What would you get?

[Aaron_W]

As to the two machines, it is not as simple as just build quality. They are similar, but distinct machines with different specs.

728 has a 5 year warranty vs 3 years on the 727
728 has 2 DRO options, both using magnetic scales, the 727 has one DRO option using optical scales
728 has slightly more travel 10" Y, 19" X vs 727 with 8.5" Y and 15" X, both have 16" Z.
727 is significantly heavier 475lbs vs 370lbs for the 728
727 has a 1.5hp motor vs 1hp on the 728
728 has a larger RPM range 100-4000 in 2 steps vs 40-3000 in 6 steps (maybe an advantage to the 727 at low speeds?).
727 is 7" taller than the 728 75" vs 68" (both on the 32" factory stand)
The 728 has a worm gear to set the head tilt, the 727 you loosen the bolts securing the head and manually tilt it to the desired position.

This is simply based on reading through the specs and looking at the manuals. I have not used either of these mills.

 

[St. Paul Steam]

"When finances allow for lathe purchase looking at PM 1228VF-LB. Would love to hear any feedback on choices or other alternatives."

It seems much of your power needs have been addressed.
I do/have owned a PM-1228 lathe for a few months now & have been very pleased with my decision. The quick change gear box being the main driver, variable speed also nice. I have a few recent videos on my YouTube channel "St.Paul steam" of the mods & quality of life improvements I have made to it. I also have a PM-935TS reviewed there as well. The Taiwanese lathes & mills have better fit & finish than than the Chinese models...@ a premium price.

 

[B2]

But banked lights on ceiling are wired in series and if I am not mistaken you can only run up to 8-10 LED’s when hooked in series. I would be substantially over this amount. Am I wrong?

LED light systems come in many varieties as they commonly have electronics that are either built in or come with an electronic power supply. You just have to check them out to know what you got and how they are hooked up. However, an individual LED (Diode) has a forward voltage drop of only a couple of volts (2 to 3) when turned on fully (The exact value depends upon the materials they are made from). When these systems are wired in series, as in some Xmas lighting they may all be wired in series. So if there are no built in electronics you would need 120V/Vled ~ 40 to 60 of them wired in series. If you did not have enough they would burn out and if you had too many they would not light up! But, it seems on one hooks them up in series as it becomes very difficult to determine which one has burned out. But many fixtures and bulbs have built in electronics to control the Forward voltage or current through the LED junction. Most of these seem to be controlled by pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques operating a many Kilohertz rates. Some of these can also be operated off of a modern dimmer switch, which also controls the current via PWM. So in these cases you winded up with PWM controlling the power to a second PWM system.

I have started replacing my basement fluorescent lighting fixtures ... as they burn out or the bulbs die.... with simple small flat LED fixtures. They are really meant to go against a flat ceiling. Each is simply wired to an metal octagon electrical box and switched from a wall switch. They come in all kinds of physical sizes and illumination levels and color temperatures. Many are dimmable if need be. They are really quite inexpensive if you purchase simple ones by the dozen. Google the following phrase for the ones that I purchased that seem to work fine, but I have only hooked up a handful during the past 3 years. "Sunco 24 Pack 5/6 Inch LED Disk Lights, Flush Mount Disc Recessed Ceiling Can Lighting, 1050 LM, 4000K Cool White, Dimmable, 15W=75W, Damp Rated ETL" These were <$5 each, but you may have to purchase some electrical boxes to mount them to. They use so little power that you can connect lots of them on a single switch. 15watt each (75 watt lighting equivalent) in my case. 110V x 20 Amp = 2200Watt. 2200Watt/15W ~145 fixtures!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKS6QZQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

If you want a little warmer (red/white vs blue/white) color temperature you might want to try out the 3000K.

Dave L.

 

[north1]

It seems much of your power needs have been addressed.
I do/have owned a PM-1228 lathe for a few months now & have been very pleased with my decision. The quick change gear box being the main driver, variable speed also nice. I have a few recent videos on my YouTube channel "St.Paul steam" of the mods & quality of life improvements I have made to it. I also have a PM-935TS reviewed there as well. The Taiwanese lathes & mills have better fit & finish than than the Chinese models...@ a premium price.

Thanks for the info. I would like to state I very much enjoy your YouTube channel and have viewed many of your videos. Actually didn’t put 2&2 together until I reread your post. Your rendition of the reversing gear lever on the 1228 is masterful.

 

[St. Paul Steam]

Thanks for the info. I would like to state I very much enjoy your YouTube channel and have viewed many of your videos. Actually didn’t put 2&2 together until I reread your post. Your rendition of the reversing gear lever on the 1228 is masterful.

Very kind of you to say, thank you. Cheers, Bruce