily removed it from the cover and inserted it into the switch to test things out. I let it run at 600 RPM for a few minutes then cleaned up the oil that slung off the gears. I'll be applying some sticky synthetic grease to the gears and giving it a full lubrication tomorrow.

Here's a few pics. Check the one I took of the paragraph from the manual. The wording is totally backwards from the proper operation on the longitudinal and cross feed. I'll be calling PM to let them know, but I'll bet they DO know.  Things don't translate from Chinese to English very well. The mount for the safety switch looks a bit crooked. I'll get that worked out and working properly. I'll post more pics as I make progress.


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## tweinke (Jan 20, 2017)

Congrats on the new late! Please do post more pictures and impressions!


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 20, 2017)

I did a little work on that gear cover and safety interlock this morning. This seems to be a common issue and I think I know why. The bracket for the "key" that pushes into the interlock switch is easily bent. On mine, the bracket and the key were both loose. 





Another issue is the clearance between the cover and the back of the gear head. Mine would catch when I tried to remove it because it overlapped the steel plate on the back. In removal of the back, I had to push the cover to the rear and away from the steel plate on the gear head in order to remove it. In doing so the tab gets bent and the key no longer lines up correctly.
My solution was to first trim away about 1/8" of the cover at the rear. 










Then I straightened out the bracket for the key, tightened it up, then adjusted the key fore and aft so that when it goes into the switch the studs that hold the cover in place line up easily. Once the key was adjusted properly I made sure all was tightened down and installed the cover. It powers up now as it should.


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 25, 2017)

EDITED POST.

Why does the cross slide read .002" per division on the wheel but it only moves .001" ?


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## Bray D (Jan 25, 2017)

My guess is that the dial reads the change in diameter. A .010" cut depth (measured via indicator) results in a .020" reduction in diameter (as read on the dial).


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 25, 2017)

Bray D said:


> My guess is that the dial reads the change in diameter. A .010" cut depth (measured via indicator) results in a .020" reduction in diameter (as read on the dial).


Right you are!


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## lpeedin (Jan 25, 2017)

You could always do what I did and simply cut off the side cover safety switch and just connect the wires.   I know some safety nazi is going to chew on me for that, but since I am the only one running the machine, I don't think it will be an issue.


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 27, 2017)

Yesterday I disassembled the cross slide and compound to clean and inspect. Everything looked good except for a bit of metal debris here and there left over from the building process. Where I noticed it most was in the compound where the lead screw threads in. Lots of fine metal filings in there to clean out. I've noticed that the compound lead screw tends to bind a little so I investigated a little further. I chucked the lead screw up by the threaded end and checked the face of the collar that serves to move the slide when you turn the screw. It had a bit of run out so I removed about .004" off from it which really helped. I managed to do this with the compound installed without the lead screw. I simply held it forward on it's mount while making the cut. 

I reassembled everything, gave it a full lube and checked the backlash on all lead screws including the longitudinal wheel. They each have about .003" which isn't bad given their design. The lathe is bolted to the metal stand so I thought it would be a good idea to check how level the bed is. I placed a good quality level on the carriage and moved it end to end. No change in the bubble. I'll check it again after I buy a good machinist level and adjust accordingly.

I chucked up a piece of 1" round stock about 40" long leaving 2" exposed, center drilled it, then chucked it with the far end in a live center at the extreme end of the bed to check tail stock alignment. I made a .005" cut full travel with the power feed and found it was off by about .010" after adjusting the tail stock and making a few more passes I got that down to a difference in diameter .001" measured at the chuck vs the tail stock. Close enough until I level it again.

So now I'm set up and ready to use the machine. The first project is a simple tool to remove a captured spring clip & collar on a starter shaft. I'll post some pics when  I'm done.

Very satisfied with the purchase of this lathe. I'm all about value for the dollar. By that I mean getting the best quality and functionality for every dollar I spend on equipment. I did a good deal of research before deciding on this machine. I almost went with a Grizzly but in the price range I was shopping in I just didn't like the lack of features and it seems there's a lot more adjusting and tweaking to do on those machines. The quality on the PM is just better in my opinion. 

Time to get to work!


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 27, 2017)

Here's some pics of the tool I made.


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## Old Squier (Jan 27, 2017)

Dean Segovis said:


> Here's some pics of the tool I made.
> View attachment 224980
> 
> View attachment 224982
> ...


Hi Dean,

Happy to see that you now have your lathe and most of the normal kinks ironed-out.  I hope it providesk you with terrific service!  I hate to tell you this, though, but what inevitably happens is guys buy a lathe and within a few weeks start to wish they had a bigger lathe.  Then, comes the mill.  After doing a few projects you will say to yourself, "man if I just had a mill I could do...".  Then you start itching to have one.  Next comes tooling.  There is no end to it.  As it happens I'm obsessing on some rather unique toolholders made by Aloris and I'm on the fence about a used Aciera F5 mill that presently lives in Scandinavia.  Hey...just remembered that I lived with an incredibly beautiful girl for over two years who's now back in her hometown -Stockholm!  What odds will you give me that my wife won't let me go look at that mill! Ha...lol!

Enjoy your machine Dean,

Best regards,

Squire



Tahlequah, OK / Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 27, 2017)

Ha! Been there done that! 
With this purchase it's about getting a machine I can make some money with doing small projects like making vintage car parts that are no longer available. I bought it for my business, Resto-Euro LLC. restoeuro.com. I recently bought a Rong Fu RF-30 round column mill with DRO and power feed on the X axis. It came with a clamp down set and collets, all for $1200. I have enough tooling for now and I'll buy more as jobs come in the shop. As the business grows, I'll buy better equipment to meet new demands.


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## Old Squier (Jan 27, 2017)

Dean Segovis said:


> Ha! Been there done that!
> With this purchase it's about getting a machine I can make some money with doing small projects like making vintage car parts that are no longer available. I bought it for my business, Resto-Euro LLC. restoeuro.com. I recently bought a Rong Fu RF-30 round column mill with DRO and power feed on the X axis. It came with a clamp down set and collets, all for $1200. I have enough tooling for now and I'll buy more as jobs come in the shop. As the business grows, I'll buy better equipment to meet new demands.


Sounds like a great plan Dean.  Hope the PM works for you.

Squire

Tahlequah, OK / Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma


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## DrAsus (Jan 28, 2017)

Nice work. I'm glad you got the kinks worked out on your lathe.


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## Dean Segovis (Jan 28, 2017)

I posted a video on YouTube of the unboxing and setup. Enjoy!


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## LucknowKen (Jan 28, 2017)

Old Squier said:


> I hate to tell you this, though, but what inevitably happens is guys buy a lathe and within a few weeks start to wish they had a bigger lathe.  Then, comes the mill.  After doing a few projects you will say to yourself, "man if I just had a mill I could do...".  Then you start itching to have one.  Next comes tooling.  There is no end to it.
> Tahlequah, OK / Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma



Hey Old Squire: Thats me exactly. How does a guy justify having 5 lathes?
(My wife keeps asking.)

Great video Dean, Thanks for your work.
lk


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## Old Squier (Jan 28, 2017)

LucknowKen said:


> Hey Old Squire: Thats me exactly. How does a guy justify having 5 lathes?
> (My wife keeps asking.)
> 
> Great video Dean, Thanks for your work.
> lk


LuckNowKen,

Here's the deal bro, there basically is no justification for lathe number five.  Not to worry though, there is hope! Here's what you do:  if the lathe costs say, 8-10K, you simply have to do something for her of greater value.  Take her to the Chanel Boutique at Neiman Marcus and buy her some threads. Take her for a weekend trip to Paris. Both of these will buy you a lot of mileage with her.  Costly?  Yes, but effective.

Squire

Tahlequah, OK / Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma


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## Ironken (Jan 30, 2017)

Deleted


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