Precision Matthews PM-833TV vs ????

I decided that I wasn't going to be happy with a machine that was made in China so I cancelled the Grizzly and ordered a PM-833TV.

I'm exited yet I'm not really happy about needing to spend $5K to get what I wanted.
 
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Probably, a wise choice.
I have had mixed experiences with Grizzly, from horrible to okay. In the late 90's we bought a dual drum sander from them for the custom wood/cabinet shop was a partner in. The "Machine" was so crappy it was unusable. Basically, it was made out of too light a gauge sheet metal and poorly designed, Thus it flexed so badly it was impossible to get any kind of consistency. We tried to return it but they demanded we pay the shipping and a restocking or some other nonsensical charge because in their opinion, the machine wasn't broken and blamed us for user error. Which certainly wasn't the case. So I figured I would rebuild it one day and get it to work, but alas it got shoved in a corner and forgotten till it eventually went to the scrapyard, without ever processing a single piece of usable wood... Subsequently, I acquired a Grizzly tool grinder in an auction lot. It is okay and does the job.
 
jlficken said:
I decided that I wasn't going to be happy with a machine that was made in China so I cancelled the Grizzly and ordered a PM-833TV.

I'm exited yet I'm not really happy about needing to spend $5K to get what I wanted.
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Buy once cry once..... The the satisfaction of a low price will be forgotten long before the bitterness of poor quality....
 
verbotenwhisky said:
Buy once cry once..... The the satisfaction of a low price will be forgotten long before the bitterness of poor quality....
Click to expand...

That's my hope.

I'm still baffled that the old Buffalo Power BP1236 made in Taiwan lathe that my grandpa bought in the late 80's has hardened ways yet I can't find any made in Taiwan milling machines under $8K that have them. I don't recall that lathe being a particularly "high-end" model but I haven't been able to find much information on it since I got it from his estate a few years ago either.
 
jlficken said:
That's my hope.

I'm still baffled that the old Buffalo Power BP1236 made in Taiwan lathe that my grandpa bought in the late 80's has hardened ways yet I can't find any made in Taiwan milling machines under $8K that have them. I don't recall that lathe being a particularly "high-end" model but I haven't been able to find much information on it since I got it from his estate a few years ago either.
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The 940 I have has the induction harden ways, for a hobby machine I am not certain the lack of that isn't huge as we are not running these for production, just do not drop anything of consequence on them and it will likely provide good service as long as you'll use it.
 
Yeah I saw that but man that machine is huge. I kind of figured at that point I might as well just get a knee mill.

I'll make some table covers to at least protect the table and be careful about dropping anything on the ways as I definitely want it to last a long time.

If I ever planned on converting it to CNC I probably would have gone with the 940 just for the hardened ways and table.
 
jlficken said:
Yeah I saw that but man that machine is huge. I kind of figured at that point I might as well just get a knee mill.

I'll make some table covers to at least protect the table and be careful about dropping anything on the ways as I definitely want it to last a long time.

If I ever planned on converting it to CNC I probably would have gone with the 940 just for the hardened ways and table.
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At issue is the Work envelope, to get a knee mill with 22" of table clearance you will easily spend 3 times as much as the 940 cost.
 
verbotenwhisky said:
At issue is the Work envelope, to get a knee mill with 22" of table clearance you will easily spend 3 times as much as the 940 cost.
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I have a quote on a 10-54 knee mill for $12k. Like the 940 the spindle speed is 5,000 rpm. The problem is trying to contain the chips and oil/coolant that's going to fly 12 feet in all directions at that speed. Way easier to build an enclosure around a 940 (or 833) vs a knee mill. So I'm mulling over getting a 940. Also got it in my head to convert to zero backlash double nut ball screws, that's going to be less expensive with a 940. Servos will cost less than a knee. The 940 has been converted to CNC by others numerous times already.
 
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