PM1236T Installation in Basement

[Ischgl99]

I also used a ramp to get machines and other heavy hardware in and out of my basement. I made my ramp with two 2x8 rails tied together with 2x4 cross pieces. I used either my tractor or my neighbor's Bobcat for an anchor and a Come-Along to coax the load down the ramp. My ramp extended past the staircase by enough that we were able to place the load on it in the horizontal position and then tilting the ramp down. This eliminates the scary moment of tilting the load to meet the ramp. My basement has a 20" stone wall divider which provided a convenient lower anchor point. Once into the shop area, I was able to lift the machines onto stands with either a sky hook or an engine hoist.

I was thinking of doing something similar by using my SUV as the anchor, but I would have needed to rent a trailer to bring it around back of the house, or built a platform with wheels, as well as get a Come-A-Long, so it wouldn’t have saved me any money over the flatbed. I still might do it that way at some point in the future, especially with the lighter woodworking machines.

 

[Tipton1965]

Your stand turned out good. I wasn't sure what to expect when you said you made it out of wood. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Ischgl99]

Your stand turned out good. I wasn't sure what to expect when you said you made it out of wood. I was pleasantly surprised.

Thanks, I think I surprised myself! I'm sure there were more than a few shaking their heads when I mentioned I made it from wood. It came out better than I expected, but I think I need to add a sheet metal plate under the lathe, the hot chips are sticking to the paint.

 

[oaklandish]

Can I ask when you placed the order... and when you received it? I have the same lathe on order as well.

 

[Ischgl99]

Can I ask when you placed the order... and when you received it? I have the same lathe on order as well.

I ordered it just after Thanksgiving and it arrived December 9th.

 

[oaklandish]

Ah ok. I ordered at the end of Dec and they are having huge shipping delay issues due to Covid. I just got pushed back another couple of months.

Congrats on getting your lathe down into that basement. I have been remodeling and rewiring my shop and gathering parts for the VFD enclosure and lathe stand. Since I use this shop for my business, the delay is... less than convenient.

 

[Ischgl99]

Yeah the stocking issues can be troublesome and I bought in November to make sure I got something before they were out of stock again. I was originally thinking of getting a 1340GT, but they were out of stock for a while too and I didn't want it delivered in the middle of winter in case we had a lot of snow. I decided on the 1236T since it was in stock, almost $1,000 cheaper (when you factor in the 3 jaw chuck that's included), and since this is for a hobby, didn't think I needed the hardened and ground gears. I did like the 1340GT had a 2 HP motor, and the 1236T was listed as having a 1.5HP motor, but my lathe showed up with a 2HP motor. If you are ordering a VFD in advance, you might want to confirm what size motor will be on yours. It is a good thing the VFD I already had was 2HP so I didn't have to buy another.

A note on the 3 jaw chuck that is included with the 1236T. Mine has 0.007" runout with one set of jaws, and 0.005" on the other set of jaws, and the runout is in a different location for each set of jaws. I used an end mill shank and bearing inner ring to measure from and it didn't change when the jaws were clamping in or out, so it looks like the problem is in the jaws. I am going to take it apart to clean and see if that helps any. I contacted PM, but never got a response on what is acceptable for this chuck. I have a 5" Bison plain back chuck I may put on this if the 3 jaw doesn't improve any after cleaning.

 

[.LMS.]

I was originally thinking of getting a 1340GT, but they were out of stock for a while too and I didn't want it delivered in the middle of winter in case we had a lot of snow. I decided on the 1236T since it was in stock, almost $1,000 cheaper (when you factor in the 3 jaw chuck that's included), and since this is for a hobby, didn't think I needed the hardened and ground gears. I did like the 1340GT had a 2 HP motor, and the 1236T was listed as having a 1.5HP motor, but my lathe showed up with a 2HP motor. If you are ordering a VFD in advance, you might want to confirm what size motor will be on yours. It is a good thing the VFD I already had was 2HP so I didn't have to buy another.

I made the exact same call in the late fall, and am very happy I did for two reasons - I got the lathe into the shop while the weather was still good, and I absolutely love having the VFD. When you order the 3ph package it comes with a 2hp motor.

A note on the 3 jaw chuck that is included with the 1236T. Mine has 0.007" runout with one set of jaws, and 0.005" on the other set of jaws, and the runout is in a different location for each set of jaws. I used an end mill shank and bearing inner ring to measure from and it didn't change when the jaws were clamping in or out, so it looks like the problem is in the jaws. I am going to take it apart to clean and see if that helps any. I contacted PM, but never got a response on what is acceptable for this chuck. I have a 5" Bison plain back chuck I may put on this if the 3 jaw doesn't improve any after cleaning.

I had been stressing a bit about the mediocre quality of the 3 jaw chuck included. But, my stress level dropped when I watched / read something that said while you have the part in the three jaw, the runout doesn't matter very much as long as you do all the oprations you need while the workpiece is mounted (i.e., not unmounting and trying to remount and have it centered). Someone smarter might correct me on my description. I did order the PM 4 jaw with it, and got the Shars set tru type ER40 collett chuck for when I need some more accuracy / repeatability.

 

[oaklandish]

Yeah the stocking issues can be troublesome and I bought in November to make sure I got something before they were out of stock again. I was originally thinking of getting a 1340GT, but they were out of stock for a while too and I didn't want it delivered in the middle of winter in case we had a lot of snow. I decided on the 1236T since it was in stock, almost $1,000 cheaper (when you factor in the 3 jaw chuck that's included), and since this is for a hobby, didn't think I needed the hardened and ground gears. I did like the 1340GT had a 2 HP motor, and the 1236T was listed as having a 1.5HP motor, but my lathe showed up with a 2HP motor. If you are ordering a VFD in advance, you might want to confirm what size motor will be on yours. It is a good thing the VFD I already had was 2HP so I didn't have to buy another.

Clearly they do not order enough of these things...

I ordered the 3ph motor with mine and sized the VFD according to MJ's posts and recommendations. I asked PM about the higher end set tru 3 jaw upgrade chucks that others here have ordered but, they no longer carry them. That was disappointing as well and I am not sure why they wouldn't continue to carry them. So far, a few of the great things I have read about the PM version of this lathe are no longer applicable.

 

[Ischgl99]

I made the exact same call in the late fall, and am very happy I did for two reasons - I got the lathe into the shop while the weather was still good, and I absolutely love having the VFD. When you order the 3ph package it comes with a 2hp motor.



I had been stressing a bit about the mediocre quality of the 3 jaw chuck included. But, my stress level dropped when I watched / read something that said while you have the part in the three jaw, the runout doesn't matter very much as long as you do all the oprations you need while the workpiece is mounted (i.e., not unmounting and trying to remount and have it centered). Someone smarter might correct me on my description. I did order the PM 4 jaw with it, and got the Shars set tru type ER40 collett chuck for when I need some more accuracy / repeatability.

I bought the 4 jaw chuck too and have been using that mostly to get better at centering work quickly. I do understand a three jaw is for parts that can be turned in one operation, or don't need the concentricity of a 4 jaw chuck, so it's probably fine. I wasn't expecting perfect, but 0.007" seems on the high side, I would have been perfectly happy with 0.003" or less. One thing I did notice is the jaws have different serial numbers on them, I wasn't able to find a serial number on chuck itself to see if either of the jaw sets match. The jaws on my Bison chuck match the chuck body serial number, so curious if that should be the case with the Taiwanese/Chinese chucks, and if so is that the source of the runout.

I have been thinking about getting a collet chuck as well, or building one. I plan on doing enough small work that it's probably worth getting. I'll have to check the Shars one, I haven't looked on their site for collet chucks yet.

I'm glad the 2HP motor comes with the 3 phase machines, it's always nice to have more power available when turning down the speeds. I haven't added a variable speed pot to mine yet, still playing around with different configurations to see what I like best.