# Pm 1030v question



## tweinke (May 7, 2017)

This might sound a little silly but I have a quick question for someone who has a 1030v. Does the apron have oil in it? in pictures I have seen I notice a sight glass on the right hand side and think I see a fill plug on the left. I am exploring lathe options at this time with a limited budget predicted and this seems to be the smallest lathe in the work envelope I will consider unless the budget goes up. Actually any comments and observations would be nice.  All this is because I have a tendency to over research everything.


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## DrAsus (May 7, 2017)

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## Bob Korves (May 7, 2017)

You might also consider looking at used machines.  Much money can be saved, and/or bigger or better lathes can be had for the same money.  They are sometimes available in essentially new condition, and often come with tooling as well, at prices greatly reduced from new.  The tooling for a lathe can easily cost as much as the lathe.  If you go that way, you will need to know how to evaluate the lathe, or bring along someone who can.  Even new machines will often have issues that need to be resolved, and also commonly need adjustments and tightening of bolts, etc.  I do not consider new Asian lathes to be "plug and play."  Of course, Matt at QMT would really appreciate your purchase of a new one, and he is helpful to buyers and owners on this forum and off it.  Your choice...

My lathe is a 13x40 Chinese machine (Kent KLS-1340A) that I bought five years old, but quite obviously only used once, had to clean and adjust it, and change the oil and lube everything.  I paid $3000, and picked it up locally, saving the freight cost.  New, they go for around $5000 (plus freight), the $2000 being able to be saved for tooling and other purchases.  The only 'new' machine I have is a drill press purchased new in 1986.


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## WMello (May 7, 2017)

Hi Tweinke,

Yes, there is a oil reservoir at the apron. It lubricates the gears for the cross feed

Wagner


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## tweinke (May 7, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> You might also consider looking at used machines. Much money can be saved,



Yes that is a good thought, everything around here that I have looked at in the size range that I could possibly fit in my shop area has been worn out junk for premium prices but none the less still looking at used.



WMello said:


> Hi Tweinke,
> 
> Yes, there is a oil reservoir at the apron. It lubricates the gears for the cross feed
> 
> Wagner



Thanks for the info! Any comments on operation, threading, material or just general thoughts? I certainly have been happy with QMT as far as customer service so PM is the only thing that is at the top of my list unless I stumble on a good condition used machine.


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## shooter123456 (May 12, 2017)

tweinke said:


> This might sound a little silly but I have a quick question for someone who has a 1030v. Does the apron have oil in it? in pictures I have seen I notice a sight glass on the right hand side and think I see a fill plug on the left. I am exploring lathe options at this time with a limited budget predicted and this seems to be the smallest lathe in the work envelope I will consider unless the budget goes up. Actually any comments and observations would be nice.  All this is because I have a tendency to over research everything.



Yes, there is oil in the apron for the power feeds. 

What do you want to do with it? I went with the 1030v because I wanted to be able to profile rifle barrels.  I have had mine for 10 months now and had several hundred hours of use on it so I have gotten to know it pretty well.


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## tweinke (May 12, 2017)

I'm mainly a garage tinkerer and do whatever trips my trigger at the time, lol. But I mainly work in steel more precisely mystery metal. I think the work envelope of the 1030 is ok for me but if I can go bigger I will which will be dictated by budget. Used worn out machines do not catch my fancy much so I look for a jewel at a decent price not expecting to find one. New seems to have the most appeal. So a 1030v or 1127 or 1228 or 1236 is the order of the wish list.  The 3in1 I have has a 1 inch spindle bore and that has not been to big an issue mostly bed length. Any input is very appreciated!


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## shooter123456 (May 12, 2017)

tweinke said:


> I'm mainly a garage tinkerer and do whatever trips my trigger at the time, lol. But I mainly work in steel more precisely mystery metal. I think the work envelope of the 1030 is ok for me but if I can go bigger I will which will be dictated by budget. Used worn out machines do not catch my fancy much so I look for a jewel at a decent price not expecting to find one. New seems to have the most appeal. So a 1030v or 1127 or 1228 or 1236 is the order of the wish list.  The 3in1 I have has a 1 inch spindle bore and that has not been to big an issue mostly bed length. Any input is very appreciated!


I work with mystery metal a lot too.  There is a recycle center near me that has a bunch of cut offs from professionals.  They will sort it into aluminum, stainless steel, and not stainless steel.  

Here is a 1.75(ish, more like 1.79")x12" I got and cleaned up on the lathe.  






Here is the finish I got with a toolholder I made.





Another piece of scrap from the yard.





And after cleaning up.





On the last one, you can see the color of the chips.  It is a very capable machine in my opinion.  When hogging steel, I have gotten the thing running 800 RPM with its fastest feed on 1.5" material and it rips through it no problem.  On my thread about the machine, I detail all the issues I have found with it and in most cases, how I corrected them to improve the machine.  I also talk about some of the things I have done with it so you can have a little idea of what it is capable of.  

I can't comment on the 1030v vs a larger machine because the 1030v is the largest I have used.  I came from a 7x12 HF lathe and the 1030v was a massive upgrade.  

At the time, I was also looking online for used machines because I always see threads of guys who pick up 14x40 lathes with 4 chucks, 50 carbide inserts, 10 holders, a collet system, and DRO installed for $500 delivered and installed (Ok thats in exaggeration, but you know what I am talking about).   After about 3 months of searching, the only deal I saw was a 16x96 lathe a guy was selling for $800 but that wouldn't fit in a 2 car garage nor in the back of an SUV .  I also didn't know enough at the time to determine if I was getting a worn out piece of junk or a nice machine with lots of life left (now I might be able to figure it out, maybe...).

Going with the PM, I think the big selling point was the guys over at QMT.  I emailed back and forth with a bunch of questions, many of them I now know were pretty dumb, and Matt answered all of them.  There wasn't any pushy salesman kind of stuff, just straight answers to make sure I got the machine I needed, not the machine that made them the most money.  When I have trouble with the machine, answers and assistance from QMT have never taken more than 24 hours.  I would be hard pressed to buy a machine from another company over QMT just because of the customer service.

I hope that helps.  Im not trying to be a salesman or anything, just sharing my experience.


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## tweinke (May 12, 2017)

Funny how buying from QMT seems to bring out the salesman in a person, I feel about the same since buying my PM272m from them. I do have a fear of buying too small then wishing I would have gone bigger. Went through the same when I got the mill so seeing what the machine is capable of is nice to get the scale of the actual size of the machine.


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## Ironken (May 14, 2017)

tweinke said:


> This might sound a little silly but I have a quick question for someone who has a 1030v. Does the apron have oil in it? in pictures I have seen I notice a sight glass on the right hand side and think I see a fill plug on the left. I am exploring lathe options at this time with a limited budget predicted and this seems to be the smallest lathe in the work envelope I will consider unless the budget goes up. Actually any comments and observations would be nice.  All this is because I have a tendency to over research everything.



I have a 1030v and its ok. I need bigger! I believe that the Weiss 10x30 that Dropros sells is similar. They have a decent manual on the site that is downloadable and lists lubricants and the holes to put them in.


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## shooter123456 (May 14, 2017)

Ironken said:


> I have a 1030v and its ok. I need bigger! I believe that the Weiss 10x30 that Dropros sells is similar. They have a decent manual on the site that is downloadable and lists lubricants and the holes to put them in.


I think the dropros one is the same lathe. Both are Seig C6s (I am pretty sure, not a C8). Looks like the Weiss has a 1.5 HP brushless motor instead of brushed 1 HP, but no additional tooling besides 3 jaw chuck. Also 1 year warranty instead of 3 and shipping is extra.  I think something that comes across every machinists mind, regardless of how big their machines are is: "Damn, shoulda gone bigger."


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## tweinke (May 14, 2017)

shooter123456 said:


> I think something that comes across every machinists mind, regardless of how big their machines are is: "Damn, shoulda gone bigger."



That is an issue I do not want to have! Also I need to be careful to not overspend on too large.


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## Bob Korves (May 14, 2017)

Big machines are better for big parts, small for small.  Yes, you can machine a 1/4" rod on a 24" swing lathe, but the top spindle speed will be too slow to do it well.  And the opposite on a small lathe.  12" parts do not fit well on 10" machines, and the speeds are too fast for really large work.  The obvious answer is to have several -- mommy, daddy, and baby lathes, something for every occasion.  Oh, and a bigger shop to fit them in as well...


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## tweinke (May 14, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> Big machines are better for big parts, small for small.  Yes, you can machine a 1/4" rod on a 24" swing lathe, but the top spindle speed will be too slow to do it well.  And the opposite on a small lathe.  12" parts do not fit well on 10" machines, and the speeds are too fast for really large work.  The obvious answer is to have several -- mommy, daddy, and baby lathes, something for every occasion.  Oh, and a bigger shop to fit them in as well...



Good summary of choosing a good balance of size vs need. I wish I could have multiples of all my machines, one for each job so there is less setup time.  Wife thinks not! I kind of tried that approach with garden tractors with her, one for each attachment needless to say the heard was thinned even though more have followed me home. In my thoughts a 10"swing lathe with 1" spindle bore is the smallest machine I will consider. I think a 12x36 would be about the max given the room I have and would be the best fit as far as outgrowing the machine but it also has to fit the budget. If I do go with the PM1030v I do have a friend who would like one in the future due to fixed income and cant afford new so I could probably upgrade in a few years if I have to.


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## Bob Korves (May 14, 2017)

tweinke said:


> Good summary of choosing a good balance of size vs need. I wish I could have multiples of all my machines, one for each job so there is less setup time.  Wife thinks not! I kind of tried that approach with garden tractors with her, one for each attachment needless to say the heard was thinned even though more have followed me home. In my thoughts a 10"swing lathe with 1" spindle bore is the smallest machine I will consider. I think a 12x36 would be about the max given the room I have and would be the best fit as far as outgrowing the machine but it also has to fit the budget. If I do go with the PM1030v I do have a friend who would like one in the future due to fixed income and cant afford new so I could probably upgrade in a few years if I have to.


A 12x36 is a good all around size that can handle a wide range of common projects.  YMMV.


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## Ironken (May 14, 2017)

shooter123456 said:


> I think the dropros one is the same lathe. Both are Seig C6s (I am pretty sure, not a C8). Looks like the Weiss has a 1.5 HP brushless motor instead of brushed 1 HP, but no additional tooling besides 3 jaw chuck. Also 1 year warranty instead of 3 and shipping is extra.  I think something that comes across every machinists mind, regardless of how big their machines are is: "Damn, shoulda gone bigger."



I wasn't suggesting purchasing a Weiss as much as linking a good manual for a similar machine. I like dealing with PM personally.


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