# Ordered a PM-25MV



## jheinen (Aug 5, 2018)

Hello all. I'm a new member and I ordered a PM-25MV a few days ago, along with the DRO and power feed. I have never milled anything in my life, so I have a lot to learn. I'm a blacksmith and bladesmith, and I bought the mill primarily for milling blade shoulders, slots in guards, and facing ricassos, as well as making tools like file guides and such.


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## Z2V (Aug 5, 2018)

Welcome to H-M. PM has a great reputation for quality machines and outstanding customer service. Matt is top notch.
I’m sure you will enjoy your purchase. Keep us posted on your delivery and setup. Don’t forget pics!


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## ch2co (Aug 5, 2018)

I think you are going to love it!
You must memorize this statement and never forget it, “ If you don’t send pictures of every step of your installation, it never happened.”
This is true for any and all projects reported to this group.  Enjoy!


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## TonyRV2 (Aug 5, 2018)

Congratulations on your new mill.  I'm also a knifemaker and purchased the same mill a few months ago to do the exact same types of things.  Let me know if I can answer any questions you may have about the mill.  First thing you may want to do is to remove the chip shield as most of us have.


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## jheinen (Aug 5, 2018)

TonyRV2 said:


> Congratulations on your new mill.  I'm also a knifemaker and purchased the same mill a few months ago to do the exact same types of things.  Let me know if I can answer any questions you may have about the mill.  First thing you may want to do is to remove the chip shield as most of us have.



Thanks! I suppose all my questions at this point are around how do you mill a guard, and how do you mill shoulders ? I'm also wondering what other things the machine is useful for in knife making (e.g. can you use it to face the ricasso so that it's flat an parallel? 

I'm taking a class tomorrow night and next Monday on basic mill usage.

-Jeff


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## TonyRV2 (Aug 6, 2018)

I'm afraid we're in about the same boat in regards to what applications are going to be suitable to knife making.  My main use would be for milling fullers and shaping guards.  As far as shaping the knife itself, I don't think a mill is going to be as good as the 2x72 grinder unless you have a CNC set up.  And then...its not really a handcrafted item anymore.


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## monduconstruct (Aug 31, 2018)

Hello - I am brand new to the forum, and am very interested in the PM-25MV. I've been on the fence about it for some time, and it sounds like you two might have some first-hand experience with it. I am interested in using it to make folding knife parts exclusively, mainly very small pocket knives out of O1 tool steels and/or stainless steels - nothing overly thick or large though. Could either of you weigh-in on whether or not this might be a good mill for such a purpose? Have you both found it large/strong enough for your tasks? Many thanks!


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## shooter123456 (Aug 31, 2018)

monduconstruct said:


> Hello - I am brand new to the forum, and am very interested in the PM-25MV. I've been on the fence about it for some time, and it sounds like you two might have some first-hand experience with it. I am interested in using it to make folding knife parts exclusively, mainly very small pocket knives out of O1 tool steels and/or stainless steels - nothing overly thick or large though. Could either of you weigh-in on whether or not this might be a good mill for such a purpose? Have you both found it large/strong enough for your tasks? Many thanks!


I use mine mostly for aluminum but have cut both O1 and 304 SS on it.  The machine will handle them just fine, but you need to be careful with stainless.  It doesn't leave a lot of margin for error with your speeds and feeds so you can end up going through a lot of tools learning to cut it right. 

Since you say it will be mainly for small ones, I wouldn't hesitate to get the PM-25.  If you wanted to remove a lot of material very quickly, a larger one might be better suited. 

I have also not found a limit in the rigidity of the machine yet.  The limit on mine was the stock motor, but I was always pleased with its ability to remove material quickly and hold relatively tight tolerances (.002"ish in aluminum, I don't recall how it did with the SS).


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## jheinen (Aug 31, 2018)

I've only had mine for a couple of weeks, so I can't provide much information. I have milled a mild steel bar to within .002-3 square using a 2" face mill with no trouble.


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## TonyRV2 (Aug 31, 2018)

monduconstruct said:


> Hello - I am brand new to the forum, and am very interested in the PM-25MV.....


I've had my PM-24MV for a few months now and have no complaints.  I still believe its the best choice in its class.  For me it was between this one and the similar Grizzly. I think the PM was around 300 bucks more if I remember right.  But for that you get a 3 year warranty and a belt drive (like a bridgeport) instead of a gear drive.  The result is a smoother running machine without having to worry about stripping plastic gears. For building folders this mill will do just fine. The biggest challenge will be setting up your jobs, and no matter what machine you have, that's always the most time consuming task.


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## shooter123456 (Aug 31, 2018)

TonyRV2 said:


> I've had my PM-24MV for a few months now and have no complaints.  I still believe its the best choice in its class.  For me it was between this one and the similar Grizzly. I think the PM was around 300 bucks more if I remember right.  But for that you get a 3 year warranty and a belt drive (like a bridgeport) instead of a gear drive.  The result is a smoother running machine without having to worry about stripping plastic gears. For building folders this mill will do just fine. The biggest challenge will be setting up your jobs, and no matter what machine you have, that's always the most time consuming task.


That's not all you get, if you are comparing it the G0704.  

The two look very similar, but there are a lot of key differences.  First, the PM-25 has a brushless motor instead of the brushed motor a G0704 has.  That gives you a bit more torque on the low end, it runs quieter, and requires almost no maintenance. The way the base and column connect is also different.  The PM-25 column bolts to the base from the top, with the base extending all the way to the rear of the column.  The G0704 bolts to the back of the base.  This means the G0704 base is smaller, and there is less contact area where the two connect.  The saddle on the PM-25 is much thicker than the one on the G0704, which again means more rigidity.  The base is bigger and wider on the PM-25 compared to the G0704.  When you look at the 2, the G0704 has a slant at the base that starts right below the saddle, until it gets to the bottom.  The PM-25 goes straight out then down.  The PM-25 has a solid table while the G0704 has open ends that the X axis lead screw blocks close up.  The single piece table is going to be a little bit stronger.  I am pretty sure the table is thicker on the PM-25 if the model of the G0704 I downloaded is accurate. The G0704 does not come with oil grooves and oiling dimples, but the PM-25 does.  

There really isn't any comparison between the two, and when you consider that the PM-25 is now $1770 and the G0704 is $1838, its a no brainer.


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## jsh (Nov 17, 2018)

Shooter, I was poking around looking for input. 
A thanks from me for the explanation of the differences. 
Jeff


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## shooter123456 (Nov 21, 2018)

jsh said:


> Shooter, I was poking around looking for input.
> A thanks from me for the explanation of the differences.
> Jeff


I am glad I could help!  They look really similar until you have looked at them a whole lot trying to decide between the two.  Now, I can't imagine how they sell any G0704s because the PM-25 is better in every way, has better support, and its now cheaper.


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## bakrch (Nov 27, 2018)

shooter123456 said:


> I am glad I could help!  They look really similar until you have looked at them a whole lot trying to decide between the two.  Now, I can't imagine how they sell any G0704s because the PM-25 is better in every way, has better support, and its now cheaper.



Not in the way of RPM (after mods), but superior in every other way. I break a lot of engraving tools on SS and Ti, but it gets by I suppose.


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## shooter123456 (Nov 27, 2018)

bakrch said:


> Not in the way of RPM (after mods), but superior in every other way. I break a lot of engraving tools on SS and Ti, but it gets by I suppose.


Im not sure what you mean. Stock they have very similar spindle speeds, except the PM-25 has a superior motor (more torque through the RPM range) and has a belt drive. Not sure you can compare 2 machines after modifying them, because they can be modified any number of ways to get the sort of performance you are looking for.


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## bakrch (Nov 27, 2018)

shooter123456 said:


> Im not sure what you mean. Stock they have very similar spindle speeds, except the PM-25 has a superior motor (more torque through the RPM range) and has a belt drive. Not sure you can compare 2 machines after modifying them, because they can be modified any number of ways to get the sort of performance you are looking for.



There are no established mods for significant increase for the PM-25, as it seems to be electronically limited. After my warranty is up, I will have a look at increasing it, but as of now there isn't much more than a few suggestions out there to follow. The Grizzly has several established methods.

I suppose it does not matter for somebody who has the skill to tackle either machine in their own way, but to a newbie who is looking to purchase something with importance for greater potential with regard to RPM increase, the G0704 has the edge.


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## shooter123456 (Nov 27, 2018)

bakrch said:


> There are no established mods for significant increase for the PM-25, as it seems to be electronically limited. After my warranty is up, I will have a look at increasing it, but as of now there isn't much more than a few suggestions out there to follow. The Grizzly has several established methods.
> 
> I suppose it does not matter for somebody who has the skill to tackle either machine in their own way, but to a newbie who is looking to purchase something with importance for greater potential with regard to RPM increase, the G0704 has the edge.


Oh I see what you mean now. Im not sure how easy the speed increase is on the Grizzly, but for the PM-25 its as simple as making new pulleys. I made a smaller one for the spindle and a larger one for the motor and bumped it up to 5500 RPM. Easy and inexpensive.


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## bakrch (Nov 27, 2018)

shooter123456 said:


> Oh I see what you mean now. Im not sure how easy the speed increase is on the Grizzly, but for the PM-25 its as simple as making new pulleys. I made a smaller one for the spindle and a larger one for the motor and bumped it up to 5500 RPM. Easy and inexpensive.



Oh nice! If you have pulley dimensions that you could share I would be eternally grateful. 5500 would be plenty for my needs.


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## jsh (Nov 27, 2018)

What are the differences in the PM 25 and the PM 727?
727 is gear drive?


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