New Lathe...Changed from PM 1127-VF To a PM1236

[darkzero]

No joking around this time. Hasn't even been a year since I got my first lathe & here I am purchasing another. Being spoiled with the full size lathes I've got to run I couldn't hold back any longer.

Ordered a [URL="http://www.machinetoolonline.com/PM-1127-VF.html"]PM-1127-VF[/URL] today.

Since I'm currently limited to 110V for the time being this seemed to be the best buy that I could find. Hopefully this one will last me a while till I can upgrade to something even larger. There's a few things I wish were different but that's ok, I'll learn to live with them for now. Really excited about the variable speed, ability to change fees without having to change gears, power cross feed with fairly good rates, features that aren't commonly found all together on lathes this size & smaller.

As you all have stated Matt's great & answered all my questions without hesitation & continued to ask me if I had any more as well as telling me to call back anytime if I could think of more questions to ask. And this was all after I gave him payment info which tells me he's not just looking to take my money & really wants me to be happy with what I'm getting. He also offered me the "pre order" discount which I wasn't even aware of. Saving $100 makes me feel even better as I wasn't even expecting it! Also told me that even though the site states there are additional; charges for liftgate service & residential delivery I might not even get charged those fees. I'm not counting on it though as I was expecting these charges. I hope to buy my next lathe from him as well.

I don't have any plans to sell my 8x14 though, not yet anyway. The 5" Bison 6 jaw will stay on my 8x14, I'll be getting a 6" Bison 6-jaw for this one. J

Now on to the questions. Matt states a BXA tool post is a bit to large which was disappointing. In general AXA is for up to 12" swing & BXA is 10" & up. I know it really depends on the machine but hopefully I may be able to get away with using a BXA & milling the bottom of the holders (I'm used it it as that's what I do now with the AXA holders). Or should I not even bother & just stick with AXA & have no worries except when wanting to use larger tooling? What do you guys think?


EDIT: I've changed my mind. If I'm going to be spending this kind of money on lathe, I might as well buy something with as many features that I want that I can. Just got off the phone with Matt & changed my order to a PM1236.

 

[precisionworks]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Very nice ... you will love the 1.062" headstock bore

I may be able to get away with using a BXA & milling the bottom of the holders

AXA holders (using the dimensions in the Aloris catalog) are about 1.000" from bottom of block to top of tool shank ...

BXA holders are 1.125" ...

If you've already cut a shank down to .500" to fit the AXA holder, you may need to remove another .125" so it hits center in the BXA. Or it may fit as is. It depends on how much thread is showing on the holder adjustment nut. Which means that you won't know until you try it

Lots of info in the Aloris Catalog, but it is a 26 MB pdf file.

http://www.aloris.com/content/user_1/Aloris2006Catalog.pdf

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Wow, bigger than the Bison catalog but still not bigger than the Sandik General Turning catalog which is 198 MB!

Thanks for the info. One of the questions that I was asking, if the top of the cutter would get close to centerline, Matt said it wouldn't & they tried. When I get the lathe I'll pick up a BXA holder or hopefully find measurements on one to figure out if it's possible to use a BXA with 5/8" tools. I hope so but if not no big deal.

 

[precisionworks]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Matt said it wouldn't & they tried.

It probably will if you mill enough off the bottom of the shank.

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

It probably will if you mill enough off the bottom of the shank.

As of right now doesn't sound like I would be able to use BXA. We'll see when I get it. I'd rather only mill the bottom of the holders & not the shank. If I have to mill the shank on a 5/8" tool to get to the correct height I think I might as well just stick with AXA.

 

[wquiles]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Totally awesome Will - congrats :twothumbs

You will definitely love the larger, stiffer machine

 

[saltytri]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Will, that machine rocks! :twothumbs

How are you going to get through all those sleepless nights till it comes? :laughing:

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Will, that machine rocks! :twothumbs

How are you going to get through all those sleepless nights till it comes? :laughing:

Easy, I'll just find something to make that requires several different types of threads, with all the time it will take me to change the gears on my lathe now I will get tired very quick. :laughing:

All joking aside, since I've set it up for 20 TPI I haven't touched the change gear assy since except for engaging & disengaging for the leadscrew. There has been a few time where I needed to change back to the lowest feed rate (0.005) but I was too lazy& just fed it by hand. Didn't come out all that great but I managed to finish the pieces ok. I have a plan that will allow me to change back & forth from 20 TPI & 0.003 (0.005 is now slow enough) feed rate easier. Hope it works out.

 

[saltytri]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

I know how you feel . I keep mine at a metric 1.0 when messing with lights unless some particular situation requires a different thread. There's a belt drive to the leadscrew that is easily removed for normal turning.

 

[bluwolf]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Will,

Big congrats on the new lathe! I know how you feel having to wait. I'm still waiting for mine. I have to call Matt today to find out more. Last week he said they were in the country but he didn't know when he would see them.

Mike

 

[Mirage_Man]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Congrats Will! I know you're stoked. You're gonna love it and how much easier it makes the work you do.

I remember the waiting game when I ordered mine too. It seemed like an eternity. I ordered mine before it had been built though so I had an extra long wait. It was worth it though!

 

[precisionworks]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

I'd rather only mill the bottom of the holders & not the shank.

Let's do the numbers :nana:

The total height of the AXA block is 1.500". The slot takes .500" of that, leaving .500" above & below the slot. Height of insert (which assumes that the insert tip is dead level with the top of the shank) is .500" + .500" = 1.000"

Total height of the BXA block is 1.750". The slot is .625", leaving .563" above & below the slot. Height of insert is .563" + .625" = 1.188", so the BXA block raises the tip height by .188" . Since the lower part of the block, below the slot, is .563" thick, milling off .188" still leaves it at .375". If you had a 5 hp spindle, that might not be enough support. But it would seem to be more than enough for a 1 hp spindle. The entire contact area of the dovetail is used to transmit cutting forces from the insert to the toolpost, and milling the bottom of the block reduces that contact area by only 11%.

Very few equipment sellers recommend slicing up tooling, as the results are not always as expected. Try it on one holder & you'll know right away if it works to your satisfaction. Seems like it would

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Thanks Fellas! Yes I am very stoked! Matt said teh shipment is expected around the 20th. As long as I get it by Christmas I'll be happy. If I don't, I still be happy anyways! No worries on the wait. I have a lathe now anyways & I waited 3 months for my replacement Bison jaws to come from Poland so I'm used to it already.

Let's do the numbers :nana:

The total height of the AXA block is 1.500". The slot takes .500" of that, leaving .500" above & below the slot. Height of insert (which assumes that the insert tip is dead level with the top of the shank) is .500" + .500" = 1.000"

Total height of the BXA block is 1.750". The slot is .625", leaving .563" above & below the slot. Height of insert is .563" + .625" = 1.188", so the BXA block raises the tip height by .188" . Since the lower part of the block, below the slot, is .563" thick, milling off .188" still leaves it at .375". If you had a 5 hp spindle, that might not be enough support. But it would seem to be more than enough for a 1 hp spindle. The entire contact area of the dovetail is used to transmit cutting forces from the insert to the toolpost, and milling the bottom of the block reduces that contact area by only 11%.

Very few equipment sellers recommend slicing up tooling, as the results are not always as expected. Try it on one holder & you'll know right away if it works to your satisfaction. Seems like it would

Awesome, thanks Barry! Milling off .188" is way too much & I wouldn't be comfortable with that amount. With my AXAs I only get 0.040" milled off. I think I'll just stick with AXA unless I find something different when the lathe arrives. Now to wait for MSC's 35-40% off days!

 

[niner]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Thanks Fellas! Yes I am very stoked! Matt said teh shipment is expected around the 20th. As long as I get it by Christmas I'll be happy. If I don't, I still be happy anyways! No worries on the wait. I have a lathe now anyways & I waited 3 months for my replacement Bison jaws to come from Poland so I'm used to it already.





Awesome, thanks Barry! Milling off .188" is way too much & I wouldn't be comfortable with that amount. With my AXAs I only get 0.040" milled off. I think I'll just stick with AXA unless I find something different when the lathe arrives. Now to wait for MSC's 35-40% off days!

Today is your lucky day! MSC has 35% off if your purchase is over $199. Today only.

WEB35

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Today is your lucky day! MSC has 35% off if your purchase is over $199. Today only.

WEB35

Thanks got it too but today is "up to 35% off" & doesn't apply any discount to the item I'm looking to buy.

 

[niner]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Thanks got it too but today is "up to 35% off" & doesn't apply any discount to the item I'm looking to buy.

you are right. For the stuff I want, they are only 15% off.

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

you are right. For the stuff I want, they are only 15% off.

Oh well, I ended up getting what I wanted for the price I am happy with anyway. Now to get a new chuck so waiting on another sale day.


Ok so I've been thinking. I know it's great to have another lathe around for second ops & such but I doubt I will use the 8x14 very much after getting the PM up & running. I know it all depends on the type of work I plan to do but I'm not sure if I would need another lathe available. I wasn't interested in selling but I could use the room & the money to put down towards a mill which I DO NEED. I don't want to go through the trouble of having to ship it. I think if I can find a buyer locally it will get sold. I don't mind keeping it too though as long as I can make use for it. What do you guys think?

So I guess I'll probably have a great package for sale early next year since I have so much for it (even parts for DRO that I started on) but I'll probably sell the 5" Bison 6 jaw with backplate for the 8x14 seperately unless someone really wants to dump that kind of cash in a mini lathe all at once. :thinking:

 

[wquiles]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

My vote: Sell the 8x - definitely. Use the money for more "stuff", like a DRO for the new/larger lathe.

Will

 

[tino_ale]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Is there a specific reason why you didn't get the PM1236 (I mean besides a lower price...) ?

Definetely looking forward to what you'll come up with your new tool

 

[darkzero]

Re: Seriously....My New Lathe....PM 1127-VF

Is there a specific reason why you didn't get the PM1236 (I mean besides a lower price...) ?

Yes power requirements & the noise. I don't need the lady next door knocking at my door anymore. :laughing: