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Author Topic: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill  (Read 4299 times)

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Offline stlaser

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Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« on: April 16, 2018, 12:42:25 PM »
OK, so I'll quit DOTing up Ken's thread since I went a different direction and bought this versus a Grizzly. As I stated around the forum some things have cropped up in my life throwing wrenches into the mix. It's all business and nothing personal so no worries there. I will be detailing that in another thread here in the next week or two.

I have been considering a smaller benchtop mill ever since I sold my 2HP Bridgeport. I had that mill for a good 13 years prior to the move to Colorado in 2015. At around 2000# it was just too large for me to move easily by myself. In the meantime I have been making due with a Powermatic Model 1200 with reversible 1hp motor and an aftermarket mill table which I will now be offloading (just the mill table not the drill press). It has been worked hard over the years and it has always been a great drill press. I've had two different motors on it over the years and the current one was rebuilt maybe ten years back.

So last night like every night for the past week I have been digging thru specifications on these Taiwanese built bench top mills. Last night I was going over the independent reviews on a couple of Grizzly units when someone mention Matthews Precision. So I started looking & unfortunately the selections of models they had in stock were few and far between. I would like to have had a unit with DRO already installed (I have enough projects currently on my plate) and those were all sold out at the moment with an 8 week lead time before the next ship arrives. My current time frame to get it up and running is 3 weeks roughly. This morning I called MP and spoke with a nice young lady and asked quite a few questions. By the time I was done I decided to order the the unit as stated in the title of the thread. Couple things that sold me was the substantially larger Y movement and the table work height was taller. I'm 6'3" so that extra 1 inch is helpful. The overall weight of the machine is impressive with a cast base that is 350# alone that they include in the price and recommend for stability. They ship in tow different crates for ease of moving it around with an engine hoist as I will be doing. Here is the link and specs.



http://www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-940m/

Main Specifications of PM-940M:
Table Size: 9-1/2″x40″
Max. Recommended Table Load Capacity: 400 lbs (Centered)
Table T-Slot Size and Number: 14mm / 9/16″, 3 Slots
Table Travel, X Axis: 28″ Hand Only, 26″ w/ Power Feed
Table Surface Height from floor, 35″ (With base flat on floor)
Base Dimension at floor approx. 18-1/2″W x 27″D, with 5/8″ Bottom Holes for leveling pads/bolts
Normal Working Max Height: (top of column travel motor) 82″ (with base)
Height with head all the way up: (top of main motor) 85″(with base)
Stand (Base) height, to machine mounting surface: 24″
Cross Travel, Y Axis: 12″
Head Vertical Travel: 20″
Max. Distance Spindle to Table: 22″
Quill (Spindle) Travel: 5″
Lead Screw Type: Inch Pitch Acme Threads – 10TPI on X and Y Axis
Spindle Taper: R-8, with 7/16-20 drawbar thread (U.S. Standard)
Quill Diameter: approx. 3″
Head Swivel: Side To Side, 90 Degrees
Power Required: 220 Volt, Single Phase, 10 Amp Supply
Main Motor Horsepower: 2 H.P.
Casting Type: Fine Grain Cast Iron
Approximate Weight: 1350lbs with Base
Warranty: 3 Years

& upgrades that come on this exact model I ordered are

Includes: Quill DRO (For spindle depth measurement), Z Axis (Head) Positioning Motor (used to lift and lower head for positioning, eliminates the need to raise and lower head by hand cranking) X Axis Table Feed, POWER DOWN FEED on spindle, and Cast Iron Base (Note: Same as #3, with the addition of Power Down Feed on spindle for boring operations)


And best part is it is not green or orange so if Don stops by it should get damaged by him...... :tongue:
« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 12:44:33 PM by stlaser »
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Offline KensAuto

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2018, 03:44:02 PM »
That does seem a lot nicer. I guess I got your PM too late. lol
Wanna trade?

...mine is 31 1/2" from the floor, so that one should be 3 1/2" taller? I contemplated building a base, to put under the base, to raise mine up. It is rough on the lower back.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2018, 04:23:19 PM »
That does seem a lot nicer. I guess I got your PM too late. lol
Wanna trade?

...mine is 31 1/2" from the floor, so that one should be 3 1/2" taller? I contemplated building a base, to put under the base, to raise mine up. It is rough on the lower back.

Thanks Ken, I guess I should get this one before I start horse trading......

The Grizzly's I was looking at I swore they said 34 inches from the floor? Anyhow every bench I build and the one in my shop now is always 35 inches tall. I'm not building kitchen cabinets....... :tongue:
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Offline KensAuto

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2018, 04:49:29 PM »
The 755 is 34", but that spec isn't given on the 754.
I also really like the additional x&y travel on the Mathews. 8" on my Y travel is not enough for quite a few projects.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2018, 04:55:03 PM »
The 755 is 34", but that spec isn't given on the 754.
I also really like the additional x&y travel on the Mathews. 8" on my Y travel is not enough for quite a few projects.

Honestly that 8 inches on the y travel had me concerned too.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2018, 09:21:32 PM »
So they processed the order in 3 days, the machine shipped out in two crates yesterday leaving PA. As of this evening it is loaded on a trailer in Chi town, should see it early to mid next week I think. I paid extra for the home delivery with lift gate, figured at 1300#'s I'd rather wheel it into the garage and have it on the floor versus trying to unload it from my trailer with an engine hoist.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2018, 09:29:35 PM »
Two crates arrived at 9:30 this morning, yes one was missing a lid and one was sitting on what was left of a pallet. The lid missing didn't bother me as it was the base. However, the mill not being shipped on a decent skid seemed to lack a little.



After stripping the outer crate the mill only had one scratch on the back electrical box. The base however is another story as it has quite a bit of paint missing on sharp corners. I emailed MP and noted the crappy packaging and asked for at a minimum the color codes so I could touch them up. No response so far......

All of the hardware and tooling was packaged fairly well, of note when you move a bridgeport it is standard to flip the head and lower the table completely. In the instructions I had to lower the head before I could rig it and lift it from the pallet. I am confused as to why it was not already lowered for shipment?











Adapters for the R8 and a cheap keyed chuck, the bolts to hold down the mill to the base are grade 8.8 socket head cap screws however they are an odd size allen of which I do not have so I had napa order a socket in for me due tomorrow.



Since MP was out of stock of vibration levelers I made my own, a 12 pack of hockey pucks from amazon was $18 delivered and a quick trip for some carriage bolts, nuts and washers ran me $13



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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2018, 09:46:36 PM »
I forgot to take pictures of me leveling the base however the PDF manual I had already printed and had it spiral bound for longevity. In it they gave a nice floor layout that did help in planning for positioning of the base in my cramped shop. Of note the base weighs 350# roughly but I easily moved it by hand into place after installing the hockey puck levelers. The mill itself then by my math would weign it at half a ton. In the manual it states to not use an engine hoist at a position of less than 1.5 ton setting. My guess is liability, with the skid under the crate and using an HF 2 ton the reach at 1.5 ton lift would not allow you to get close enough. I did exactly as the manual stated. :wink:

 

This is a picture but realize there is no tension on the sling being that the lift is at the half ton setting.....  :tongue:
 
I then magically placed blocks under it so I could grab it from the front side.



The manual also states this is a two man job at bare minimum, glad my alter personality showed up to help. For the record it showed up with the illiterate door hanging solicitor disregarded my little sign on my porch as I was working on this with the garage door open. Thank heavens he arrived or I never would have been able to do this by myself......  :facepalm:

So alignment of the holes can be tricky, they tell you to use wooden dowels or something and then drive them thru. Which would make sense except that the holes have a bottom and those wooden dowels would end up in the way of the bolts. So I er my alter personality just used 4 dog peckers......





Here it sits as of 1600 today



Shelf will need massaged so door will open








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Offline KensAuto

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2018, 12:34:44 AM »
Heck yeah.
Looks like yours came with a Southside layer of Bondo just as thick as mine. .. probably why they weigh so much.

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Offline Bigdave_185

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2018, 07:43:25 AM »
What’s that beautiful thing setting you back?


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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2018, 08:45:24 AM »
Dave, they start out just under $3k bare bones for this model. With options I had just under $4k delivered. I was pigeon holed a bit as the boat comes in once every four months or so it appears & I bought on tail end of shipment. I needed a machine & this had almost everything I wanted. It also has power down feed which is a nice option that I never used on my Bridgeport. Some guys for what they do boring holes etc use that frequently. For the record I sold my Bridgeport in prestine condition for less than I paid for this. Two differences though one the BP has a much larger footprint is hard to disassemble or reduce weight to move as it weighs a ton literally. Then you also have to convert to a single phase motor or run a converter. I ran a converter & the drone of that even in another room is annoying. If I had my pick I would have the BP with a single phase motor conversion.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2018, 09:18:37 AM »
Heck yeah.
Looks like yours came with a Southside layer of Bondo just as thick as mine. .. probably why they weigh so much.

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Copy on the brothers bondo job........
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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2018, 06:15:16 PM »
OK, so small update. I actually powered this up today! :rolleyes: Yeah, I know but I've been going 15 different directions the last month and then add in the prescheduled family vacation and here I find myself.

Anyhow, I finished installing the z axis motor and wired the plug on it a couple weeks ago. I also searched thru my stash of tooling boxes and realized I must have given away quite a bit of my good tooling with the Bridgeport. So I have been buying a few tools and also ordered an elcheapo 6" vice from MP which came in a week or two back. I ordered some fixture components that I drew up in acad for a 90 degree jig which I will use to machine the drain holes in the GLO covers. It's due in later this week with a stock order of GLO parts.

The other reason it got pushed to the fore front and turned on today was I need to counterbore GLO covers for a vendor tomorrow that I welded today. Nothing like waiting until the last minute...... :popcorn:
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #14 on: June 12, 2018, 10:47:41 PM »


Counterbored some holes on these corporate 14 bolt covers, took a little to get all the knobs set up correctly to run it in manual mode. Forgot to take a picture but there is a collar that is mounted to the bottom of the quill. It came loose or was loosened during shipment, so I kept loosing my hard stop, luckily it was moving up so I didn’t go too deep. But I kept having to reset the bottom limit. Quick call to MP & while I was on phone noticed the loose collar issue. They were very responsive & were trying to help however in the end I figured it out while trying to explain my issue.

I did get to talk to Matthew the owner about the mill & it’s features a bit too and feel even more confident that his was the company to purchase the machine from.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #15 on: June 30, 2018, 10:43:04 PM »
Added some cheap tool organization, scrap wood and a couple screws and threw these together.

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Offline TexasRedNeck

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #16 on: July 01, 2018, 01:46:39 PM »
Here a cool tool box my buddy sent me a pic of



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Offline stlaser

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Re: Matthews Precision PM-940M-PDF Vertical Mill
« Reply #17 on: July 01, 2018, 02:15:45 PM »
Well, that’s different.......


My tools get used / abused so that would just be silly for my tool storage situation. But to each their own I suppose, probably something Ken might like.  :tongue:
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

 

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