# New PM932M-PDF on the way - Finally



## RebelJD (Aug 26, 2021)

Hello,
I'm new to forum and soon to be owner of a 932M-PDF.  This machine was ordered on March 1 2021 and there have been lots delays due to shipping container issues, COVID-19, etc.  I'm told it is at PM and due to ship to me soon, hopefully in a week or two.  I did a lot of research before I ordered it due to favorable comments about the machine and PM.  However, I also saw some issues with sand in the grease, etc.  Those posts were several years old so my assumption is that those issues have been resolved, I sure hope so.  

With a little time to think about things before the machine shows up I'd like to get some feedback on things I should check before I put the machine to use.  Obviously I'll need to tram the head, check the DRO's, etc but what about checking the internals. Should I inspect the gearbox, PDF etc.  

Also, has anyone experienced any problems with the capacitors on the spindle motor and z-axis motor.   I keep spare capacitors on hand for my Air Conditioner due to failures periodically.   I'm considered stocking spare capacitors for mill to keep any down time to a minimum.

Lastly I'm considering some sort of power draw bar and would be interested any experience with that.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jim


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## yota (Aug 26, 2021)

I have the same mill ordered, got the same message you did a few days ago.  very excited.  I have also read about casting sand being left inside the gearbox and painted over.  only to come loose in the warm oil and ruin the bearings.  have read this online several times about PM  and other chinese gearhead mills.  makes me want to take it apart before I even run it.


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## George R (Aug 26, 2021)

I got the same type of message for my PM-932M-BASIC yesterday. I ordered mine on June 20th.

Looking forward to getting it.


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## av8ter (Aug 26, 2021)

I took delivery of a 932PDF and 1236 lathe about 9 months ago. The lathe was really clean (other than shipping grease/oil) but the mill was another story. Sand in the grease on the Z axis screw. Sand in the power quill feed. Sand on the Z axis ways. X and Y were pretty clean and the gearbox seemed clean. The mill has a lot of time on it and no caps blown yet. Not sure the Z axis motor has any.


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## yota (Aug 27, 2021)

wonderful.  this is good info though and confirms my suspicions.  thank you.


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## RebelJD (Aug 27, 2021)

Yota and George R, perhaps we should compare notes when ours arrive.  It was disturbing to read what av8ter had to say.


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## Janderso (Aug 27, 2021)

Congratulations guys!
It sure is a shame you have to question the brand new condition.


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## av8ter (Aug 27, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> Yota and George R, perhaps we should compare notes when ours arrive.  It was disturbing to read what av8ter had to say.





Janderso said:


> Congratulations guys!
> It sure is a shame you have to question the brand new condition.


Well, I look at it this way. A Grizzly G0755 with stand is basically the same as the PM932M with stand. Both have a cast stand, power X and Z with no power down feed on the quill. The Grizz comes in at $4575.00 delivered. The PM comes to your door at $3950.00. That's 625 bucks cheaper. But, the Grizzlies don't seem to have as many complaints about the grit. So, I look at it as I made 625 bucks in my pocket to tear it down and clean it up. In the process I got to see how it's built and fine tune things on reassembly. Plus, for what I do I have to have the power down feed on the quill. two thirds of my paying jobs are using the PDF. Plus, the service from PM has been outstanding.


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## yota (Aug 27, 2021)

pre-covid chinese machinery having these issues, wonder how their "skilled labor" situation is now?   as well as materials supply?  hey, I knew all this before I ordered, agonized over getting a bridgeport but they are just too colossal.  it is what it is and we'll deal with it.  I went with PM because they have the best warranty, are reputed to have a handle on the quality of manufacture (more than say Bolton) and they do have some great people on staff.  hell I got an email reply from Matt on a sunday a few weeks ago.  it'll be great.


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## RebelJD (Aug 27, 2021)

Well I just got confirmation that mine has shipped.  That is sooner than I expected so that is great.  
I do hear a lot of good things about PM post sale service, but hopefully I won't need it.  
Honestly I'd probably take a deep look at any machine I bought, particularly coming from China.  That's the world we live in today.  Too bad someone like Matt can't build something domestically that is as cost effective as imports.  
I'm really looking forward to getting the mill up and running, I have a lot projects to get done...............


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## George R (Aug 27, 2021)

av8ter said:


> Well, I look at it this way. A Grizzly G0755 with stand is basically the same as the PM932M with stand. Both have a cast stand, power X and Z with no power down feed on the quill. The Grizz comes in at $4575.00 delivered. The PM comes to your door at $3950.00. That's 625 bucks cheaper. But, the Grizzlies don't seem to have as many complaints about the grit. So, I look at it as I made 625 bucks in my pocket to tear it down and clean it up. In the process I got to see how it's built and fine tune things on reassembly. Plus, for what I do I have to have the power down feed on the quill. two thirds of my paying jobs are using the PDF. Plus, the service from PM has been outstanding.



I ordered the 932M-BASIC, so no X power feed or head lift motor. So, my base price was $2299. Nobody else has a mill with the spindle travel and a square column at that low of a price point. 

If I have to clean it up, I’ll just remind my self about that.

I got an email today saying it shipped today


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## av8ter (Aug 27, 2021)

George R said:


> I ordered the 932M-BASIC, so no X power feed or head lift motor. So, my base price was $2299. Nobody else has a mill with the spindle travel and a square column at that low of a price point.
> 
> If I have to clean it up, I’ll just remind my self about that.
> 
> ...


It shipped! Nice. I bought mine to make money with and those extras sped up production by enough to pay the extra cost. If I was just going hobby I might not have got all the extras.


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## George R (Aug 27, 2021)

av8ter said:


> It shipped! Nice. I bought mine to make money with and those extras sped up production by enough to pay the extra cost. If I was just going hobby I might not have got all the extras.



I’ve never had a mill before and had already ordered a lathe, so didn’t want to spend the extra for something that’s not bringing in $. Glad I ordered when I did, the price has gone up a lot


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## RebelJD (Aug 31, 2021)

FYI for those expecting a delivery soon.  I got a call from the truck line this morning to schedule my delivery and I asked if the two pallets were stacked.  They told me there were no instructions from the shipper to not stack them.  PM has told me on several occasions they instruct the shipper to not stack.  The truck line told me they will make sure they are not stacked when they get loaded on the lift gate truck locally.  Hopefully that happens, I don't want to deal with stacked pallets.


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## yota (Sep 1, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> FYI for those expecting a delivery soon.  I got a call from the truck line this morning to schedule my delivery and I asked if the two pallets were stacked.  They told me there were no instructions from the shipper to not stack them.  PM has told me on several occasions they instruct the shipper to not stack.  The truck line told me they will make sure they are not stacked when they get loaded on the lift gate truck locally.  Hopefully that happens, I don't want to deal with stacked pallets.


I was concerned by your post about the crates being stacked one atop the other.  when mine arrives I have to back my truck up to the lift gate and have the driver pallet jack them into my truck bed.  I then have to drive across 150 or so feet of not too smooth turf to get to my shop.  if the crates are stacked I would be concerned about the top one falling.

so I called Estes and the nice lady looked up my pro number and said that PM had requested in writing that the crates not be stacked.


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## RebelJD (Sep 1, 2021)

Mine up showed today, exactly 6 months to the day from when I ordered it.  It was shipped by Dayton Freight and did arrive on two pallets not stacked.  Whew.   When I looked at the freight ticket it clearly showed that Precision Matthews had specified it was not to be stacked.  I don't know why the person that called to schedule delivery didn't see that.

The packaging was excellent and there was no damage what so ever.  I have a small single axle trailer that I backed up to the lift gate of the delivery truck.  I have my own pallet jack so we unloaded the first crate, the big one and rolled it to the front of my trailer.  The driver then set the other crate on the back of my trailer.   I have a walkout basement with a garage door to which I backed up and used a cherry picker to unload the base and the mill with no difficulty.

I did get the mill set on the base and have looked things over.  The only issue I've seen so far is how the DRO is mounted to the column as its very sloppy.  And, I don't think it will swing far enough forward.  I'm going to move it to the side of the column and stiffen up the mounting mechanism.

The manual that came with the mill is somewhat lacking.  I did download a manual from PM's website that is much better.  I'm going to read thru them this evening and then do the complete inspection and set-up tomorrow.


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## George R (Sep 2, 2021)

Just got my PM-932M mill


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## EVMiller (Sep 2, 2021)

Congrats! I picked up a 932V recently so I had no gear/oil/sand to worry about and I still tore everything down to clean. I had never used a mill before but breaking it down is a fairly easy, just don't do it in the back of your pick up like I did!


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## yota (Sep 3, 2021)

my 932M has been sitting at the trucking terminal on Orlando last 3 days.  they said it had to be transferred to their small truck division to get the tailgate service.  I live in a small town 2 hours from the terminal so I'm sure its sitting waiting for them to get a few other deliveries to my area as I haven't even got a call from them to schedule the delivery yet.


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## RebelJD (Sep 3, 2021)

I've done a lot of inspection and cleaning and have found some things that need attention.   I'm going to start a new thread to describe the Good, the Bad and Ugly things I have found.


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## Philzy (Sep 3, 2021)

I’ve had the PM-932M-PDF-w/3axDRO in my shopping cart for the past few weeks. I just can’t seem to pull the trigger. I called PM yesterday and spoke with one of the reps. He said they had 12 mills and 13 stands in stock ready to ship. I figure I still have a few days to make up my mind.

Right now I’m running a Sieg X2.7L clone with a DRO and power feed on X and Z that I’ll end up selling if I upgrade.  The 932 would be a nice step up.


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## yota (Sep 3, 2021)

its a hard decision.


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## sunrise305 (Sep 3, 2021)

Same here.  I had the 738VT in my cart a couple weeks ago, ready to pull the trigger the next day.  When I went in to buy it the price had literally gone up $300 overnight.  That was on top of a $200 increase since I first started looking at it a few months ago.  With the stand, DRO, power feed, shipping, vise, basic tooling, etc. I was already way beyond my comfort zone before those increases.  Now I’m debating.


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## Larry$ (Sep 3, 2021)

I suspect that much of the price increase is the result of sky high container shipping costs. They have multiplied in the last 6 months. Will they come back down, eventually?


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## RebelJD (Sep 3, 2021)

I have found some more issues with my machine.  I'm going to call PM first thing Tuesday morning to discuss.


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## yota (Sep 4, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> I have found some more issues with my machine.  I'm going to call PM first thing Tuesday morning to discuss.


why did you delete the previous thread with pictures about the table being a badly machined mess?


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## RebelJD (Sep 4, 2021)

I decided to see what the response from Precision Mathews is before I publish anymore comments.  There are major issues that need to be resolved.  I tried calling on Friday afternoon, but the message said they were closed.  This is a very frustrating situation and I'm not at all happy.


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## yota (Sep 4, 2021)

you have me worried as hell.  mine should be here monday or tuesday.


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## yota (Sep 4, 2021)

they told me they unpack each machine, run it and make sure it is built to their specifications.  I don't know how they could miss what you described last night.


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## RebelJD (Sep 4, 2021)

It doesn't look to me like mine was unpacked and ran, it was in the original crate.  They may have taken the top off and looked inside but I don't see how they could have done any inspection or testing.  Like I said I want to talk to them before I make any more comments.  According the advertising on their website and some of the comments others have made they make things right.  I sure hope so.  Let us know how yours looks, hopefully better than mine.


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## yota (Sep 4, 2021)

will do.  when you call them back insist on talking to Matt.  I've always read that he's an upstanding guy.


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## yota (Sep 4, 2021)

BTW, I copied this from my last email from Precision Mathews:

"



Invoice - Precision Matthews Machinery Co <invoice@precisionmatthews.com>​
Wed, Aug 25, 1:56 PM (10 days ago)
 
to me






Hi ,

We are happy to say that the PM932 Milling Machine that you have been
waiting on has arrived at our warehouse.  *We are beginning our
inspections on these machines, running them and looking them over to
make sure they are up to our standards. * We have attached a copy of your
sales order, please review your shipping


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## Philzy (Sep 4, 2021)

Well, I went ahead and pull the trigger on a PM-932M-PDFw/PM3axDRO.  I ordered a lathe on the 16th of last month. It’s due to ship at the end of this month. I’ll call PM on Tuesday to see if I can get the orders combined so they come in on the same truck.  

And, I too, will take copious notes and pictures of anything unusual.


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## George R (Sep 5, 2021)

Got my mill unloaded and on the bench. I added the e-stop, because the basic version doesn’t include one. Overall, it looks good so far. 


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## yota (Sep 5, 2021)

George. that looks like a hella sturdy bench.  1/2" top?


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## George R (Sep 5, 2021)

yota said:


> George. that looks like a hella sturdy bench. 1/2" top?



Yes. 1/2 inch top. 26”x60” 

I cut a hole, so I can get to the lead screw adjustment 


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## RebelJD (Sep 6, 2021)

George R said:


> Yes. 1/2 inch top. 26”x60”
> 
> I cut a hole, so I can get to the lead screw adjustment
> 
> ...


Hi George, that is a nice bench, I'm jealous.   By the way, what year is your Model A, I have two 29's.
Jim


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## George R (Sep 6, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> Hi George, that is a nice bench, I'm jealous. By the way, what year is your Model A, I have two 29's.
> Jim



Thanks

That one is a 29 coupe, I also have a 31 coupe, and a 29 AA flatbed. 

My dad has a 31 Tudor, a 29 blind back sedan, a 31 town sedan, and a 31 closed cab pickup.

We are Model A poor. Lol


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## sunrise305 (Sep 7, 2021)

George R said:


> Got my mill unloaded and on the bench. I added the e-stop, because the basic version doesn’t include one. Overall, it looks good so far.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


How did you get it off the larger bottom pallet?  And were you able to manage the whole process from delivery to placement on your stand with only that hoist?


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## George R (Sep 7, 2021)

sunrise305 said:


> How did you get it off the larger bottom pallet? And were you able to manage the whole process from delivery to placement on your stand with only that hoist?



I had it delivered to work. Our shipping guy put it in the back of my truck. Everything else, I did with my hoist and the little 4 wheel plywood dolly in front of the hoist. That’s a 2 1/2 ton hoist, so it will lift 1000 lbs with the boom all the way out.

I left the larger pallet in my truck.

The hoist makes it a 1 man job.


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## RebelJD (Sep 7, 2021)

I did it all by myself too, but I do have a pallet jack.   I backed my small trailer up to the lift gate of the delivery truck and used my pallet jack on the pallet with the mill.  The truck driver then used his pallet jack to put the smaller pallet with the base on the back of my trailer.  I then backed the trailer up to the garage door and use my engine hoist to unload.  I did the uncrating on the trailer, it was a bit of an effort to bust apart the crates. The mill is bolted to a smaller sub-pallet which I simply set on legs of the engine hoist and rolled it inside. 

I'm still working with Precision Matthews on my quality issues and will post an update when I know more.


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## sunrise305 (Sep 7, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> I did it all by myself too, but I do have a pallet jack.   I backed my small trailer up to the lift gate of the delivery truck and used my pallet jack on the pallet with the mill.  The truck driver then used his pallet jack to put the smaller pallet with the base on the back of my trailer.  I then backed the trailer up to the garage door and use my engine hoist to unload.  I did the uncrating on the trailer, it was a bit of an effort to bust apart the crates. The mill is bolted to a smaller sub-pallet which I simply set on legs of the engine hoist and rolled it inside.
> 
> I'm still working with Precision Matthews on my quality issues and will post an update when I know more.
> 
> ...


Thanks!  All these deliver reports are super helpful for those of us working through the details of getting it from the truck to it's final resting place on a stand in a workshop.


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## RebelJD (Sep 8, 2021)

Be careful with how you route the sling, I saw some pictures of someone who routed it over the electrical box on the spindle motor and broke it.  Its made of plastic.


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## Philzy (Oct 1, 2021)

RebelJD said:


> …..
> I'm still working with Precision Matthews on my quality issues and will post an update when I know more……



RebelJD, were you able to get your quality issues taken care of?


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## RebelJD (Oct 1, 2021)

Yes, I have most of the issues resolved.  I wanted to spend some time using the mill before I posted an update.  I'll probably just start a new thread.


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