Spiffy mill James, good video too. Everything I have read on imported gear head machines indicates its worth cracking the gearbox open to check for leftover casting sand and manufacturing chips. Have fun.
No kidding, we just returned a wrong shipment of fragile building materials and the guys that picked it up were literally throwing the boxes into the back of the truck. No telling how much damage was done to the product, thank fully we took pictures of the product minutes before they started loading and we already have or refund.
It might have seemed like one of the more mundane sections of the video, but showing step by step how you performed the lifting and maneuvering was very educational for those of us who might not have tackled that task before and would be concerned how feasible it is.
I am a 37 year CNC machinist and you just taught me more than all those years. I love all you hobby machinists. Your're all just bad ass. Keep 'em coming. I add this knowledge into my CNC work. It works.
Well, think of it this way: The base casting got bounced around enough that it is now probably stress relived. May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Just received a PM 1236 Lathe in November (similar weights in the machine and pedestals) and had to move it from my garage out around the side of my house, which is down hill to the basement level back door, in through the door, across the Family Room, down the hall, and into my workshop. Watching you guys jockey that mill around your garage, I'm thinking "lucky SOB"...congrats on the new machine.
Scary, glad you got it moved. #1 cross your straps so there is always force tightening them, if it slipped they would both come off.#2 always assume the thing your lifting will fall - put a 4x4 under it when you put on the feet! If it fell you would save a hand. Speaking of hands - your friend was lucky it didn’t weight more when his hand was in the strap! Enjoy your videos!
Right when he smiles I wish I was there to say "And you'll eventually find the X&Y are out of alignment" lol. Sucks, I had a PM45M CNC that was also "springy" on the column which lead me to sell it as the cut finish looked like a beaver chewed it into shape. I spent countless hours trying different collets, clocking collets, clocking bits, 2 flute, 3 flute, 4 flute, TRN, TiCN, HSS, carbide, 1/4 to 1" , stickout, locking dovetails on Z and Y axis then doing a cut, locking Z and X then doing a cut, adjusting the gib on the one axis I did leave unlocked, hundreds of RPM to feed ratios, different aluminum stock vendors, light pass with spring cut, heavy pass with several spring cuts, climb mill and conventional, checking runout on R8 taper, checking for slop or bad bearings in spindle and probably 500 photos comparing all the various finishes. Had a rough time getting others with similar machines to even post close up photos so I could compare my finish texture with theirs although everyone had an opinion and of course theirs was fine...lol. I can now tell you a G0704 delivered better cuts at 1/3 -1/4 the weight and a wacky column mounting method.
I bought a PM 932M 2 years. I was using an engine hoist to lift the mill off the pallet stack.... and the hoist collapsed/tipped. I utterly destroyed the mill control, the motor capacitors, etc. Sent PM a detailed list of what I needed, they express shipped the replacement parts, sent me detailed schematics, etc. Took me a while to work up the nerve to tear the controls off, but my mill is up and running. Absolutely LOVE my PM mill!
Side note from experience (and a common problem) Open the electrical panel and make sure things are tight or prepare to be replacing a lot of burnt up wires!
Bouncy bouncy! Let's bounce the new mill as hard as possible! Kind of reminds me of the problem a computer manufacturer had when they discovered that a very large part of their warranty repairs consisted of reseating some chips in a certain model of computer. To solve this they immediately designed a way to secure the chips in the sockets and implemented it. Then someone did a study of the manufacturing and saw a forklift do a jump when driving over a sill as he was loading a pallet of new computers. The boxes all went airborne before crashing back down on the pallet. The truck driver thought nothing special of it and had the technique pat down to keep everything landing in good order, but the whole computer case got jarred and temporarily twisted slightly. It was enough to make the chips creep just slightly out of their sockets and in some cases they moved enough that the computer either failed when first powered up by the customer or it would do so a month or so later...
Thank you so much for showing the step by step, from disassembling the box and especially about the care with the lifting !!! Very useful . Congratulations from Brazil
Last month: I finally got rid of all the woodworking equipment. This month: We used cut and drilled wooden blocking to lift the crane. We used cut and stacked wooden blocks to hold the mill off the floor. Ironic. And I'm jealous. I hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday!
The advantages of being in climate that allows a shop in the garage. And here I was looking at 2 feet of snow on the ground last week Lining the mill base and stand up take for bolts and cut the heads off. Use those as guide studs when setting on the stand
This is the most detailed mill uncrating and installation video that I've found -- and I got some good tips and detail w/r/t the hoist repositioning. My PM-30MV is arriving this afternoon (yeah!). It's much lighter than yours of course, but I'll still have the issue with the HF hoist legs not being able to straddle the pallet. My thought/hope is to ask the Saia delivery guy to unload the pallet directly onto the legs of my hoist out in the driveway, then wheel it into the garage like that. Hopefully I'll still have enough lift to get it off of the pallet and onto the stand from there. I also asked the PM folks to mark the top of the crate with an X to show where the front of the mill is facing so that I can get it onto the engine hoist legs oriented the proper way. Let's see if they actually do that X for me. If not, it may require a lift, swivel, drop, and lift again to get it turned the right way.
When I started my apprenticeship I said to my father......"that's a nice mill", he just said, "All mills are nice only some are nicer than others".......when you fit the DRO it will really make your day.......a mill isn't a mill without a DRO.
@@Clough42 I hope the makers of your mill realise that with today's technology a DRO is a definite must have feature for even the most basic mill and they should make attachment points accordingly........most of the time you get a fingers crossed solution due to the design shortsightedness of the manufacturers.
Watching was sort of Deja vu. My first mill was a Grizzly G1007 and I have the same horrible freight engine lift you have. It was a very hard job getting the thing off the pallet with the stupid "Y" shaped legs. I finally got a PM950V and now I am in hog heaven. You will be glad of having ordered that hold down kit.
James, I have a 940m as well. I am in the process of a cnc conversion. I go a little sidetracked with a quadruple bypass but am in the process of getting it up and running. I built my own feet with hockey pucks and 1/4" stainless drops I bought from ebay. The feet turned out very well. I also took the mill apart and used a needle scaler to remove all the bondo that is used on these machines. I removed about a full gallon of bondo from the mill and base. The needle scaler removed all the bondo and paint very well and quickly. I blew up my cheap used air compressor and had to buy a new one. lol I was pleasantly surpised that the castings looked pretty good and wondered why they used so much bondo. I then repainted everything with POR primer and paint. The machine isn't as heavy as they claim but still is heavy. Here is what the parts weight. But my machine is the basic model with hardwaysand doesn't have the control box, control head or the z and x power feed motor like yours so your will be a little heavier. As for the mill; mill base 130 column 144 spindle head 185 Z saddle 34 motor 40 X table 131 Y saddle 48 mill total 712 As for the bottom stand 310 Total weight 1022
always fun moving a milling machine.. i had one this size transported sideways in the back of my car.. was a 4 hour move from its old place to where it is now.. impossible to do without a engine lift lol
That's really gorgeous. "Oil bathed gear train" is crucial, I had to pack sloppy low vis grease into my crappy rong fu clone to 1. stop the hi pitched whine and 2. stop tripping the circuit breaker.
Absolutely fascinating! I'd love to see what you can make with this beautiful machine. Many years ago I trained as an engineer and did an apprenticeship in a machine shop. Finished up in a very different career but I still get a thrill from seeing machines like these.
I love the bubble wrap packing in the mill head crate. I mean,it could have been damaged beyond repair if were not for the token piece of bubble wrap 😂😂
Hi James. In the UK I have the same mill but branded Warco. Had it a year and very pleased but you will need to make new knobs for tightening the gibbs. The little lever type ones supplied are not fit for purpose and you will probably find that the ones that tighten the X axis catch on the ways when moving the table away from you on the y. Enjoy. All the best. Jim.
I got a PM-932. I had a weird hatch leading from the garage into the basement, with 18" of the basement wall extending from the garage floor up to the lower side of the hatch door. The clearance thru the hatch was not enough to put the mill thru on its pallet - on top of having to lift it 20" in the air before moving it. Took a year before I could drag the thing into the basement after having someone come with a giant diamond hole saw and cut the basement wall to about 2 inches below the garage floor. Then it was a massive production to haul everything through the larger hatch opening and lower it all down to the basement floor 20" below then hoist the mill up on the stand. Only to discover there was a congenital problem with the electronics that raise the head. Covid hit and other things got way more important. However, seeing your 940 I'll now put work into getting my mill running properly. PM did send me replacement parts (that were shipped from China) to repair the elevation motor/contactor buttons, etc. Like you I have a Grizzly mill so it was not super pressing to get the 932 working. Congrats on the new mill and I hope you have better luck getting yours running than I did (I'm 2 minutes in so don't know yet what you have in store for yourself)
Footnote: I could solve all my problems by setting the workshop up in the garage but I have a 2400 sq basement and I don't like digging the cars out of snow.
My grandparents got a piano into the basement by lifting it over a half wall and lowering it down a stairwell with a block and tackle. After that experience, they told me they would sell it with the house. :)
@@Clough42 forty plus years ago we went to look at a House for sale. On the upper floor in the second bedroom was a grand piano. When I asked I was told that it had been installed via the window opening before the window was installed, wrapped in cardboard while the house was finished around it and was to be sold with the house. Facing the cost of removing it, we needed all the bedrooms, we declined the sale. It was a nice house and the piano was in great condition. Just none of us played.
@@ronwilken5219 my grandparents' house had a piano in the basement with a similar story. It was a Sears Roebuck catalog home, build in the '20s. They lowered the piano into the basement stairwell with block and tackle, presumably before the enclosed porch was added over the top. That piano went with the house after they passed.
Hello James, Keith from Michigan. I was re-watching this Matthew's Mill you purchased. I've been involved with machinery over 44yrs my friend. Also I have unloaded and seen some realistic bad 👎 from these shipping containers looked like hell. So there's your answer, as you unloaded the contents, from the base section...
Congratulations on the early Christmas present. Not sure where you live but if that had to travel through Shreveport LA. It wouldn't surprise me if it were tipped over sideways. I moved from Texas to the East coast and back and all of the damage sustained was coming through Shreveport on I20. I feel like you will enjoy the mill and customer service from PM. I have a 1236 lathe and their bench top mill and would do it again because they are incredible to work with.
I bought that same model about 5 years ago, I like my gear change knob locations better, they face the front instead of the side. It needed a gooseneck work light, that was added later. Shars is a good source for tooling. Adapters run morse #2, #3 drills. I ordered the collet set to make use of end mills and annular cutters. I like your nice roomy shop....
You can double or triple the paper thickness on the gears if you want it more accurate. Paper is great for shims if there is enough bearing area, and it's tolerant of slight dirt because it embeds without affecting the shimming height.
I own an Optimum MB4 milling machine (Germany distributor) which is a smaller clone of PM940 from the same production plant. When I installed it, I was surprised by what was in the transmission. Lots of chips and pieces of kite from production. I had to disassemble, fit and clean the entire transmission. Without it, it would not have a long life. You better check it out.
Thanks! I’m going to be tackling this (with their smaller 728) next week. Super helpful to see the whole process moving the machine, plus a very enjoyable video as well!
Cheers, that was really helpful for someone just 📕 learning in the sense of seeing it unpacked and craned into position and looks like a beast of a machine, enjoy!
Now that is a serious bit of kit for a home workshop. Been looking at some of your very first videos and how things have changed and evolved. Your presentation, filming, sound and staging have all improved dramatically. It is very interesting to see what a difference the use of a plain and tidy stage backdrop has done to give the videos some real professionalism. Multi-cameras and split sound really shows on the later videos, congratulations.. Looking forward to seeing what you are going to attempt on the big mill. Have a good Christmas, stay safe and keep the videos coming (Love the long multi-part projects).
Reminds me of the time we had to stand a two meter vertical lathe (Youji 2000) up, the bridge and turret came in lying on its back. That'l make you pucker. Ya done good, not an "oh crap look out" in the whole job
Not to be a youtube safety guy, but this may help some folks. When lifting with those straps around the base it is a good idea to lift just enough to tension the straps, and then use chain or something around the separate straps to prevent them from spreading and slipping off the ends of the table. I like to place the pallet on the legs of the lift and then lower the load onto it and then roll it around, especially top heavy loads. Lastly, never put any body part under any hanging load. Block it up, or at least put a non-crushable object under the load that is thicker than said body part. Hate to see you loose some fingers because a strap slips or the hydraulics give out (not that the HF lift is sketchy, I love mine).
when I got mine I drilled 4 holes through the base, ran 2 lengths of rebar through the holes, lowered the head as far as it would go, the put the lifting straps around the bars. Easy to drill being cast iron, some brands come with holes already in the sides of the base.
We just got "a new milling machine". ~35-40 years old Shizuoka. Prized like a new mill but sturdy as hell. 2500 kg of pure quality. In my opinion older can be superior to newer.
I'd say from personal experience, I haul shipping containers to and from the ports. Some of the newer operators of the "top handlers" and the "trans" (mobile overhead cranes) they're not as gentle as the more seasoned operators. I've had containers slammed onto my trailer before, making my trailer leak air like crazy! I've gotten to customers afterwards, opened my doors and backed into docks, shipping and receiving crews tell me the cargo is messed up. Not my problem
I have a PM 45M and raised it to make it more comfortable to use. I wish I had raised the mill from the base like Pragmati Lee did when adding a new x-axis power unit. That extra room would make it much easier to lock the y-axis.. Granted you would want to cut a piece of sheet material to keep dwarf from migrating into your cabinet also. Just some to think about when installing your dro. It gets crowded on the lower right side.
Exciting to get a new machine, must feel like a whole world of difference from your G0704. I went from a Little Machine Shop 4700 micro mill to a G0704 (used) and it was a nice upgrade for me, I installed the power feed and power lift because hand cranking was getting very old, I did put a DRO with glass scales on it too. Congratulation on your new machine and I share that excitement with you. Can't wait so see you put it to good use. As always, your videos are super great.
All it takes to do that is the truck bouncing down the road. You’d be surprised at how the mass of the steel parts can exert enough force to break out of cardboard boxes. I had a wood box have it’s side blown off by the vise inside. Fortunately, that box was within a very thick corrugated box, which was within another one. Still the staples pulled right out of the wood box inside. Fortunately, nothing was damaged, and once on the mill, it checked out to within specs, once I disassembled it. That style of X motor has advantages, and disadvantages, as I’ve found over a vertically installed motor. The advantage is that it doesn’t interfere with the mill. Base of structure as vertical motors do and so limit the travel when installed. The disadvantage as you can see it that it puts an end stop on the table. I had to rework mine to get the surface level with the top of the table, except for the big gear housing. This looks exactly the same as mine other than the paint color. If so, the big gear in the end is plastic. I expect stripped twice over the years, but Grizzly has the replacement part. Hopefully Mathews has them too. If not, the Grizzly part will likely fit. The one thing I don’t like about these geared head machines is that, for some reason, the low speed is too slow, and the top speed is way too slow. Running an 1/8” bit at 2,000 rpm is not something I want to do.
Suffering from serious mill envy. May have to see my therapist. Actually I don't have enough clearance in my shop to fit it in. Your uncrating and setup went unbelievably smooth.
The contents were NOT damaged during the transport. They were damaged during the packaking. I would report this to P.M. so they can track who and why. This does not help You but it sure helps the next customer. To me it looked like they would have been playing basket ball with Your stuff.
@@precisionmatthewsmachineco I'll bet the bubble wrap in the mill box was supposed to enclose all the itty bitty boxes in the base but some low paid labour wasn't sure what to do with it so put it in the big box. Hence the corresponding disaster.
i fucking hate that hoist because i end up trying to use it for things that its just perfectly annoying to use- not quite enough travel, legs getting slightly in the way, etc... fuck that thing completely off
I am so envious of what you have it is encouraging me to work towards building my own mill witch you know about and I'm slowly getting there ONE thing I won't build my self but I want /need is a sheet metal break like you have I never seen it if you have said who made it if you could let me know it would be nice and il give credit to anything I do buy to you with who I get it from. Thanx again James.
have recently took delivery of a simular machine (different brand same clone with less options ) and i managed to basicy wressle the machine to the edge of the pallet after taking the bolts out , took it off in two pieces , the mast with the head and the cross table , did leaked the oil out of the gearcase (set the mast down horizontally on wood crates with the head hanging down ) not sure if it shouldve been sealed and not leak , ill check to see where it leaked from maibe change some o rings or seals on the gear selectors or from where ever it was leaking from then refill the gearbox once its set up didnt had the cast iron base but the sheetmetal version and it was set on top of the big box same as yours at least i could lift it off didnt used actual lifting straps but ratchetstraps , you can shorten these during the lift to balance the load out and they resist sliding a lot better
Very neat, apart from the packaging. I have the PM25, their smallest mill and couldn't be happier. 3 years old and nor one problem and runs almost silent up to 750rpm. Have fun, thanks.
The shop that RUclips Built. Nice Mill. That is a quality built model of my cheap HF round column gearhead mill. Good choice. Does that mill have linear bearings on the Z-axis? I am planning on changing out my round column for a square column by dropping a 6x6x3/8 steel tube over the round column with 25mm linear rails mounted onto the front face of the column. The head on these is really heavy so I will counterbalance with a chain weight over the top using sprockets to guide the chain and provide a power feed lift. I have the same Y-axis power feed that you have and it has been a great add-on. I used a 5" Kurt knockoff, and it is a great size for my mill. If I need more depth I can use the back part of the rear vice jaw. The 6" vice is really massive and I just don't need the extra depth. If I need a really big vice I will make a split vice like TOT made for his mill. Are you going to do a power drawbar? I found a Bridgeport BT30, replacement spindle that I think will fit my mill. That way all of my CNC mill tools will fit my manual mill, cutting down on my tooling bill. Also, it's easier to add an ATC to a BT30 spindle. Good luck with your new mill.
Good job. I always have crates held at the freight depot and take a utility trailer there to pick things up. They can forklift it onto the trailer and separate things, remove extra pallets, etc (which avoids some of the problems shown here). Unloading from the lower height utility trailer backed into the garage is much safer and easier (leave the trailer connected to the truck or put jacks under the corners of the utility trailer to make it very stable). You never know with liftgate delivery what they'll do (or not do) for you, plus with a depot pickup things run on your schedule rather than waiting for their random delivery.
@@Clough42 Don't diss the HF folding trailer...that is what I used to move my PM1236 from the garage around to the back basement door (one level lower).
@@Clough42 That might be very exciting. My little Toyota 4Runner handled it like a champ though it was dwarfed by the tractors they use at the Fedex depot to move trailers around. :)
@@hdmungeryt I love my little trailer. It's the best thing ever if you need to buy plywood without a truck. But 1400lbs is well in excess of the rated capacity of the trailer, the hitch on my car, the brakes, and the clutch in this scenario.
@@Clough42 Well, I didn't do it all in one go. I did the lathe (with about 330lbs. of parts removed) one weekend, and the two cast iron pedestal bases and the engine hoist the next.
One great thing with a new small mill, you can add a Mini pallet system that covers the X and Y surface area of the milling table, that way you have the option to move your milling vise and even add a second vise that will be perfectly aligned with the first one.
A small company I worked for in the ‘80s taped plastic accelerometers on equipment to be shipped from Cedar Rapids to the east and west coast. We were seeing up to 9Gs east and 7Gs west. When a truck at 65 MPH drops into a pothole the load starts to fall, it doubles the impact when the truck bed jumps up to meet it on the other side of the hole. Since the Chinese cardboard was probably damp from its overseas ride, the hammering on the interstate system just spread all the cast iron and heavy parts.
RUclips just recommended this to me and I read "2 years ago" as "2 hours ago". I was so confused as to why you bought another one of these and put it in the exact same spot ;)
I am impressed with the features of your mill. PM does have nice machines… I have a 1640 TL lathe. It’s heavy and I’m liking it so far. I did not expect your mill to come with power down feed on the quill… I like your mill. Nice buy!!
Nice mill, I have a similar model from Grizzly, less the power downfeed which was not an option when I purchased mine. I installed a DroPros two axis DRO with magnetic scales and I love it. Absolutely spot on for precision drilling.
I have that same HF engine crane but optioned it with the air powered hydraulic vs manual cyl - its wonderful! Also added 100 lb counterweight ballast.
Chinese built and sold under a number of different model numbers that have subtle differences in motor and the way the quill works. Mine is called the ZX40
Been going through your back-catalog of videos and really enjoying them. This was really similar to my receiving a Tormach SlantPro lathe and 440 Mill.. shipped to Canada. Luckily the lathe and mill and tools were all OK, but all the pallets, wood, boxes, were in splinters.
So far I'm only 7:30 into the video, so I hereby reserve my option to post a further comment later, but... Two thoughts I have at this time (which is why I need to post them now; I have reached capacity.): 1. You need to buy a stacker, which is a very size appropriate forklift. I have had mine for years, and I can move absolutely everything with that bad boy, and your pallet stack etc. would have been no issue at all. (Get one at auction; they're pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.) 2. Many years ago I received an air compressor from a German company, and its packaging included numerous 'tilt sensors' and 'shock sensors' attached to the skid/crate. They used colored fluid to indicate if the package had ever been in a position other than vertical, or if it had been dropped. I would have a serious discussion with PM about adopting their use. I'm sure their minimal cost would be more than offset by savings against breakage, other claims, etc. OK, back to the video.
Very nice addition to the shop, really appreciate all the camera angles and effort during the unboxing, defiantly entertaining content and look forward to what you can do with the new machine!
Just wondering what made you decide on a PM-940 mill as I look in your shop I see you do spend a lot of money on the shop and see a lot of home machinist go with these type of mills VS a BP style knee mill that gives you much more flexibility with the tilt and nod of the head rotate ram and slide out to have long part hang off front of table and machine end. Plus from cutting i have seen you can cut 3 to 4 times heavier. You can get a knee mill new as low as $9,500 also there are 100 times more accessories available for BP clone mills.
Hi, took delivery of the very same model (different colour of course)on Friday last but with the DRO option. So this video is of great interest to me as I have got to go through the same process. Unfortunately I do not have the room you have but very useful to see how it all goes together and how it operates. regards
I know exactly what you have been through. I too recently purchased a smaller version of the same mill at 120Kg and it took me a month to get it off the floor onto its final table. I couldn't get an engine lifter under the machine. I ended up getting a hydraulic table which when lowered was about 12"off the ground and a bunch of strong guys were able to get it up onto it then lift the table and slide it over, mine was no where near as heavy as yours and it was very difficult.
Any package marked "Fragile" seems to be a challenge to a shipper and translates to "Throw harder" in Shipperese.
Spiffy mill James, good video too. Everything I have read on imported gear head machines indicates its worth cracking the gearbox open to check for leftover casting sand and manufacturing chips. Have fun.
No kidding, we just returned a wrong shipment of fragile building materials and the guys that picked it up were literally throwing the boxes into the back of the truck. No telling how much damage was done to the product, thank fully we took pictures of the product minutes before they started loading and we already have or refund.
Very interesting I have a Titan machinery mill here in the UK that in many ways the same as this but without the motorised up and down and cross feed
It might have seemed like one of the more mundane sections of the video, but showing step by step how you performed the lifting and maneuvering was very educational for those of us who might not have tackled that task before and would be concerned how feasible it is.
Antonmursid
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🇲🇨
I am a 37 year CNC machinist and you just taught me more than all those years. I love all you hobby machinists. Your're all just bad ass. Keep 'em coming. I add this knowledge into my CNC work. It works.
This looks like a good solid manual mill. It's a good thing the mill protected all that loose foam sheet packing so it wasn't damaged in shipping.
😂😂😂😂😂
Well, think of it this way: The base casting got bounced around enough that it is now probably stress relived. May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Only thing better than getting a new mill is watching someone else setting up their new mill..lol. That is a really nice addition to your shop.👌🏻🇺🇸
Just received a PM 1236 Lathe in November (similar weights in the machine and pedestals) and had to move it from my garage out around the side of my house, which is down hill to the basement level back door, in through the door, across the Family Room, down the hall, and into my workshop. Watching you guys jockey that mill around your garage, I'm thinking "lucky SOB"...congrats on the new machine.
Thanks! I'm not sure the floors in my house would support a machine of that magnitude.
@@Clough42 Neither would mine, but the basement is concrete floor.
Scary, glad you got it moved. #1 cross your straps so there is always force tightening them, if it slipped they would both come off.#2 always assume the thing your lifting will fall - put a 4x4 under it when you put on the feet! If it fell you would save a hand. Speaking of hands - your friend was lucky it didn’t weight more when his hand was in the strap!
Enjoy your videos!
Right when he smiles I wish I was there to say "And you'll eventually find the X&Y are out of alignment" lol. Sucks, I had a PM45M CNC that was also "springy" on the column which lead me to sell it as the cut finish looked like a beaver chewed it into shape. I spent countless hours trying different collets, clocking collets, clocking bits, 2 flute, 3 flute, 4 flute, TRN, TiCN, HSS, carbide, 1/4 to 1" , stickout, locking dovetails on Z and Y axis then doing a cut, locking Z and X then doing a cut, adjusting the gib on the one axis I did leave unlocked, hundreds of RPM to feed ratios, different aluminum stock vendors, light pass with spring cut, heavy pass with several spring cuts, climb mill and conventional, checking runout on R8 taper, checking for slop or bad bearings in spindle and probably 500 photos comparing all the various finishes. Had a rough time getting others with similar machines to even post close up photos so I could compare my finish texture with theirs although everyone had an opinion and of course theirs was fine...lol. I can now tell you a G0704 delivered better cuts at 1/3 -1/4 the weight and a wacky column mounting method.
I bought a PM 932M 2 years. I was using an engine hoist to lift the mill off the pallet stack.... and the hoist collapsed/tipped.
I utterly destroyed the mill control, the motor capacitors, etc.
Sent PM a detailed list of what I needed, they express shipped the replacement parts, sent me detailed schematics, etc.
Took me a while to work up the nerve to tear the controls off, but my mill is up and running. Absolutely LOVE my PM mill!
Side note from experience (and a common problem) Open the electrical panel and make sure things are tight or prepare to be replacing a lot of burnt up wires!
The wiring looks way cleaner than I was expecting, but checking the torque on the terminals is a good call.
I did some checking this morning, and everything looks good.
Well done. Everything in place, and nobody squished.
Bouncy bouncy! Let's bounce the new mill as hard as possible!
Kind of reminds me of the problem a computer manufacturer had when they discovered that a very large part of their warranty repairs consisted of reseating some chips in a certain model of computer. To solve this they immediately designed a way to secure the chips in the sockets and implemented it. Then someone did a study of the manufacturing and saw a forklift do a jump when driving over a sill as he was loading a pallet of new computers. The boxes all went airborne before crashing back down on the pallet. The truck driver thought nothing special of it and had the technique pat down to keep everything landing in good order, but the whole computer case got jarred and temporarily twisted slightly. It was enough to make the chips creep just slightly out of their sockets and in some cases they moved enough that the computer either failed when first powered up by the customer or it would do so a month or so later...
I hope one day to have a garage with milling machine and metal lathe. The hobby is the most fun to me you could have. Super jealous of your new toy
Most delivery guys are like the road runner as soon as it is off the truck, well done that man.
Thank you so much for showing the step by step, from disassembling the box and especially about the care with the lifting !!!
Very useful .
Congratulations from Brazil
Last month: I finally got rid of all the woodworking equipment.
This month: We used cut and drilled wooden blocking to lift the crane. We used cut and stacked wooden blocks to hold the mill off the floor.
Ironic.
And I'm jealous. I hope you and yours have a safe and happy holiday!
The smile in the beginning and the WD-40 smile really cracked me up :)
Great content as usual. Looking forward to seeing it in action
The advantages of being in climate that allows a shop in the garage. And here I was looking at 2 feet of snow on the ground last week
Lining the mill base and stand up take for bolts and cut the heads off. Use those as guide studs when setting on the stand
This is the most detailed mill uncrating and installation video that I've found -- and I got some good tips and detail w/r/t the hoist repositioning. My PM-30MV is arriving this afternoon (yeah!). It's much lighter than yours of course, but I'll still have the issue with the HF hoist legs not being able to straddle the pallet. My thought/hope is to ask the Saia delivery guy to unload the pallet directly onto the legs of my hoist out in the driveway, then wheel it into the garage like that. Hopefully I'll still have enough lift to get it off of the pallet and onto the stand from there.
I also asked the PM folks to mark the top of the crate with an X to show where the front of the mill is facing so that I can get it onto the engine hoist legs oriented the proper way. Let's see if they actually do that X for me. If not, it may require a lift, swivel, drop, and lift again to get it turned the right way.
When I started my apprenticeship I said to my father......"that's a nice mill", he just said, "All mills are nice only some are nicer than others".......when you fit the DRO it will really make your day.......a mill isn't a mill without a DRO.
Coming up soon. :)
@@Clough42 I hope the makers of your mill realise that with today's technology a DRO is a definite must have feature for even the most basic mill and they should make attachment points accordingly........most of the time you get a fingers crossed solution due to the design shortsightedness of the manufacturers.
31 years as a cabinetmaker have a pretty ok woodshop at home - for fun. I see a giant hole in my shop now - thanks
Watching was sort of Deja vu. My first mill was a Grizzly G1007 and I have the same horrible freight engine lift you have. It was a very hard job getting the thing off the pallet with the stupid "Y" shaped legs. I finally got a PM950V and now I am in hog heaven. You will be glad of having ordered that hold down kit.
I plan on using it later today. :)
James, I have a 940m as well. I am in the process of a cnc conversion. I go a little sidetracked with a quadruple bypass but am in the process of getting it up and running. I built my own feet with hockey pucks and 1/4" stainless drops I bought from ebay. The feet turned out very well. I also took the mill apart and used a needle scaler to remove all the bondo that is used on these machines. I removed about a full gallon of bondo from the mill and base. The needle scaler removed all the bondo and paint very well and quickly. I blew up my cheap used air compressor and had to buy a new one. lol I was pleasantly surpised that the castings looked pretty good and wondered why they used so much bondo. I then repainted everything with POR primer and paint.
The machine isn't as heavy as they claim but still is heavy. Here is what the parts weight. But my machine is the basic model with hardwaysand doesn't have the control box, control head or the z and x power feed motor like yours so your will be a little heavier.
As for the mill;
mill base 130
column 144
spindle head 185
Z saddle 34
motor 40
X table 131
Y saddle 48
mill total 712
As for the bottom stand 310
Total weight 1022
always fun moving a milling machine.. i had one this size transported sideways in the back of my car.. was a 4 hour move from its old place to where it is now.. impossible to do without a engine lift lol
That's really gorgeous. "Oil bathed gear train" is crucial, I had to pack sloppy low vis grease into my crappy rong fu clone to 1. stop the hi pitched whine and 2. stop tripping the circuit breaker.
Absolutely fascinating! I'd love to see what you can make with this beautiful machine. Many years ago I trained as an engineer and did an apprenticeship in a machine shop. Finished up in a very different career but I still get a thrill from seeing machines like these.
I love the bubble wrap packing in the mill head crate. I mean,it could have been damaged beyond repair if were not for the token piece of bubble wrap 😂😂
Nice to have help. I did the same thing 8 years ago alone
Looks like a pretty nice mill. I’ll stay tuned to see it performs as good as it looks. Thanks for sharing without music playing in the background.
Hi James. In the UK I have the same mill but branded Warco. Had it a year and very pleased but you will need to make new knobs for tightening the gibbs. The little lever type ones supplied are not fit for purpose and you will probably find that the ones that tighten the X axis catch on the ways when moving the table away from you on the y. Enjoy. All the best. Jim.
I got a PM-932. I had a weird hatch leading from the garage into the basement, with 18" of the basement wall extending from the garage floor up to the lower side of the hatch door. The clearance thru the hatch was not enough to put the mill thru on its pallet - on top of having to lift it 20" in the air before moving it. Took a year before I could drag the thing into the basement after having someone come with a giant diamond hole saw and cut the basement wall to about 2 inches below the garage floor. Then it was a massive production to haul everything through the larger hatch opening and lower it all down to the basement floor 20" below then hoist the mill up on the stand. Only to discover there was a congenital problem with the electronics that raise the head. Covid hit and other things got way more important. However, seeing your 940 I'll now put work into getting my mill running properly. PM did send me replacement parts (that were shipped from China) to repair the elevation motor/contactor buttons, etc. Like you I have a Grizzly mill so it was not super pressing to get the 932 working.
Congrats on the new mill and I hope you have better luck getting yours running than I did (I'm 2 minutes in so don't know yet what you have in store for yourself)
Footnote: I could solve all my problems by setting the workshop up in the garage but I have a 2400 sq basement and I don't like digging the cars out of snow.
My grandparents got a piano into the basement by lifting it over a half wall and lowering it down a stairwell with a block and tackle. After that experience, they told me they would sell it with the house. :)
@@Clough42 hahaha. I suspect mine may never leave the basement.
@@Clough42 forty plus years ago we went to look at a House for sale. On the upper floor in the second bedroom was a grand piano. When I asked I was told that it had been installed via the window opening before the window was installed, wrapped in cardboard while the house was finished around it and was to be sold with the house. Facing the cost of removing it, we needed all the bedrooms, we declined the sale. It was a nice house and the piano was in great condition. Just none of us played.
@@ronwilken5219 my grandparents' house had a piano in the basement with a similar story. It was a Sears Roebuck catalog home, build in the '20s. They lowered the piano into the basement stairwell with block and tackle, presumably before the enclosed porch was added over the top. That piano went with the house after they passed.
Hello James, Keith from Michigan. I was re-watching this Matthew's Mill you purchased. I've been involved with machinery over 44yrs my friend. Also I have unloaded and seen some realistic bad 👎 from these shipping containers looked like hell. So there's your answer, as you unloaded the contents, from the base section...
Congratulations on the early Christmas present.
Not sure where you live but if that had to travel through Shreveport LA. It wouldn't surprise me if it were tipped over sideways. I moved from Texas to the East coast and back and all of the damage sustained was coming through Shreveport on I20.
I feel like you will enjoy the mill and customer service from PM. I have a 1236 lathe and their bench top mill and would do it again because they are incredible to work with.
I bought that same model about 5 years ago, I like my gear change knob locations better, they face the front instead of the side. It needed a gooseneck work light, that was added later. Shars is a good source for tooling. Adapters run morse #2, #3 drills. I ordered the collet set to make use of end mills and annular cutters. I like your nice roomy shop....
Looks great James. I have a PM-949 TV with the 4 axis DRO from DRO Pros. Excellent choice.
I hope you call Matt and discuss the poor packing.
looks like if the customs boys would have a look in to the box
Precision Matthews is crap with warranty, they pick and chose what to cover for stuff that breaks under warranty.
You can double or triple the paper thickness on the gears if you want it more accurate.
Paper is great for shims if there is enough bearing area, and it's tolerant of slight dirt because it embeds without affecting the shimming height.
I own an Optimum MB4 milling machine (Germany distributor) which is a smaller clone of PM940 from the same production plant. When I installed it, I was surprised by what was in the transmission. Lots of chips and pieces of kite from production. I had to disassemble, fit and clean the entire transmission. Without it, it would not have a long life. You better check it out.
Thanks! I’m going to be tackling this (with their smaller 728) next week. Super helpful to see the whole process moving the machine, plus a very enjoyable video as well!
Real nice mill. I was worried about lifting head and jack staying down on floor. All went well. Thank you for sharing.
Congrats with the new Mill!
Tip...For adjusting the gear. Take some solder wire. turn the gear and messure the thichness of the it :)
My Hafco 46 arrived a month ago, same machine, different badge. I love it, and yes, I too told myself It would remain a manual machine. A month ago ;)
Cheers, that was really helpful for someone just 📕 learning in the sense of seeing it unpacked and craned into position and looks like a beast of a machine, enjoy!
"about a week ago" and they were still in the boxes!?!?!? You my friend have some patience that is beyond my comprehension.
Or a long"honey, you're doing my jobs before you unpack those boxes" list which he dutifully performed.🤞🇨🇦👍
As a G0602 owner and a PM727m owner...I'm excited to watch!
Now that is a serious bit of kit for a home workshop. Been looking at some of your very first videos and how things have changed and evolved. Your presentation, filming, sound and staging have all improved dramatically. It is very interesting to see what a difference the use of a plain and tidy stage backdrop has done to give the videos some real professionalism. Multi-cameras and split sound really shows on the later videos, congratulations.. Looking forward to seeing what you are going to attempt on the big mill. Have a good Christmas, stay safe and keep the videos coming (Love the long multi-part projects).
Great, because the DRO for this mill is going to be a lot of work. :)
Reminds me of the time we had to stand a two meter vertical lathe (Youji 2000) up, the bridge and turret came in lying on its back. That'l make you pucker. Ya done good, not an "oh crap look out" in the whole job
Have owned a number of mills snd Precision Matthews are my all time favorite. Lucky, Iucky😊😊😊😊
Thank you Dick, I do have some work to do this week though with what happened with this shipment, not good for us at all.
Outstanding and congratulations James! I have the PM-835S and couldn't be happier. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Thanks for sharing!
Not to be a youtube safety guy, but this may help some folks. When lifting with those straps around the base it is a good idea to lift just enough to tension the straps, and then use chain or something around the separate straps to prevent them from spreading and slipping off the ends of the table.
I like to place the pallet on the legs of the lift and then lower the load onto it and then roll it around, especially top heavy loads.
Lastly, never put any body part under any hanging load. Block it up, or at least put a non-crushable object under the load that is thicker than said body part. Hate to see you loose some fingers because a strap slips or the hydraulics give out (not that the HF lift is sketchy, I love mine).
when I got mine I drilled 4 holes through the base, ran 2 lengths of rebar through the holes, lowered the head as far as it would go, the put the lifting straps around the bars. Easy to drill being cast iron, some brands come with holes already in the sides of the base.
We just got "a new milling machine". ~35-40 years old Shizuoka. Prized like a new mill but sturdy as hell. 2500 kg of pure quality. In my opinion older can be superior to newer.
Great job on the de-palleting and installation, nice machine, accessories packing is abysmal.
Great vlog thanks for sharing.
Best regards from the UK.
I'd say from personal experience, I haul shipping containers to and from the ports. Some of the newer operators of the "top handlers" and the "trans" (mobile overhead cranes) they're not as gentle as the more seasoned operators. I've had containers slammed onto my trailer before, making my trailer leak air like crazy! I've gotten to customers afterwards, opened my doors and backed into docks, shipping and receiving crews tell me the cargo is messed up. Not my problem
Thanks for the heads up. I've been thinking about buying a PM mill. I still am but I need to rethink where I put it
I have a PM 45M and raised it to make it more comfortable to use. I wish I had raised the mill from the base like Pragmati Lee did when adding a new x-axis power unit. That extra room would make it much easier to lock the y-axis.. Granted you would want to cut a piece of sheet material to keep dwarf from migrating into your cabinet also. Just some to think about when installing your dro. It gets crowded on the lower right side.
Exciting to get a new machine, must feel like a whole world of difference from your G0704. I went from a Little Machine Shop 4700 micro mill to a G0704 (used) and it was a nice upgrade for me, I installed the power feed and power lift because hand cranking was getting very old, I did put a DRO with glass scales on it too.
Congratulation on your new machine and I share that excitement with you. Can't wait so see you put it to good use. As always, your videos are super great.
Sweet new toy I look forward to seeing your projects unfold using it
Monster travel distances! Up there with many turret mills!
All it takes to do that is the truck bouncing down the road. You’d be surprised at how the mass of the steel parts can exert enough force to break out of cardboard boxes. I had a wood box have it’s side blown off by the vise inside. Fortunately, that box was within a very thick corrugated box, which was within another one. Still the staples pulled right out of the wood box inside. Fortunately, nothing was damaged, and once on the mill, it checked out to within specs, once I disassembled it.
That style of X motor has advantages, and disadvantages, as I’ve found over a vertically installed motor. The advantage is that it doesn’t interfere with the mill. Base of structure as vertical motors do and so limit the travel when installed. The disadvantage as you can see it that it puts an end stop on the table. I had to rework mine to get the surface level with the top of the table, except for the big gear housing. This looks exactly the same as mine other than the paint color. If so, the big gear in the end is plastic. I expect stripped twice over the years, but Grizzly has the replacement part. Hopefully Mathews has them too. If not, the Grizzly part will likely fit.
The one thing I don’t like about these geared head machines is that, for some reason, the low speed is too slow, and the top speed is way too slow. Running an 1/8” bit at 2,000 rpm is not something I want to do.
Suffering from serious mill envy. May have to see my therapist. Actually I don't have enough clearance in my shop to fit it in. Your uncrating and setup went unbelievably smooth.
Great vid, and kudos to your friend. Always good to have an extra set of hands when needed.
A good friend willing to push a something heavy hanging from an engine hoist is priceless.
The contents were NOT damaged during the transport. They were damaged during the packaking. I would report this to P.M. so they can track who and why. This does not help You but it sure helps the next customer.
To me it looked like they would have been playing basket ball with Your stuff.
Yes, the damage did happen during shipping, but it was not from the shipping, it was from them not being packed in there properly.
@@precisionmatthewsmachineco I'll bet the bubble wrap in the mill box was supposed to enclose all the itty bitty boxes in the base but some low paid labour wasn't sure what to do with it so put it in the big box. Hence the corresponding disaster.
I've been shopping for mills and had decided on the new Taiwanese PM728-vt to convert to CNC. The unpacking section of this video makes me reconsider.
I have the same engine hoist. Used it to drop my lathe.
All I can say is oof
i fucking hate that hoist because i end up trying to use it for things that its just perfectly annoying to use- not quite enough travel, legs getting slightly in the way, etc... fuck that thing completely off
I am so envious of what you have it is encouraging me to work towards building my own mill witch you know about and I'm slowly getting there ONE thing I won't build my self but I want /need is a sheet metal break like you have I never seen it if you have said who made it if you could let me know it would be nice and il give credit to anything I do buy to you with who I get it from. Thanx again James.
Santa was generous this year, which means you've done your homework. Congrats !
Thanks! I may or may not have a couple more surprises on the way. ;)
have recently took delivery of a simular machine (different brand same clone with less options ) and i managed to basicy wressle the machine to the edge of the pallet after taking the bolts out , took it off in two pieces , the mast with the head and the cross table , did leaked the oil out of the gearcase (set the mast down horizontally on wood crates with the head hanging down ) not sure if it shouldve been sealed and not leak , ill check to see where it leaked from maibe change some o rings or seals on the gear selectors or from where ever it was leaking from then refill the gearbox once its set up
didnt had the cast iron base but the sheetmetal version and it was set on top of the big box same as yours at least i could lift it off
didnt used actual lifting straps but ratchetstraps , you can shorten these during the lift to balance the load out and they resist sliding a lot better
Weight training station next to a milling machine and welder. Doesn't get more manly than that;) Awesome video!
Very neat, apart from the packaging. I have the PM25, their smallest mill and couldn't be happier. 3 years old and nor one problem and runs almost silent up to 750rpm. Have fun, thanks.
me too, though looking at this bad boy and realizing its only a couple thousand more, i kinda feel like i should have gotten this instead
I am so jealous of you it’s it’s just not right,well maybe it is right.maybe I just need to save my money.
Congratulations on your new mill
The shop that RUclips Built. Nice Mill. That is a quality built model of my cheap HF round column gearhead mill. Good choice. Does that mill have linear bearings on the Z-axis? I am planning on changing out my round column for a square column by dropping a 6x6x3/8 steel tube over the round column with 25mm linear rails mounted onto the front face of the column. The head on these is really heavy so I will counterbalance with a chain weight over the top using sprockets to guide the chain and provide a power feed lift. I have the same Y-axis power feed that you have and it has been a great add-on. I used a 5" Kurt knockoff, and it is a great size for my mill. If I need more depth I can use the back part of the rear vice jaw. The 6" vice is really massive and I just don't need the extra depth. If I need a really big vice I will make a split vice like TOT made for his mill. Are you going to do a power drawbar? I found a Bridgeport BT30, replacement spindle that I think will fit my mill. That way all of my CNC mill tools will fit my manual mill, cutting down on my tooling bill. Also, it's easier to add an ATC to a BT30 spindle. Good luck with your new mill.
Very nice addition to your shop!
Congratulations on your great new machine. Looks really great,
Good job. I always have crates held at the freight depot and take a utility trailer there to pick things up. They can forklift it onto the trailer and separate things, remove extra pallets, etc (which avoids some of the problems shown here). Unloading from the lower height utility trailer backed into the garage is much safer and easier (leave the trailer connected to the truck or put jacks under the corners of the utility trailer to make it very stable). You never know with liftgate delivery what they'll do (or not do) for you, plus with a depot pickup things run on your schedule rather than waiting for their random delivery.
I have this image in my mind of a Harbor Freight folding trailer hitched up behind my 2003 Focus.
@@Clough42 Don't diss the HF folding trailer...that is what I used to move my PM1236 from the garage around to the back basement door (one level lower).
@@Clough42 That might be very exciting. My little Toyota 4Runner handled it like a champ though it was dwarfed by the tractors they use at the Fedex depot to move trailers around. :)
@@hdmungeryt I love my little trailer. It's the best thing ever if you need to buy plywood without a truck. But 1400lbs is well in excess of the rated capacity of the trailer, the hitch on my car, the brakes, and the clutch in this scenario.
@@Clough42 Well, I didn't do it all in one go. I did the lathe (with about 330lbs. of parts removed) one weekend, and the two cast iron pedestal bases and the engine hoist the next.
Good luck with the new mill James. May it put plenty of chips on the floor for many years to come.
James you do such a great job on the videos. Thank you!
I laughed out loud at the loose packing material...
I yelled
I passed gas.
You've moved up a step in my book! Great upgrade! I have the baby brother to the 940, I have the 932 and its a great machine. Have fun moving it!
One great thing with a new small mill, you can add a Mini pallet system that covers the X and Y surface area of the milling table, that way you have the option to move your milling vise and even add a second vise that will be perfectly aligned with the first one.
I was in the shipping business, if you can throw it at the wall it will be ok to ship. You just made me jealous, my mill drill is not worthy now. :)
I was in the steel business, our QC standard was: if it will fit on the truck, ship it.
@@richardcurtis556 That's why all your shit was broken when it was delivered.
A small company I worked for in the ‘80s taped plastic accelerometers on equipment to be shipped from Cedar Rapids to the east and west coast. We were seeing up to 9Gs east and 7Gs west. When a truck at 65 MPH drops into a pothole the load starts to fall, it doubles the impact when the truck bed jumps up to meet it on the other side of the hole. Since the Chinese cardboard was probably damp from its overseas ride, the hammering on the interstate system just spread all the cast iron and heavy parts.
That is great info, thank you for that.
RUclips just recommended this to me and I read "2 years ago" as "2 hours ago". I was so confused as to why you bought another one of these and put it in the exact same spot ;)
I am impressed with the features of your mill. PM does have nice machines… I have a 1640 TL lathe. It’s heavy and I’m liking it so far. I did not expect your mill to come with power down feed on the quill… I like your mill. Nice buy!!
Nice mill, I have a similar model from Grizzly, less the power downfeed which was not an option when I purchased mine. I installed a DroPros two axis DRO with magnetic scales and I love it. Absolutely spot on for precision drilling.
Always exciting getting a new machine. Will expand your capabilities no end 😁👍👌
I have that same HF engine crane but optioned it with the air powered hydraulic vs manual cyl - its wonderful! Also added 100 lb counterweight ballast.
Looks like a very nice mill. Nice job getting it in place.
Nice machine. Envious. Enjoy your new machine. Hope to see it in action soon.
I started watching the channel for the CNC content. It will be interesting to see how jobs are balanced between CNC and manual mill.
First I need to CNC some parts for the manual mill DRO!
Chinese built and sold under a number of different model numbers that have subtle differences in motor and the way the quill works. Mine is called the ZX40
Great video! Nice mill! Nothing like new stuff! Good luck with your purchase! 👍😎
Been going through your back-catalog of videos and really enjoying them. This was really similar to my receiving a Tormach SlantPro lathe and 440 Mill.. shipped to Canada. Luckily the lathe and mill and tools were all OK, but all the pallets, wood, boxes, were in splinters.
Nice new machine. Looking forward to new videos using it!
So far I'm only 7:30 into the video, so I hereby reserve my option to post a further comment later, but... Two thoughts I have at this time (which is why I need to post them now; I have reached capacity.):
1. You need to buy a stacker, which is a very size appropriate forklift. I have had mine for years, and I can move absolutely everything with that bad boy, and your pallet stack etc. would have been no issue at all. (Get one at auction; they're pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things.)
2. Many years ago I received an air compressor from a German company, and its packaging included numerous 'tilt sensors' and 'shock sensors' attached to the skid/crate. They used colored fluid to indicate if the package had ever been in a position other than vertical, or if it had been dropped. I would have a serious discussion with PM about adopting their use. I'm sure their minimal cost would be more than offset by savings against breakage, other claims, etc.
OK, back to the video.
Seems to be a nice mill.
Packaging problems aside, I hope it works as well as it looks.
Very nice addition to the shop, really appreciate all the camera angles and effort during the unboxing, defiantly entertaining content and look forward to what you can do with the new machine!
Just wondering what made you decide on a PM-940 mill as I look in your shop I see you do spend a lot of money on the shop and see a lot of home machinist go with these type of mills VS a BP style knee mill that gives you much more flexibility with the tilt and nod of the head rotate ram and slide out to have long part hang off front of table and machine end. Plus from cutting i have seen you can cut 3 to 4 times heavier. You can get a knee mill new as low as $9,500 also there are 100 times more accessories available for BP clone mills.
Hi, took delivery of the very same model (different colour of course)on Friday last but with the DRO option. So this video is of great interest to me as I have got to go through the same process. Unfortunately I do not have the room you have but very useful to see how it all goes together and how it operates. regards
I know exactly what you have been through. I too recently purchased a smaller version of the same mill at 120Kg and it took me a month to get it off the floor onto its final table. I couldn't get an engine lifter under the machine. I ended up getting a hydraulic table which when lowered was about 12"off the ground and a bunch of strong guys were able to get it up onto it then lift the table and slide it over, mine was no where near as heavy as yours and it was very difficult.