Bench Milling Machine Questions

[nine4gmc]

I have been looking for a smallish mill for a while and now my partner in crime is heavy on the hunt for one as well. He has rounded up a few options but none local so we would like to hear some real reviews from actual owners.

First up, he found a Precision Matthews 727 two states over and is attempting to contact the seller. Is that a decent machine, does anyone have any experience with one? I'm reading they are basically Grizzly machines, anyone have a comparable Grizzly?

I have seen what I think is a PM bench mill in the background of someone's pictures here on GJ, the name slips my mind at the moment.

 

[1982fxr]

No blues music Ricky!








sorry

 

[zkling]

Better than a round column machine.

 

[mechanic217]

You might look for a Clausing or Rockwell , not bench top but not too big either.

 

[nine4gmc]

Yeah, there was a clausing in pristine condition on cl here semi local for $2600, it sold FAST. There has not been another bench mill besides a HF round column for $1200 or so in years. The fullsize bridgeport styles go for that range but he has no slab or room for a fullsize.

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[royesses]

Go to:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/
You'll find plenty of info from owners. PM is a very nice machine.
Roy

 

[nine4gmc]

The site owner is a Nazi *****, I'd rather not visit his forum again.

 

[bmk]

I bought an Enco. I made a new face plate with an attachment for a dial indicator to read Z axis movement though. It's an ok machine, but no Bridgeport. I agree with the no round column though.

 

[MercLSU]

The CL ad had been pulled but SearchTempest pulled the cached ad and I've been nagging the guy. It turned me onto the PM line and I was discussing this option with Nine vs. waiting to find a hen's tooth (i.e. small to medium size vintage US made mill) in this area. I have limited space in my shop, the concrete isn't particularly thick, and I have a ~six inch step to get into it from the garage; this generally rules out a normal size Bridgeport or similar mill.

I'm perfectly happy to be patient but it sounds like this guy may have sprung for the 3 axis DRO and x axis power feed options. He "wasn't sure, but would check". I know that no vise or tooling comes with it, but if it's still in the crate and price is right, I may be a buyer.

 

[MercLSU]

I bought an Enco. I made a new face plate with an attachment for a dial indicator to read Z axis movement though. It's an ok machine, but no Bridgeport. I agree with the no round column though.

At present, I would consider myself a hobbyist at best...hoping to expand my shop and skill set. What do you use yours for and if you could do it again, would you do anything differently?

 

[nine4gmc]

I told Merc he could buy a Bridgeport and put it here at my shop but his woman already thinks he is cheating on her with me so that idea is out...

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[MercLSU]

If you already had a Bridgeport, then she wouldn't be wondering.....

I'm willing to store that press at your shop for a while, though...hint, hint.

 

[nine4gmc]

No problem, i can make room for the press. I had a 20 ton at the old shop and sold it due to never using it, bought a 12 ton really cheap and held it here a year before selling it for not using it, now i need one for the vise handle and a ball joint job i need to do on my truck so ill be happy to hold it for you.

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[gte718p]

I seem to be the only supporter of round columns. They do have certain annoyances, but I like mine. With the cnc conversion it is wonderful. The price was definitely right at $1000 new shipped to me from enco.

If you are just using it for training the HF mini mill is actually a really good bang for the buck. It is not going to cut steel, but it is reasonably accurate. With some modifications, it is actually actually can become a very good mill.

 

[jmarkwolf]

I seem to be the only supporter of round columns. They do have certain annoyances, but I like mine. With the cnc conversion it is wonderful. The price was definitely right at $1000 new shipped to me from enco.

If you are just using it for training the HF mini mill is actually a really good bang for the buck. It is not going to cut steel, but it is reasonably accurate. With some modifications, it is actually actually can become a very good mill.

I had a "round column" for many years and it served me well. The big Harbor Freight one.

Used it for 15 years and sold it for what I paid for it, when I found a nice used Bridgeport.

 

[zmotorsports]

I have been looking for a smallish mill for a while and now my partner in crime is heavy on the hunt for one as well. He has rounded up a few options but none local so we would like to hear some real reviews from actual owners.

First up, he found a Precision Matthews 727 two states over and is attempting to contact the seller. Is that a decent machine, does anyone have any experience with one? I'm reading they are basically Grizzly machines, anyone have a comparable Grizzly?

I have seen what I think is a PM bench mill in the background of someone's pictures here on GJ, the name slips my mind at the moment.

Personally I have had great success when dealing with Precision Mathews equipment. I purchased a couple of Taiwan made machines a couple of years ago and they are very high quality machines and perform flawlessly although I do not have nor have had one of Matt's benchtop mills. I had an older round column mill and was not particularly happy with it due to the design but made it work for nearly 16 years before updating to a small 2/3 size Bridgeport style clone a couple of years ago.

Go to:
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/
You'll find plenty of info from owners. PM is a very nice machine.
Roy

There are a lot of PM owners there.

Mike.

 

[bmk]

At present, I would consider myself a hobbyist at best...hoping to expand my shop and skill set. What do you use yours for and if you could do it again, would you do anything differently?

I've got a small CNC and I basically use the bench top as a back up. Drill a quick hole, mill a surface down, tapping holes. The lead screw is a really fine thread so you crank the hell out of it to move the table though. Again it's ok not great. If I needed to use it a lot I'd have looked at a used Bridgeport.

 

[MercLSU]

I've got a small CNC and I basically use the bench top as a back up. Drill a quick hole, mill a surface down, tapping holes. The lead screw is a really fine thread so you crank the hell out of it to move the table though. Again it's ok not great. If I needed to use it a lot I'd have looked at a used Bridgeport.

Yeah, even if I could find a Bridgeport or similar around here, it's just not an option with what I have available facilities wise. Shipping would put anything heavy enough to be decent out of my price range, plus I wouldn't be able to put my hands on it first.

Anybody else have any thoughts on the PM-727 or bench mills in general? I'm still working on the guy with the machine. It doesn't seem like he's in a big hurry to sell it but admits he will sell it at some point.

 

[sasquatch12]

I have the Canadian equivelent of the Grizzly GO704, and am very pleased with it. I also bought the factory stand with it.