# Precision Matthews Delivery Question



## sunrise305 (Aug 14, 2021)

I am planning to order a PM-728VT.  My driveway is about 50 feet long and made of belgium block with moderate rise (gains maybe 3 feet) going up to my garage.  Then it's another 40 feet through the cement-floor garage to my workshop in the back (passing through a 34.5" door along the way) .  What has your experience been with the delivery guys in terms of assistance getting the pallet all the way to where you need it to go?  Will they take it all the way to my workshop as part of the liftgate price?  Throw them a few extra bucks?  Or will they refuse?  Thanks for any guidance!


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## Aukai (Aug 14, 2021)

I see no reason for them to not be able to drop it right in your shop. I'm assuming the lift gate delivery will have a pallet jack to get it off of the gate.


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## sunrise305 (Aug 14, 2021)

It's this statement on PM's website that is the cause for my concern: 

***NOTE Any deliveries are Curb Side Only, the trucks can NOT leave a public roadway as they are heavy and have a chance of cracking any driveway. These are shipped by standard truck freight, and a freight truck must have reasonable access to your home. If this is not the case, you will need to make arrangements to pick up at the freight terminal or have it delivered to a place that is suitable for a typical truck delivery. They will NOT be able to back on to your driveway, but they will have a pallet jack to move it around so if you have a typical flat, paved drive, it should be no problem. If not, please make arrangements before ordering***


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## Aukai (Aug 14, 2021)

That's rough, a couple sheets of plywood, and someone to help push?


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## darkzero (Aug 14, 2021)

Depends on the trucking company & the driver. Techinically they're not obligated to due to liability reasons. My home is on a hill & my driveway is steep. He first parked out in the street but because of the hill & the weight of the lathe it wasn't easy for him to get the pallet off the truck. So he then manuvered the truck to get part of the lift gate on my driveway. Luckily the driver I got wasn't a rookie. Had to jump the pallet jack off the liftgate with my help. He got the lathe inside my garage like I asked. Slipped him $20, he was very happy & so was I.

Same story with my mill/drill but that delivery was a bit easier, different freight company, & gave that driver $20 too.


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## 7milesup (Aug 14, 2021)

Somewhere on here I read about one of our members giving the driver a couple cans of pop as a thank you to get the machine in his shop.  How embarrassing. Don't be stingy . 

I give drivers a minimum of $20 and more. Sometimes $40. I am also one of those guys that tips the waitress well beyond the 20%.


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## davidcarmichael (Aug 14, 2021)

7milesup said:


> Somewhere on here I read about one of our members giving the driver a couple cans of pop as a thank you to get the machine in his shop.  How embarrassing. Don't be stingy .
> 
> I give drivers a minimum of $20 and more. Sometimes $40. I am also one of those guys that tips the waitress well beyond the 20%.


The day my mill was delivered the driver brought it up my drive and dropped it off right at the door (it was too high to go through).
I was so embarrassed because I had absolutely no cash in the house to tip him. However I was cutting the strapping and he admired my knife, so I gave him that and he was really happy.


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## jwmay (Aug 14, 2021)

Just dropping by to say I find this whole "tip the delivery man" recommendation interesting. I don't have an opinion I don't think. I'd never considered tipping a delivery person in my lifetime. Now I'm taking a trip down memory lane, wondering how many times I've been a friendly jerk unwittingly.


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## Tipton1965 (Aug 14, 2021)

jwmay said:


> Just dropping by to say I find this whole "tip the delivery man" recommendation interesting. I don't have an opinion I don't think. I'd never considered tipping a delivery person in my lifetime. Now I'm taking a trip down memory lane, wondering how many times I've been a friendly jerk unwittingly.


When I was in my early 20's and living on my own I would occasionally order a Dominoes pizza.  I knew the delivery guy and I never tipped him.  I never knew at the time that I was suppose to.  Looking back he probably thought I was the worse person around.


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## BladesIIB (Aug 14, 2021)

I have had several deliveries and they have always been able to use the pallet jack to get the items down my driveway and into the garage. Don’t see any reason they won’t go through to your shop. The door width may be an issue. Most pallets are 48”. If that is the case you may need to cut it down and they likely won’t wait for that. Typically a pallet jack rental is only $30-40 for a day (I think even Home Depot rents them now) And assume you are renting an engine hoist or lift of some kind it just becomes part of the process.  All the best with your delivery.


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## erikmannie (Aug 15, 2021)

I work as a UPS driver & I never expect anything other than a thank you. I get paid by the hour, and people regularly ask me to take heavy packages into their house or up some stairs. I am always very happy to do it, and it is in no way offensive if I just receive a thank you.

I always *want* to tip freight drivers, but I guess I’m too cheap. I do make sure to always express my gratitude.


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## jwmay (Aug 15, 2021)

erikmannie said:


> I work as a UPS driver & I never expect anything other than a thank you. I get paid by the hour, and people regularly ask me to take heavy packages into their house or up some stairs. I am always very happy to do it, and it is in no way offensive if I just receive a thank you.


Well that's a relief. Thanks for saying so!


Tipton1965 said:


> I knew the delivery guy and I never tipped him. I never knew at the time that I was suppose to.


Ha! Well now THAT kind of delivery has always gotten a tip from me. But that's cause pizza delivery is one of those jobs where the delivery person literally makes nearly nothing without tips, and drives their own vehicle. 
Sorry to the OP for steering your thread off course. I'll get out of the way now.


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## SRay53TxTn (Aug 15, 2021)

I tipped $25 and a big cold bottle of water for each of my PM deliveries - 1228LB-VF Lathe and 728VT mill. They rolled it right where I wanted it dropped. I figure they have a tough job and deal with some unreasonable folks, try and make their day a little nicer.


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## yota (Aug 15, 2021)

I have to get my machinery from the street to my shop across over 100 ft of grass with sandy soil.  isn't going to happen with a pallet jack.  I usually do a tailgate delivery, back my pick up to the semi truck, the driver lowers the gate to my truck bed height and rolls the pallet into my truck bed.  I back into my shop and use a chain hoist to unload.  a few years ago I bought an 18" vertical wood cutting bandsaw and the guy used a hand truck and got it across the grass into my shop.  I was pretty impressed and gave him 40 bucks.  he said it was too much and gave me back 20.


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## Cletus (Aug 17, 2021)

IMHO the trucking company used by PM sucks, as well as their tracking and info system. My machine was supposed to reach my Miami forwarder since Friday, it's still anywhere but there. 12noon tomorrow is the cutoff time to make this Friday's sailing to the Caribbean.  The on-line tracker is flawed and not properly updated, and forget trying to contact them by phone.
Whenever it reaches, it reaches!  ....I've already spent my $$$ and just too frustrated to worry at this point.
EDIT: My assistant finally got through to a human on the phone, after relentlessly trying. They promised to deliver it this afternoon, fingers crossed!
EDIT, EDIT: Well, it just arrived at my forwarder in Florida, just in time to sail off to the Caribbean on Friday hopefully.


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## jwmay (Aug 18, 2021)

I always hate when my assistant drops the ball. Luckily he's a cat, so he never picks it up to begin with.


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## twowhites (Aug 24, 2021)

I just had my PM-728VT delivered last week. I had ordered the lift gate service and the driver backed into my driveway and moved the mill into the garage and placed it exactly where I requested. Very nice guy. For what it is worth, I added some ratcheting leveling casters to the stand so I can move it around the garage. It is a good quality stand from PM - recommended.


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## wrmiller (Aug 24, 2021)

I tipped the driver when my lathe was delivered, and then again when the mill was delivered. Both were put in my garage, after getting them up a rather steep driveway. Money well spent IMO.


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## sunrise305 (Aug 24, 2021)

twowhites said:


> I just had my PM-728VT delivered last week. I had ordered the lift gate service and the driver backed into my driveway and moved the mill into the garage and placed it exactly where I requested. Very nice guy. For what it is worth, I added some ratcheting leveling casters to the stand so I can move it around the garage. It is a good quality stand from PM - recommended.


Thanks for the info!  Did you pay the extra fee for "inside delivery?"  Also may I ask when you placed your order.  I'm interested in how long it's taking to receive the 728s.  Finally I see the the 928VT is now $4,299 with DRO ($3,499 without).  I believe that's up $300 right?  Maybe even up $500 from earlier in the year.


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## twowhites (Aug 24, 2021)

I paid the extra $49 for the lift gate along with the $199 shipping - that was all. The price on the 728 has gone up. I paid $3800 with DRO back on 22-Mar-21. It was almost a six month wait from order to delivery. Plenty of time to figure out all of the tooling and devices you might need. I'm still discovering all of that. The cabinet is still the same price. There was no hard copy manual included with the mill, but you can download it from Precision Mathews. I used a wooden 2x4 home built gantry to lift it onto the stand. I strapped the gantry to some scaffolding for stability. I was able to position the mill on its shipping pallets with a manual forklift. It was essentially a one person operation although the wife helped keep the stand/chip pan/mill holes aligned while I lowered it.


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## sunrise305 (Aug 24, 2021)

twowhites said:


> I paid the extra $49 for the lift gate along with the $199 shipping - that was all. The price on the 728 has gone up. I paid $3800 with DRO back on 22-Mar-21. It was almost a six month wait from order to delivery. Plenty of time to figure out all of the tooling and devices you might need. I'm still discovering all of that. The cabinet is still the same price. There was no hard copy manual included with the mill, but you can download it from Precision Mathews. I used a wooden 2x4 home built gantry to lift it onto the stand. I strapped the gantry to some scaffolding for stability. I was able to position the mill on its shipping pallets with a manual forklift. It was essentially a one person operation although the wife helped keep the stand/chip pan/mill holes aligned while I lowered it.


Thank you so much.  Very helpful!


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## DBlue (Aug 24, 2021)

twowhites said:


> I just had my PM-728VT delivered last week. I had ordered the lift gate service and the driver backed into my driveway and moved the mill into the garage and placed it exactly where I requested. Very nice guy. For what it is worth, I added some ratcheting leveling casters to the stand so I can move it around the garage. It is a good quality stand from PM - recommended.


I just got my 728 VT today, I ordered it with the DRO, stand and a new vice. I didn't get a manual for the mill or a manual with the DRO. I know I can download the manual for the mill but not the DRO. Did you get a manual with your DRO?....Thanks. Don


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## SRay53TxTn (Aug 25, 2021)

Yes, I received a DRO manual with my 728 VT mill.


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## DBlue (Aug 25, 2021)

SRay53TxTn said:


> Yes, I received a DRO manual with my 728 VT mill.





SRay53TxTn said:


> Yes, I received a DRO manual with my 728 VT mill.


Thanks for the reply....I got the larger manual for installing the scales but not the operation manual. I'm going to give them a call today...Thanks


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## Cletus (Aug 25, 2021)

Which display did you get, the 7-segment or the LCD Graphic?
I ordered the LCD with my setup.   

EDIT:    ahhh! you bought the Magna, my bad!


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## twowhites (Aug 25, 2021)

sunrise305 said:


> Thank you so much.  Very helpful





DBlue said:


> I just got my 728 VT today, I ordered it with the DRO, stand and a new vice. I didn't get a manual for the mill or a manual with the DRO. I know I can download the manual for the mill but not the DRO. Did you get a manual with your DRO?....Thanks. Don


Likewise, I did get the DRO installation manual as well but no user manual. Let me know if you locate one. 
There is one thing worth mentioning about installing the ratcheting leveling casters on the mill cabinet. The threads on the cabinet leveling foot nut are not quite the same as the Footmaster caster stem (something like 12 tpi vs 13 tpi for the Footmaster). I tapped the cabinet nut to match the leveling caster and then used a three inch carriage bolt to mate with the caster. Since you can't trust nuts tapped to a different thread, I put jam nuts above and below the cabinet nut to ensure a secure connection. The added thickness of the lower jam nut also ensured the caster could swivel 360 degrees.


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## Rodneyk (Aug 26, 2021)

FYI The DRO installation manuals I received were not really that helpful, but watching the DroPros videos a few times gave me everything I needed to install the DROs on both my mill and lathe. https://www.dropros.com/DRO_PROS_Digital_Readout_Videos.htm.

My delivery men unloaded the equipment and together we moved in into the garage.  Up a small rise (8" rise over a 26" distance) then down the driveway (not steep). The hardest part was getting it off the truck since the truck was really too small for the machine with the given equipment...


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## DBlue (Aug 28, 2021)

twowhites said:


> Likewise, I did get the DRO installation manual as well but no user manual. Let me know if you locate one.
> There is one thing worth mentioning about installing the ratcheting leveling casters on the mill cabinet. The threads on the cabinet leveling foot nut are not quite the same as the Footmaster caster stem (something like 12 tpi vs 13 tpi for the Footmaster). I tapped the cabinet nut to match the leveling caster and then used a three inch carriage bolt to mate with the caster. Since you can't trust nuts tapped to a different thread, I put jam nuts above and below the cabinet nut to ensure a secure connection. The added thickness of the lower jam nut also ensured the caster could swivel 360 degrees.


I called them and they sent me a PDF manual and I printed it.....


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## StevSmar (Aug 29, 2021)

jwmay said:


> … I find this whole "tip the delivery man" recommendation interesting…



Well, you’re not alone. Growing up in Australia which didn’t have a tradition of tipping, I had no idea what to do when I moved to Canada.

The minimum wage in Canada is not too bad I guess, so I didn’t know whether anyone in the service industry really should be tipped. I don’t get a tip for the work I do, though I’m not working for minimum wage.

After talking to a few other Canadians, the rule they use is that if the level of service is not dependant on a tip, then one isn’t warranted. (For example definitely not when ordering takeout that you pick up at the counter, or takeout delivery. You could even argue that dining in doesn’t qualify for a tip in Canada, using this method).

So for someone who helps you move a delivery up a driveway that requires effort on their behalf that they shouldn’t reasonably provide, then a tip is warranted.

I paid for liftgate delivery and when my lathe was delivered, the delivery company put it on a broken pallet that couldn’t have a pallet jack put underneath it. I grabbed some tools and was able to lift up a corner so we could get the pallet jack underneath and then we pushed it the 25’ up the driveway, where I used a crowbar to lift it off the pallet jack. Neither of us got a tip, which seems like it was reasonable?


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## Pescadora (Dec 22, 2021)

14 foot door was necessary to get the radar equipped boats in. Came in handy on delivery day. Cold Coors in the fridge.

Driver said "Best delivery of the day. "


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