Precision Matthews PM-833TV vs ????

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jlficken

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I have a bench that will work already and a 220V 20A single phase outlet.

What I don’t have is space for a knee mill and the PM-833TV is about the largest size wise that will fit on the bench. Weight could go up some but not a lot as I don’t want to overload the bench.

Are there any other options in this price range I should look at?

Used would be fine, however, I don’t want a project so it needs to be ready to go and I also can’t find anything near me. I’d like to stay within 200 miles of central Nebraska for used.

I already have R8 tooling so I’d like to stick with that as well.
 
Welcome to HM!
Given the positive feedback I have heard over the past decade about the quality of PM machines and their customer service, I doubt you can fined a better vendor to purchase a new machine from. Though I suppose, at that price range you could get an actual Rong Fu 45, which the PM machine is a clone of. However, I couldn't say which machine is better or if there is any significant difference in quality.
 
I’ll look into the RF-45. I thought I’d read about some quality issues though recently with them but I may be misremembering that.

What are your thoughts on the 883TV vs the 940V with hardened ways and table?

I’m still not sure if I really need them though if that means compromising and getting a Chinese mill.

PM is releasing a 940T soon but I’m guessing it’ll be way outside my budget. It’s also only going to have a hardened table but not ways from what I was told.
 
I'd vote 940V-PDF. The 12 inches of Y travel is a game changer. Power down feed if not converting to CNC. I like the weight (mass) among other things.

Edit: Y isn't just about the size of your stock, slap a Kurt vise on there and trying to position the vise for best use relative to Y travel while keeping the table fully on the Y ways between the vise jaws can be a challenge. Or running out of Y travel and having to flip stock 180. I recently almost pulled the trigger on a 940V for this very reason, even though that would mean selling my existing RF45 type mill. I also think the belt drive and 5,000 rpm is huge.
 
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jlficken said:
I’ll look into the RF-45. I thought I’d read about some quality issues though recently with them but I may be misremembering that.

What are your thoughts on the 883TV vs the 940V with hardened ways and table?

I’m still not sure if I really need them though if that means compromising and getting a Chinese mill.

PM is releasing a 940T soon but I’m guessing it’ll be way outside my budget. It’s also only going to have a hardened table but not ways from what I was told.
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I have the 940V, good solid machine some finish issues but I see that in most Asian imports. The 949V i have has been solid and accurate to my skill level and a very large working envelope 26" X with power feed, 12" Y and 22" table clearance, i have the machine you are asking about, fully loaded all options availible at the time.

Just one caveat, the 940V isn't a bench model, it is sold with a base included for a reason, it's big and it is heavy, 1000 pounds without the base.
 
jlficken said:
I’ll look into the RF-45. I thought I’d read about some quality issues though recently with them but I may be misremembering that.

What are your thoughts on the 883TV vs the 940V with hardened ways and table?

I’m still not sure if I really need them though if that means compromising and getting a Chinese mill.

PM is releasing a 940T soon but I’m guessing it’ll be way outside my budget. It’s also only going to have a hardened table but not ways from what I was told.
Click to expand...
Jificken, this photo will give you some scale on the 940V, the 22" fan behind itn machine is mounted to the ceiling which is 8'-0" above the floor and the head of the mill can travel an additional 4" under power and be cranked up another 1" above that, in the picture the quill clearance to the table is roughly 17". Hope this helps.
Working Mill.jpg
 
That’s a very good point about the Y travel.
verbotenwhisky said:
Jificken, this photo will give you some scale on the 940V, the 22" fan behind itn machine is mounted to the ceiling which is 8'-0" above the floor and the head of the mill can travel an additional 4" under power and be cranked up another 1" above that, in the picture the quill clearance to the table is roughly 17". Hope this helps.
View attachment 505743
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s not going to work for me. Thanks for the pic!!
 
I should have said that I just don't really want to wrestle that monster with my little cherry picker :)

In the end I decided to go with the Grizzly G0761 for $3362 shipped with X-Axis power feed and power tapping functionality. I've just decided that I want to stay around that price point yet get as much as possible for the money.

After reading about issues with the 833 and issues that people have with regards to QC even lately I'm just not sure that the Taiwan mill is really that much better. I wish I could check each out first but I can't so I'm just going to take the risk and will suffer the consequences if I hate the Grizzly.

While the PM (PM-832M) version of the Grizzly has a longer warranty they don't offer the power tapping option and if I wanted the X-Axis power feed that'd also come with the Z-Axis motor which I don't need (plus it's out of stock with no ETA). It'd also come out to being $750 more without the power tapping option so the Grizzly seemed liked a better buy for the same machine.

I feel bad not buying from PM as they're great people, however, $750 pays for a DRO and a lot of tooling to get me started.

Thanks for all of the replies!
 
jlficken said:
In the end I decided to go with the Grizzly G0761 for $3362 shipped with X-Axis power feed and power tapping functionality.
Click to expand...
Congrats I purchased this same mill earlier this year. Feel free to ask me anything via private message or start a new thread on it in the Grizzly forum. Obviously we should take it out of the PM forum.
 
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