# New To The Forum. Thinking About A Pm-1030v!



## HotChips (Feb 18, 2016)

Hi Everyone,

I'm Pat Bain from Northern California. Just retired and getting ready to fulfill the lifetime dream of owning a lathe. I worked for a number of years as a millwright in a lumber mill, so I've had some experience with with lathes and mills. But I am by no means a machinist!

I was looking pretty heavily at a Grizzly, but reading some of the threads on the forum got me tuned into the PM's. My lathe work will be divided into just tinkering and some gunsmith work. Any thoughts on the 1030V for my purposes? Also, can anyone tell me if a 1030V will fit on a 24" wide bench and where I might get a look at the manual online?

Thanks Much -- Pat


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## wrmiller (Feb 18, 2016)

Welcome to H-M Pat!

The 1030's bore of 1" may or may not be a little small for rifle work. I'm not sure, so I'll let others chime in on that. And with a overall length of 52" I have my doubts about it fitting on a 24" wide bench. You may need a little more real estate for that lathe. 

Last I talked to Matt at PM, he told me that they are working on some better quality manuals for their machines, but I don't know where they are exactly in that process. You could call and ask though.


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## mksj (Feb 18, 2016)

Per Bill's remarks, in this size range I would think the PM-1127VF-LB would be a better choice on all counts. Larger bore, wider bed, more Hp, larger chucks, separate feed/thread, already comes with a QCTP, etc. for not much more.  All depends on what you think your future needs are going to be, your space limitations, precision level and your budget. Long term, you probably need to think if you will need different chucks (these machines are bolt on vs. Camlock of a larger machine), tooling (size and type of cutters), and what you think you may need down the line if you have bigger projects. There is a lot of gear changing on these machines, so something to consider if you are going to be doing more than a little threading occasionally.

Manual: http://www.machinetoolonline.com/files/PM-1127VF-LB_Manual_2015.pdf


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## HotChips (Feb 19, 2016)

wrmiller said:


> Welcome to H-M Pat!
> 
> The 1030's bore of 1" may or may not be a little small for rifle work. I'm not sure, so I'll let others chime in on that. And with a overall length of 52" I have my doubts about it fitting on a 24" wide bench. You may need a little more real estate for that lathe.
> 
> Last I talked to Matt at PM, he told me that they are working on some better quality manuals for their machines, but I don't know where they are exactly in that process. You could call and ask though.



Thanks for the input Bill, I've got a call into PM to find out how wide a bench I'll need. They are supposed to call back today!!


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## HotChips (Feb 19, 2016)

mksj said:


> Per Bill's remarks, in this size range I would think the PM-1127VF-LB would be a better choice on all counts. Larger bore, wider bed, more Hp, larger chucks, separate feed/thread, already comes with a QCTP, etc. for not much more.  All depends on what you think your future needs are going to be, your space limitations, precision level and your budget. Long term, you probably need to think if you will need different chucks (these machines are bolt on vs. Camlock of a larger machine), tooling (size and type of cutters), and what you think you may need down the line if you have bigger projects. There is a lot of gear changing on these machines, so something to consider if you are going to be doing more than a little threading occasionally.
> 
> Manual: http://www.machinetoolonline.com/files/PM-1127VF-LB_Manual_2015.pdf



Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions and information. The 1030 will definitely be a bit on the small side for barrel work. I started out thinking a little over $1K for a Grizzly and I'm really pushing my budget at $2K for the 1030. I really like the 1127, but can't quite get there  and still have a few $'s left for tooling.


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## wrmiller (Feb 19, 2016)

HotChips said:


> Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions and information. The 1030 will definitely be a bit on the small side for barrel work. I started out thinking a little over $1K for a Grizzly and I'm really pushing my budget at $2K for the 1030. I really like the 1127, but can't quite get there  and still have a few $'s left for tooling.



Just a suggestion Pat?

I and others here who have been through this will suggest you 'stretch' yourself and get the most machine you can get for the money and space you have. You can then acquire tooling a piece or two at a time as funds permit. So what if you won't be able to run the lathe for a few weeks/months. Spend that time cleaning, adjusting, and tuning it (they all need it). 

You will be doing yourself a disservice to go too small on the lathe, tool it, and then find out it won't meet your needs. Then, at that point, it will end up costing you MORE money to have to go out and get into a properly sized machine for what you want to do. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.


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## jer (Feb 20, 2016)

Welcome Pat. The manual that came with my PM1030V was a copy of a copy of a copy, it is nearly unreadable. A first generation copy is on my PM wish list, I hope Matt gets one on the site so we can save/print out a copy.

I have mine on a 60" wide by 24" deep steel welding table. It is a perfect size to protect the lathe from other "stuff" banging into my new machine.

I plan to do some work on an AR or two along the line and feel the 10x30V will do what I need. If you are looking into bolt action rifle barrels it won't work. I would want a lathe larger than a 27" bed also. A friend does my barrel work on the longer barrels, than I may use on an AR, so I'm ok with my 10x30V. It is an impressive lathe, my first one, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I started out looking for a 7x14, then 8x16, then 9x19 and got the 10x30. A retired machinist friend, read Mentor, helped me spend way more than I wanted. LOL. I agree with Bill get the largest lathe you can afford and have a place for.

I'm sure you already know this is an addictive "hobby", I'm far from fully functional with the lathe and have been looking for a mill that I can "afford". I believe it will cost more than the lathe in the long run.


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## Silverbullet (Feb 21, 2016)

Most gunsmithing lathes range in the 13" to 15" x 40 or better. Ill kick in and say the same thing by small you'll always need bigger. By the biggest one you can handle , grizzly sells a few in the 13x40 range and up advertised as gunsmith lathes. PM has a very good rep for standing behind what he sells. Plus he will work hard to get what you want and need .


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## HotChips (Feb 21, 2016)

Thanks so much to everyone who has chimed in with suggestions and information. I've decided to follow the time-honored American tradition of spending more than I should and step up to purchasing the PM-1127. I would really like to get one of the larger Grizzly models for my gun work but I just don't have the space for it. My poor garage is already stuffed with wood-working tools and I'm really having to squeeze to get the 1127 in.

According to the manual my bench only needs to be 26" wide to accommodate the 1127. Can someone please confirm that for me?

Thanks again for your friendly welcome and support -- Pat


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## Ken from ontario (Jun 5, 2017)

Hi Pat, was wondering if you settled for a PM-1127  or are you still looking? if you got the 1127, what's your opinion?  any regrets?
I am in the same situation you were in a year ago but I'm convinced the 1228 VF-LB  is the right lathe for me, the only obstacle remaining is to convince the wife.


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## fradish (Jun 5, 2017)

Ken from ontario said:


> I am in the same situation you were in a year ago but I'm convinced the 1228 VF-LB is the right lathe for me,



Ken, I have the PM1228 and I like it, but it was recently pointed out to me that the PM1127 now has the D1-4 spindle just like the PM1228.
The D1-4 spindle was the main reason I went with the PM1228 along with the larger motor and slightly larger swing and bed length.

But...  Had I been able to get the PM1127 with the D1-4 spindle, I probably would have gone that way since it comes with more accessories,
mainly the 4 jaw independent chuck, a faceplate and a QCTP.

http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1127vf-lb/


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## Ken from ontario (Jun 5, 2017)

Thanks Frank for the new info, didn't know   PM1127 now comes with DI-4 spindle.


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## USMCDOC (Jun 5, 2017)

i just aquired a PM1022V and love it so far.. i am not sure what kind of "barrels" your thinking of.. but you would need a cat on the back end of the spindle.. also if you could take a steady rest and convert it to  full roller bearing (not rollers on the end of the fingers but rather a tapered roller bearing in it) in witch you can have another cat to hold the other end of the barrel.. most barrels will fit most of the way through that 1" bore,.. esp hunting barrels. you just can't get the shank end of the barrel (unless your working with a .22LR which more then likely will have pretty much a straight shank to the muzzle).  You should be able to drive it with a dog.. Yeah.. "gunsmiths" using big machines is pretty much the way.. but a lot can be done on a smaller machine.. Contender barrels, 30-30's and that ilk, pistol barrels, semi autos. You get the picture.. the one that would be a bit tougher in my mind would me like a double bbl shotgun.. or a long shotgun barrel..


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## gregc (Jun 7, 2017)

"According to the manual my bench only needs to be 26" wide to accommodate the 1127. Can someone please confirm that for me?"

Check the manuals and documents near the end on all of the machines for more information.  For the PM1127 :
Length 55" x width 27.5"  x height 26.5
I would think that the 26" however would work fine as the chip tray is larger than the overall footprint of the machine.  The important part is the lathe mounts are securely on the table.   I am going to put my lathe on a bench 52" long so it will hang over the ends a few inches and I am assuming the gear box will be more than this 3" difference. 

Your story sounds similar to mine except I started looking at used first but liked the new features if they could be had at a good price.  I think the used market is comparatively expensive here so started looking more closely at new machines.  I had never seen any of the Chinese imports so I also went to HF to see theirs.  My impression was that they must have redefined what a metal lathe is.  (This is a metal lathe??)

I immediately started looking at the 10x22 and 10x30 lathes as these seemed to be about the space, money and weight  I felt comfortable with at the time.  I almost bought one of the Grizzly lathes as my parents live in Springfield but after looking at their offerings in this size noted that their lead screws were actually metric with dials marked in inches.  So on these machines 0.100 was actually 1 full revolution + ~0.004.   I would have preferred to have a all "true metric" machine vs. this mixture but would prefer to have an all inch/imperial lathe all things being equal.   Quickly decided I would not buy a Grizzly for a lathe or mill as they don't tell you this up front anywhere (maybe something that is not precision).  I am glad I got to see it first rather than be faced with the decision to ship back or just keep it rather than incur this cost.   Grizzly have had quite a few negative reviews as well.  

The Weiss machines I expect are all metric and found few others in my size range.  After this I decided that PM was the right choice for vendors as they are very specific that their machines are all inches, and they seem very competitive if you look closely and they have a good warranty that few have.  Nobody else says they are true inch machines, so I am not sure what the truth is on the other choices.  For PM I could not find any significant negative reviews.  A couple minor issues like they had to wait longer than they wanted. 

Others have said get something larger than you think you need. For $100 the jump from the PM1022 to the PM1030 was an easy step.   Moving to a PM1127 for $900 was a bit more than I had planned but when looking at added features and tooling I convinced myself it would be worth the step.  The PM1228 again is only $100 more so ...  Once there you ask yourself should I just go ahead and get the PM1236 for just $100 more than the PM1228 (more like 300-400 w/ tooling).  The PM1236 is a much larger machine if you look at the weight and features.   However from my perspective it is not worth the extra money for me as some can be bought and added inexpensively (coolant, light).   The foot brake is not essential IMHO and adding would be a bit more difficult but possible.  If the PM1236 was a VFD machine I may have chosen the PM1236 in the end as this was the largest negative for me on this machine.  This was something that I really wanted (VFD) for a CNC like application that I won't go into here.   In general it is larger than I really wanted or can imagine using at this time.   With the gap feature than none of the others have, the max swing is 17.5"  (wow).  

Using my personal calculus I have decided to order the PM1127.  The PM1228 was not enough of a difference with less tooling compared to the PM1127 to sway me.  The size and $ of the PM1236 was too much machine for me IMHO.  

I am not sure this is helpful to others but these were my decisions.   In general I thought the the PM machines were the best option with what I have learned and no close 2nd really exists once you do some careful looking.  In the end it was which PM machine was best for me.   I am going to hold off on a mill until I get settled into the lathe.  I won't be spending a lot of time on deciding who the vendor will be next time.  Just a size and $ decision.


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## ropedrag (May 6, 2020)

This post is old a hell but relevant to my situation. gregc if your still around I'd be interested to know on how you've like the 1127.

Thanks


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## ttabbal (May 6, 2020)

I can't speak for him, but I have been very happy with mine. I had a similar thought pattern going into it, and went with the 1127. It has done a great job for me and held up to my learning mistakes. 

I started looking at mini lathes, Sherline, etc.. The jump to the 1127 was a good size one, but I still think it was for the best. I would have been disappointed with the smaller machines. I've even had a couple of times I wish for a larger machine, but that's going to happen now and again at almost any size.


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