PM-935 Owners, Tell Me About This Machine

[IamNotImportant]

As the title says.. would like to know the ins and outs on this machine. Any quirks that i need to be aware of? I am considering trying to get one of these, i know that it will indeed fit in the garage. So instead of trying to find a used machine and then having the possibility that i may have to spend a lot of time rebuilding it.. i may go this route instead. But i would like to know any pitfalls in advance from 935 owners. Thanks in advance

 

[Stonebriar]

No pitfalls that I know of except it is 1500lbs vs 2400lbs like a fill size milling machine. I have owned one since 2014. It works wonderful. Nice and tight like the new machine it is.

 

[IamNotImportant]

No pitfalls that I know of except it is 1500lbs vs 2400lbs like a fill size milling machine. I have owned one since 2014. It works wonderful. Nice and tight like the new machine it is.

thank you sir.. your input is much appreciated.. i noticed that it has a lighter weight to it..

 

[davidpbest]

I have the PM-935 mill. I suggest you read the attached. Tons more infomation on the 935 here. DM me with any specific questions.

 

[mksj]

Weight and rigidity go hand in hand with these types of machines. If you have the space, then you might consider a full size knee. One of the advantages of the 935 is it can be shipped and off loaded by lift gate, a full size knee mill cannot. I just went through this scenario with another HM member, he ended up with a full size knee, used a low boy trailer to get the mill to his house and rented a gantry crane to get it off the trailer. Drop deck trailer can also be used but they are often very hard to come by, and this also assumes that you can pickup the machine at a terminal. In most cases it is shipped on a truck flatbed and you need a forklift to offload. My mill and lathe are each weigh about 2500 lbs, delivery/off loading was the biggest hurdle in both cases.

 

[IamNotImportant]

Weight and rigidity go hand in hand with these types of machines. If you have the space, then you might consider a full size knee. One of the advantages of the 935 is it can be shipped and off loaded by lift gate, a full size knee mill cannot. I just went through this scenario with another HM member, he ended up with a full size knee, used a low boy trailer to get the mill to his house and rented a gantry crane to get it off the trailer. Drop deck trailer can also be used but they are often very hard to come by, and this also assumes that you can pickup the machine at a terminal. In most cases it is shipped on a truck flatbed and you need a forklift to offload. My mill and lathe are each weigh about 2500 lbs, delivery/off loading was the biggest hurdle in both cases.

well there was the opportunity for a bridgeport, but the guy that was selling it to me, when he got to the house, didn't want to try to back it down the driveway and hook around the corner with his trailer.. and to make matters worse, where it hooks around the corner of the drive, there is a drop off.. in to the next yard.. oh boy.. getting any machine isn't going to be easy.. just need to find someone whom can do it without being scared about it.. but a full sized bridgeport, would mean that i would have to pull some of the panel off the ceiling and make a box for the motor to fit up in.. prob will have to do it with the 935, but the motor won't be 2 inches from the sub-flooring.
Either way.. prob will end up with using easy change tool holders too..

 

[IamNotImportant]

then there is the reported issues with the gibs on the 833's.. which is making me a lil cold blooded there.. and when you total it all up.. really.. there isn't much price difference between a 833 and the 935 i recon

 

[mksj]

Price difference is at least 3-4K when you include shipping and if you decide to add a VFD to the 935. At the end of the day, I would rather own a knee mill, but if space limited then a benchtop but the latter may be more practical. When I moved my knee from my last house, I had to get it up a steep driveway to get it onto the trailer, end of the day it ran me about $175 to have a crane operator swing it up the driveway and onto the trailer which was a lot cheaper and easier then renting a forklift. If you have a difficult entry to your workshop, I wouldn't want to be juggling a 1T mill into place, bad enough just moving it on a flat garage floor.

 

[riveter]

I'm in the process of installing mine in my garage now. It is near the limit of what I can handle with a pallet jack and engine crane but it can be done. You can see my progress here:
PM935 Install

 

[Cletus]

Just love my 935TS with VFD, X & Z motor drives, power draw-bar, and some other goodies. No regrets whatsoever. Had an issue early on where I stripped out the threads on the draw-bar (all my fault, and I admitted that to them) and PM took care of me immediately nonetheless, since then no issues.