# PM-25MV Fine Down Feed



## mrjbinok (May 11, 2018)

Well after weeks of slow progress getting my new mill set up and ready to use I finally got to make some chips today!  I am new to running a mill but have a basic understanding of the different functions, limitations of a benchtop mill and safety.... but I must be dense in the skull trying to figure out how to use the Fine Down Feed.

Got the battery insulator removed, and can turn it on and off, run the numbers on the display up and down with the arrow keys,and zero the display out.... but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to actually use it as a control for tool positioning.  I have loosened the Down Feed Handle Lock (both a little bit and a lot) as instructed in the manual, but the fine down feed never seems to engage.

Am I missing something simple or is there a problem??


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## Ray C (May 11, 2018)

I've never used a 25M but normally, for mills like that, there is some kind of an arrangement on the 3-armed quill handle that engages or disengages the fine feed.  On a PM45, you push the arms of the quill handle outward and that engages fine feed.

Ray


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## tcarrington (May 12, 2018)

On my PM-25, there is a screw in the middle of the 3 armed quill handle that you tighten. That connects the quill handle to the fine feed mechanism.


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## mrjbinok (May 12, 2018)

Ray C said:


> I've never used a 25M but normally, for mills like that, there is some kind of an arrangement on the 3-armed quill handle that engages or disengages the fine feed.  On a PM45, you push the arms of the quill handle outward and that engages fine feed.
> 
> Ray


The quill handles are fixed on the 25.  According to the manual, loosening (CCW) on the quill handle lock center knob allows the handle assembly to move outward, probably spring loaded and that is suppose to engage the fine feed knob inside the head box.  That's what doesn't seem to be happening on mine.  Loosening the handle lock knob disengages the course feed handles which is a friction fit on the shaft..... but no go for the fine feed knob.


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## mrjbinok (May 12, 2018)

tcarrington said:


> On my PM-25, there is a screw in the middle of the 3 armed quill handle that you tighten. That connects the quill handle to the fine feed mechanism.



But the manual (page 9) say's to turn the knob "K" in figure 08 CCW to engage the fine down feed knob "M" that is located on the front of the head.  Turning the "K" knob CW actually locks the quill position.


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## tcarrington (May 12, 2018)

The quill lock is on the left side and the knob I am talking about is on the right side. the actual fine feed knob is on the front. It will seem the quill is locked when the fine feed is engaged because the knob in the front turns a shaft that the knob on the right side connects to the three handle quill feed. 

I suppose it is possible the knob on the front next to the digital readout of the quill might not be assembled quite right. I did some disassemble, clean, oil and reassemble to get mine working top notch. Typically the story on a lot of equipment.


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## mrjbinok (May 12, 2018)

tcarrington said:


> The quill lock is on the left side and the knob I am talking about is on the right side. the actual fine feed knob is on the front. It will seem the quill is locked when the fine feed is engaged because the knob in the front turns a shaft that the knob on the right side connects to the three handle quill feed.
> 
> I suppose it is possible the knob on the front next to the digital readout of the quill might not be assembled quite right. I did some disassemble, clean, oil and reassemble to get mine working top notch. Typically the story on a lot of equipment.



Ahhhhh..... Ok i will give it a try in the morning and see what it does. I know about the quill lock on the left side so the knob on the right side locking the handles didn't make sense.  The manual is pretty vague on details for normal operation of the machine.  It does say to loosen the knob on the right.

I may have to do some disassembly and inspect to make sure it is doing what it is supposed to do.  Otherwise the machine is perfect for my needs.  Thanks for the feedback.


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## T Bredehoft (May 12, 2018)

To re-iterate. The quill lock is on the left. On the right is a 3 handled arrangement that will move the quill up and down. In the center of the 3 handled thing is a knurled knob. If you turn it clockwise, it will tighten. When it is tightened (and the quill lock on the left is not tight) rotating  the knob staring you in the face in front of the head, if turned to the right, clockwise, the the quill will move downward, about.070 per revolution. It might even be two millimeters. I put a handle across it so I can crank it down slowly for boring.  Hope this helps.


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## mrjbinok (May 14, 2018)

Your right Tom.  The manual is wrong!!  The manual leaves a bit to be desired in most areas with broken English evident in most areas.  Everything is up and running now so I can get started with my vertical feed motor.  I had a couple of small projects that I wanted to knock out and that gave me a chance to see how much I can load it up with my cuts.  I'm very pleased with the results.


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## higgite (May 14, 2018)

mrjbinok said:


> But the manual (page 9) say's to turn the knob "K" in figure 08 CCW to engage the fine down feed knob "M" that is located on the front of the head.  Turning the "K" knob CW actually locks the quill position.


It sounds like your manual is different from the one for that machine on PM's website. See page 11.
http://www.precisionmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PM-25MV-BD-1-15-18-v7-Web.pdf

Tom


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## mrjbinok (May 18, 2018)

higgite said:


> It sounds like your manual is different from the one for that machine on PM's website. See page 11.
> http://www.precisionmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PM-25MV-BD-1-15-18-v7-Web.pdf
> 
> Tom



Way different from the manual that came with my machine.  Mostly same info in most of the pages, but a little more detail and full color.

Still not able to spend a lot of time making chips, but everything I have tried so far is working flawlessly.


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