Anyone have one of these? PM 1440 GT

[gasmith]

Sorry for poking in here again but please accept this apology to the original poster and the forum at large for my posts in the beginning of this thread.

No problem, man.

 

[Eddyde]

What do you guys think of this machine?
http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1440gt/

Good, bad, ugly? How would this machine stack up against a new South Bend, Standard Modern, or Acer?

A bit of friendly advice; Putting a key element of your topic in the title e.g. "Any PM 1440 GT owners out there", will get you more specific and faster responses.
I know there are a several owners of that machine here.

 

[RandyM]

A bit of friendly advice; Putting a key element of your topic in the title e.g. "Any PM 1440 GT owners out there", will get you more specific and faster responses.
I know there are a several owners of that machine here.

Good Idea, I fixed for ya.

 

[jbolt]

gasmith,

I have a Pm-1440GT that I have been running for a year now. You can find my postings on it here. I am very pleased with the quality of the machine. Mine originally came as a 2hp single phase machine which I have converted to a 3hp 3 phase running off a Hitachi VFD. The variable speed of the VFD allows me to dial in the speeds between the gears, provides soft start, electronic breaking and FRW/REV jog. The spindle run-out is speced at .0002". Mine runs under .0001". The bed castings are high quality. The stand is steel but Matt at QMT did an excellent job of having it built solid with extra reinforcing in the right places. I personally like the 2" spindle bore and the D1-5 spindle nose. I do more than just smithing work so the extra capacity for the lathe size benefits me for the work I do. My two complaints about the machine were it sits too low for me and the access for the coolant tank and pump are from the inside of the base under the chip tray. I made 6" riser stands for the base and moved the coolant tank / pump outside of the base for easier maintenance. It has more change gears than I like but for 90% of the threading I do I only use two different gears. Gear changes are simple and quick to do. If you plan on doing barrel work through the head you will need to add a spider to the rear of the spindle. I modified the cover the keep the spider as short as possible. The lathe is more than adequate for smithing work if that's your primary function for it.

The PM-1440HD is a Chinese made machine and a heavier machine with a wider bed and cast iron base. The head / spindle is longer and I suspect the spindle is supported by three bearings instead of two like the 1440GT. There are a few HD owners on this forum and they all seem very pleased with them. I also like the fact that the motor on the HD is mounted in the base vs hanging off the back of the headstock. Matt at QMT does a good job of having his machines built well. Having not seen one up close andp ersonal I can't comment further about it other than it was on my list when I was looking over a year ago.

The Taiwan made south Bends appear to be nice machines but you don't see much in the way of reviews. I helped a locat hop setup one of the new SB 1340s. The fit and finish were on par with the PM-1440GT. The biggest benefit I see is the universal gearbox which eliminates the change gears. I have not been up close and personal with the other two lathes you mentioned.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

[gasmith]

gasmith,

I have a Pm-1440GT that I have been running for a year now. You can find my postings on it here. I am very pleased with the quality of the machine. Mine originally came as a 2hp single phase machine which I have converted to a 3hp 3 phase running off a Hitachi VFD. The variable speed of the VFD allows me to dial in the speeds between the gears, provides soft start, electronic breaking and FRW/REV jog. The spindle run-out is speced at .0002". Mine runs under .0001". The bed castings are high quality. The stand is steel but Matt at QMT did an excellent job of having it built solid with extra reinforcing in the right places. I personally like the 2" spindle bore and the D1-5 spindle nose. I do more than just smithing work so the extra capacity for the lathe size benefits me for the work I do. My two complaints about the machine were it sits too low for me and the access for the coolant tank and pump are from the inside of the base under the chip tray. I made 6" riser stands for the base and moved the coolant tank / pump outside of the base for easier maintenance. It has more change gears than I like but for 90% of the threading I do I only use two different gears. Gear changes are simple and quick to do. If you plan on doing barrel work through the head you will need to add a spider to the rear of the spindle. I modified the cover the keep the spider as short as possible. The lathe is more than adequate for smithing work if that's your primary function for it.

The PM-1440HD is a Chinese made machine and a heavier machine with a wider bed and cast iron base. The head / spindle is longer and I suspect the spindle is supported by three bearings instead of two like the 1440GT. There are a few HD owners on this forum and they all seem very pleased with them. I also like the fact that the motor on the HD is mounted in the base vs hanging off the back of the headstock. Matt at QMT does a good job of having his machines built well. Having not seen one up close andp ersonal I can't comment further about it other than it was on my list when I was looking over a year ago.

The Taiwan made south Bends appear to be nice machines but you don't see much in the way of reviews. I helped a locat hop setup one of the new SB 1340s. The fit and finish were on par with the PM-1440GT. The biggest benefit I see is the universal gearbox which eliminates the change gears. I have not been up close and personal with the other two lathes you mentioned.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thank you for the detailed response!

 

[SSage]

Before I ordered a PM-1236 Matt gave me the pros and cons of his different models, including details I didn't find on the internet. Some are very close in the details, but he does give advice based on what your using the machines for. If you want a 1440, call PM up and you will get the low down on the differences between the models in a few minutes. PM is mostly pre-orderd machines too. PM may have one available now or they may all be reserved/sold. So call and find out if you need one promptly, there is a new shipment coming in now.

 

[gasmith]

Before I ordered a PM-1236 Matt gave me the pros and cons of his different models, including details I didn't find on the internet. Some are very close in the details, but he does give advice based on what your using the machines for. If you want a 1440, call PM up and you will get the low down on the differences between the models in a few minutes. PM is mostly pre-orderd machines too. PM may have one available now or they may all be reserved/sold. So call and find out if you need one promptly, there is a new shipment coming in now.

I emailed him a couple days ago and he answered me promptly. Im still in the phases of finding everything I need and suppliers for it. Ive settled on the machines Im getting so now I need to track down tooling. I wanna make chips as soon as I get them.