Setting-up the PM 1236-T Lathe

[Z2V]

You complain a good deal.
Please explain why you did not buy a machine from a manufacturer that has a long history of placing the decals on their machines in the proper place and orientation, Haas at the bottom end and Mazak, Mori-Seiki, Tsugami and Hydromat at the high end.

Decal placement is nearly perfect on these machines, I would go out on a limb and suggest that the decals are placed on these machines by other machines, I may be wrong however.

Damn dude, back off. He bought a manual machine not a CNC for starters. It’s his thread, if you don’t like it you DON’T have to follow.

 

[Z2V]

Keep it rolling TK

 

[hotrats]

I went with the PM Chinese 12/36. It will be way more accurate than I, anyhows. Following your thread, looks interesting. Please keep going.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

Thanks for the encouragement Z2V and hotrats. I think you will find the upcoming sections more useful and look forward to your input.

P. Waller, it is possible you are confusing complaining and constructive criticism. In each case that I pointed out a shortcoming I provided a solution. For example: scratched paint-provide touch-up paint; bad latches-redesign them; rusted spindle bore-coat with cosmoline; errors in Manual-correct them(btw, I sent corrections to Matt and he seemed quite appreciative). If I were a manufacturer or distributor I would want feedback so that I could make improvements and keep my customers happy and sell more machines. I think PM has great products and I would like to see them continue to succeed. I feel I am helping them succeed by giving them user feedback not “complaining”. BTW, please feel free to return to the thread; an antagonist is often useful and comic relief is always welcome.

 

[vtcnc]

Good morning all, thanks for getting this thread back on track and keeping it there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ashtrain]

Good morning: Thank you for this thread and comments. I am considering (very seriously) this same machine. I bought a PM935 mill last year and am very satisfied; There have been a couple of glitches but the crew at PM was very good about getting things right. Excellent customer service. One thing you mentioned was the availability of touchup paint for the inevitable scratches and dings you will get just moving these machines in - would be nice. Please keep on; I'm listening.
Dick w.

 

[Z2V]

For touch up paint I’ve found Rustoleum Safety Blue 7524 to be a near dead match for the blue that PM uses. Yes, my 1236 also needed touch up in several places.

 

[john.k]

I think you will find the spindle inner surface is as supplied by the steelworks,and they are to blame for any poor finish........buy material to size and save one machining operation.....

 

[Titanium Knurler]

John.k, you may be correct, but only the lower, mid-portion of the uncoated bore, where water would settle, was pitted. Also, the remaining unpitted bore appears to have been nicely machined. Again, I don't believe it is of any functional significance but a bit disappointing to see pitting on your new "baby". Also seems like it would be easy to rectify by swabbing the spindle bore with cosmoline before shipping.

 

[Titanium Knurler]

For the next few posts I would like to go over how I modified the three piece PM stand so that the lathe and stand can be easily moved without throwing the lathe out of adjustment. It may look a little steampunk but it works; I wheeled the stand and lathe around the shop, even put some of the casters over a floor drain to try to throw it out of kilter but once put back in place it was found to have maintained its pre-abuse adjustment. I will follow the description of the mobile base with mounting the lathe on the base, some vibration and sound measurements and finally a discussion of “leveling” and the effect of vertical misalignment on taper including a nomogram and formula that will allow one to determine the amount of taper created by a vertical misalignment.

Anyway, that’s what I have planned for the next few days. By the way, this is my first thread on HM and it appears to work out well to post, wait a day or so to allow for discussion, then post the next topic. So, that is what I am planning on doing until I make it through the topics listed in the outline at the beginning of this thread on setting-up the PM 1236-T.

Back to work for now. I will begin the description/discussion of the mobile base tonight. I look forward to your input!