Buying my first new lathe. Chinese or Chinese?

Rufustoad said:
After reviewing the Taiwanese models and the Chinese I have to say that there are definitely things you can tell are different like the backlash BUT I have to say I was completely surprised at what I saw in the Chinese models. I had something completely different in my mind when I walked through the door (Harbor Freight) and I was very surprised. Thank you John at PM and thank you David on this forum for your help.
After looking at all my options I pulled the trigger on the PM-1440-2V
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So I am still a bit confused by the model number. Is it part of the incomplete PM web page where a PM-1440-2SM/SM-V is listed (without any information?) Is this PM-1440-2V from China or Taiwan?
 
B2 said:
So I am still a bit confused by the model number. Is it part of the incomplete PM web page where a PM-1440-2SM/SM-V is listed (without any information?) Is this PM-1440-2V from China or Taiwan?
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As far as I understand the new model is still from China. They've just changed the factory which means they're changing the model number. Along with some cosmetic changes.
 
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B2 said:
Is this PM-1440-2V from China or Taiwan?
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I have not seen a Taiwanese lathe in that size for under $13k, so based on price point alone I would say China. Also, Matt's reply said they were changing factories, not countries. Please don't take that as being snarky, but it was my interpretation of Matt's letter. BTW, @B2, I have always enjoyed your posts. They are always informative.
 
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B2 said:
So I am still a bit confused by the model number. Is it part of the incomplete PM web page where a PM-1440-2SM/SM-V is listed (without any information?) Is this PM-1440-2V from China or Taiwan?
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Not sure if it is an absolute but don't PM lathes made in Taiwan have a T in the model number?
 
455dan said:
Not sure if it is an absolute but don't PM lathes made in Taiwan have a T in the model number?
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That is a new observation for me! How obvious that would make it. I did a quick look at the PM site and it sure seemed that way. If you search the PM web site using "Taiwan" you get some hits for things without a T in the model number, like a vise, but when you look at the description you find it. There are a at least one mill model which is only partially made in Taiwan and it does not have a T. However, if you search using "100% Made in Taiwan" you only seem to see lathe and mill models with a "T". Again you will find accessories that do not have a "T" but which have "100% Made in Taiwan" in the extended description. I did not see any equivalent letter tell one that something was made in China.
 
On the other hand if you search the PM site with the phrase "Country of Origin: China" you get a few hits and none of the models have a letter "T" in them. And if you search with "Country of Origin: Taiwan" you get a few hits with model #s with a "T" in them, but not all of them.
 
Matt at Precision Matthews is pretty consistent with the nomenclature on the machines. If the model designation has a T in it then it's made in Taiwan. The same can not be said of machines from other distributors like Eisen or Acra.
 
Matt removes the T if it isn't 100% from Taiwan. Some of the models have partially sourced from other parts of Asia, including, but not exclusively China. For instance parts from S Korea ate very high quality, but disqualify the model from having a T in it.

Frankly Matt doesn't sell junk. Even his lathes sourced entirely from China are a cut above traditional Asian imports. Not that his machines are all defect-free, but Matt will usually go to the wall to make it right if a defect is found.

So if your lathe is a "V" model instead of a "TV" model, you are probably still in good shape.
 
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