Charter Oaks Benchtop Mill

[thequietman]

You are correct of course, Tim. I know G0704 did not come first, and it's just another copy of BF20. Just a poor choice of words. What I actually meant is that 25 seems to be almost identical to (or in the same class as) G0704.

And you are also correct in that 935 would be better than 727, and full size Bridgeport would be even better. And yes, it would probably kill me to get either one into the basement. And if it doesn't, my wife will kill me once she finds out how much I spent on either one of those.

 

[Chris Bettis]

Speaking from personal experience. I will say that I do proudly own a charter oak mill that I'm very happy with. However, my machine has been severely tuned, and modified, and was purchased second hand from another member, it has been so extensively modified that it no longer resembles it's original self in almost every way. This machine was my 2nd charter oak mill because the first did not work out. That's all I will say about that.
Personally I'd take the hit on buying a lighter, smaller machine for the same money from Matt. My dealings with Precision Mathews have been limited as I've only purchased accessories for my machine from them. But I can tell you I have had my hands on 3 of Matt's machines and can say all 3 were very good machines.
You will not find a better machine for the price. All of them have quirks and kinks. But you can rest easy knowing your new machine wont need a complete overhaul straight out of the box from PM.

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[thequietman]

Thank you all for your input. I was all set on CO mill, but I was a bit concerned when I could not reach them by phone for 4 days. They were helpful once I finally got them, but then they promised to email me a shipping quote, and I still have not seen anything few days later. With all that, you have convinced me. I will give PM a call tomorrow and see what comes out of it. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[wrmiller]

While I don't like to tell someone which company to deal with, I can tell you that Precision Machine is a stand up company to deal with. And it won't take 4 days to reach them. Tell them the guys at Hobby-Machinist said 'Hi'.

Do you have an idea which machine you'd like to get?

 

[thequietman]

I'm deciding between PM-25M and PM-727M. The 25 is within my price range, while 727 is a little out of it. However, seems like for $200 difference, 727 is much more of the machine, so that's the way I'm leaning now. Hopefully I will not outgrow 727 any time soon, which would be my concern with 25 or with Grizzly 0704, which was what I was looking at initially.

 

[wrmiller]

Good choices.

What you want to do with these machines could help with which one you want. Smaller cutters typically want higher rpms. The geared head will be limited in that area. But, if on the other hand you are working with larger pieces and cutters like a 3/8" rougher cutting full profile, then the 727 could be the better choice.

You are concerned about "outgrowing" your machines. May I ask what types of work you are hoping to do with your mill? Reason I ask is that while some folks are quite happy doing smaller jobs on these small mills, others get one because it's all they can afford and then try to use it like it's a 2400 lb. BP and become bitter when it can't do it and blame the mill.

 

[thequietman]

My primary interest right now in light gunsmithing. Things like drilling and tapping for scope mounts, machining mounts and rails, making some replacement parts. I know that 90% or more of everything I have in mind right now can be done with Harbor Freight Mini Mill. But as I get more and more into it and my abilities grow, I suspect my range of projects will expand as well, possibly to some more ambitious undertakings, at which point Mini Mill well may be out of its league. And with plastic gearing, it well may be out of its league once I try machining something harder than aluminum or soft steel.
The reason I'm mostly looking at 727 is so it hopefully lasts me more that 4-5 years as my projects grow. I don't expect it to do the job of 2400lb BP, and I suspect for the next few years, if there is something that my mill won't do, it'll be my fault, not the mill's.

 

[wrmiller]

Cool. When I got back into this about 3 years ago I too was looking at doing some pistolsmithing stuff. But my timing has been a tad 'off' on my machine purchases. I bought the PM25 before Matt started offering them with the BLDC motors and belt drive. I never broke the plastic gear, even machining 4140/stainless/titanium, but ended up converting it to a belt drive to extend the rpm range. No 727 offered at that time. When I needed something a bit larger, I really wanted more Y-axis travel and the only offering at that time was the CO 12z, as Matt hadn't started importing the 727 or 940 yet. The PM932 was a bit short on the Y travel.

I spent a year getting that 12z tuned up to my liking (including a belt drive and ball screws) and then Matt makes me an offer I couldn't refuse on a 935TS with a VFD thrown in. As you can likely figure out, I'm done upgrading machines for a few years...

If the 727 had been available a couple of years ago I probably would still be running that thing. But maybe with a few minor 'tweaks' by now.

 

[thequietman]

So just got off the phone with PM. Spoke to Matt. He was very helpful. Promised to send me a manual for the mill, and it was in my email box before I got off the phone. Placed a preorder for 727. 6+ weeks lead time, which actually works out pretty well for me. And now the wait starts.

 

[Chris Bettis]

We just sold a guy on pm from the co forum... Uhoh!

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