I was looking at the Grizzly lathes but it seems like the PM has most of everything I was looking for. I was also looking at the Eisen on Ebay but it pretty much comes stripped down and all the extras push it right out of my budget. I will only be making bushings, studs, bolts, threads, etc. for my car. I really do not need a super high tolerance machine. WIth that being said I am pretty much open to anythiing that has decent performance at a decent price.
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Help choosing a lathe
- Thread starter BigLar368
- Start date
I'd get the PM. My friend Jon has a 12" Grizzly that developed a problem with the QC gear box. And,he hasn't used the lathe that much,either,in his home shop. It took MANY months to get Grizzly to come up with the correct repair parts. In fact,I seem to recall him complaining about it for a few YEARS. A problem that should not have been there in the first place.
I have a 16" Grizzly,but it was bought in 1986,and is Taiwan made,not mainland Chinese like the Grizzly Jon has. My lathe has been o.k. so far. I think the PM is Taiwan made. Taiwan is ALWAYS a better choice,though that in itself is no guarantee that you won't have trouble with Taiwan stuff also.
Apparently the CHUCKS on the PM are Chinese. But,the lathe itself is Taiwan,I'm pretty sure.
I have a 16" Grizzly,but it was bought in 1986,and is Taiwan made,not mainland Chinese like the Grizzly Jon has. My lathe has been o.k. so far. I think the PM is Taiwan made. Taiwan is ALWAYS a better choice,though that in itself is no guarantee that you won't have trouble with Taiwan stuff also.
Apparently the CHUCKS on the PM are Chinese. But,the lathe itself is Taiwan,I'm pretty sure.
That's odd about the customer service issue with grizzly. I have seen the owner of the company, Shiraz Balolia take problems into his own hands on several occasions. If you ask me that is something special, seeing as how he is the president of the largest machinery dealer in the country.
He is also an active member of several shooting forums online and always willing to answer questions and contribute his knowledge when possible.
I bought a Grizzly G0709 14x40 lathe feeling confident in the fact that grizzly has a very large warehouse stocked with parts, and has a president that really seems to care about his customers. I have heard both good things and horror stories about the customer support after purchase from Precision Matthews.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Steve
He is also an active member of several shooting forums online and always willing to answer questions and contribute his knowledge when possible.
I bought a Grizzly G0709 14x40 lathe feeling confident in the fact that grizzly has a very large warehouse stocked with parts, and has a president that really seems to care about his customers. I have heard both good things and horror stories about the customer support after purchase from Precision Matthews.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Steve
The Precision Mathews 1236 is Chinese manufactured with Chinese chucks.
The 1340GT is Taiwanese manufactured and the 3-jaw that comes with it in the "preferred package' is Taiwanese along with the live center. The four-jaw that comes on the 1340GT is Chinese but so far I am impressed with the quality of it.
I don't know much about the 1236 but I just took possession of a 1340GT and love it so far. Contact Ray C if you have any specific questions, especially about the 1236 as that is what he has and is very knowledgeable about it.
Mike.
The 1340GT is Taiwanese manufactured and the 3-jaw that comes with it in the "preferred package' is Taiwanese along with the live center. The four-jaw that comes on the 1340GT is Chinese but so far I am impressed with the quality of it.
I don't know much about the 1236 but I just took possession of a 1340GT and love it so far. Contact Ray C if you have any specific questions, especially about the 1236 as that is what he has and is very knowledgeable about it.
Mike.
FWIW, we sell many hundreds of pieces of equipment per year and the overwhelming majority of purchases go without a hitch. We do have difficulties keeping items in stock because we only order from the same established factories year after year. Other large distributors buy their machines from any/all factories that will provide that patterned piece of equipment. Our machines are purchased with upgraded motors, higher quality gear-sets and other features you don't find on the standard pattern machines.
As for customer support... PM is staffed with 5 people (including Matt the owner and myself doing off-site sales and support. BTW: Nicole does all the book-keeping, ordering and keeping the guys in-line etc). Matt himself preps/inspects about 1/3 of the machines that go through the warehouse. In all cases, when a client contacts me, I respond typically within hours with a max of 1 day (sometimes I work offsite and don't have email access). 95% or greater of the machines require no special support and whenever there is a problem, it gets resolved. Matt handles all the warranty issues and if you need a part, we either have it or can get it in the next shipment from the factory. In some cases, the factory will air-mail it directly to you. We don't have fancy manuals. We don't have talking-heads that have no clue what a lathe or mill is. We are a machine warehouse that sells very good quality machines at essentially, wholesale prices. Other vendors do sell equipment of the same caliber that PM sells -and they have fancy manuals and talking-heads that answer the phone -and they have a 30% higher price tag too...
The vast majority of customers are perfectly content with this "no frills" approach to purchasing equipment.
As for the PM1236... It's a pure work-horse and if you've followed my threads here, you know what it's capable of. I use that lathe every day, 6 days a week and it's been that way for several years. This week alone, I cut about 100 linear feet of 316 stainless (and you know how tough stainless is). -It's just as rock solid as the day I got it. The vast majority of my customers usually call back a couple weeks/months after they get theirs and I have yet to hear one truly significant complaint.
Ray
Excellent response! Just an FYI I was in no way knocking PM as a company, just rebutting information that I've witnessed. I seriously considered getting a PM 1236, and would have had I not gotten a very good price on the G0709. I think the bigger lathe will suit my needs a little better, but I doubt I would've been lacking anything with the 1236.
I'm glad to see you're here to help and keep people up to date on the precision Matthews lineup.
Steve
I'm glad to see you're here to help and keep people up to date on the precision Matthews lineup.
Steve
I'd go back and get the Reed Prentice.
But that's 'cause we're both from Worcester.
Charles
But that's 'cause we're both from Worcester.
Charles
Charles, if you could have seen that Reed-Prentice we had you might change your mind. It was in very poor condition however in the hands of someone with some experience it might have been better. Ray, when do you expect the next shipment of 1236's to arrive. Much appreciation to all that have responded.
Hi BigLar...
There is a large shipment of 1236's coming but it's scheduled 10 weeks out. As I tell all my clients, that 10 weeks could turn in to 12 or 14 and I'm only comfortable saying end of year. The deliveries from the factories are supposed to occur quarterly but, it doesn't always work out that way. This last year, the factory skipped the March delivery and compressed both in May and June.
Ray