When I decided to replace my old Craftsman bench top metalworking lathe, I researched many options taking into consideration my budget, space limitations, weight and features of the machine. I settled on a well known brand (hint – it’s green) and placed my order. I was told that there would be a two month delay due to it being on back-order so I patiently waited. Near the time it was supposed to be delivered, I received a post card stating there would be further delays. A phone call to the company was disappointing because they could not offer a firm future delivery date. While I was waiting, I continued looking for alternatives and now I’m thankful that the green lathe was delayed because I found Precision Matthews lathes had more features that I wanted for a little more money. I canceled the order and then called Matt at Machine Tools Online and ordered the 1022V model. Two days later, the lathe arrived!
In anticipation for the new lathe, I built a very solid cabinet capable of holding the weight. Due to my shop’s space limitations, the cabinet was placed on wheels with a 1300 lb. weight capacity. This arrangement allows me to move the lathe for access to the change gears.UPS has a freight division that offers home delivery with a lift gate. Since I don’t have a forklift, this was a necessary delivery option to transport the 400 lb. crate.The UPS driver used his hand truck to move the crate from the truck into my garage where I have a chain hoist.As you can see, the crate was not damaged, clearly marked, and very well secured with metal banding. The black bolt heads on top held the drip pan to the underside of the lid.The crate was opened revealing the contents covered with a sheet of plastic most likely to protect them from water damage.With the plastic sheeting removed, the lathe and accessories are visible. The packaging was well thought out because the contents arrived in perfect condition!I have purchased other Chinese machines so I anticipated a lengthy cleaning process with this machine. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the lathe wasn’t coated with heavy red grease typically found on some machines.The lathe was hoisted onto a couple of scaffolds so it could be cleaned with mineral spirits at a comfortable working height. Although the scaffolds are rated at 330 lbs., a couple of wooden supports under the scaffolds were added assurance that they would not buckle under the weight.When I clean machines, I pretty much disassemble everything to see how it’s put together and to make sure that there is no hidden gunk left over from the manufacturing process.The bracket inside the change gear cover mates with a lockout switch on the machine. This prevents the motor from starting without the cover in place. I had to bend the bracket to fit a little better but that was no big deal.The rust colored switch near the power cord mates with the fork seen in the previous photo.The variable speed DC motor has a two step pully for low and high speeds. The low speed has a range of 50-1000 RPM and the high speed has a range of 100-2000 RPM. The manual suggests leaving it on the low range setting for most cutting operations. The belt tension is adjusted by the 4 bolts on the motor mounting plate.The tachometer receives it’s signal from magnets embedded into the main spindle. The sensor is mounted on top. If you look closely at the writing on the drive belt, it was manufactured in the USA, a nice surprise.When the splash guard is removed, the position of the DC motor is seen. When the splash guard is in place, the motor is very well protected from flying chips. There are vents cut into the rear of the motor housing cavity for ventilation. There is no cooling fan necessary so the machine is very quiet when operating.The tail stock has a quill travel of 2.5″ and the barrel is marked with both imperial and metric units. If you look closely at the hash marks on the imperial scale, you can see that the hash marks are in tenths instead of the usual sixteenths of an inch. In addition, the tail stock crank handle has a vernier scale as well.The chucks are “direct mounted” instead of screwing on to the spindle. The way it works is that the chuck is mounted to a plate containing bolt heads that protrude through the spindle plate and locking ring in back. The chuck is positioned and the locking ring retains the assembly which allows the bolts to be tightened, drawing the chuck plate tight against the spindle plate. The location is determined by the spindle and corresponding bore in the chuck mounting plate.Here is a look at the back side of the 3 jaw chuck showing the mounting studs and positioning bore.The chuck and mounting plate are marked with “O” to make sure that if they are ever disassembled, they can be re-assembled using the same holes. Direct mounting is new to me so I’m guessing that the plates are made specifically for each chuck assuring the bore lines up perfectly with the spindle.Here are the 3 and 4 jaw chucks next to each other. The 3 jaw chuck came with the mounting plate attached whereas the 4 jaw chuck did not. Since the 4 jaws travel independently, it doesn’t matter if the chuck mounting plate is off center a bit.The compound slide was removed from the cross slide and the cross slide was unbolted from the screw for inspection and cleaning. I was amazed at how clean it was from the factory!The compound slide on the PM-1022V has an integrated post pressed in from the bottom to mount the 4 position tool holder shipped with the machine. I did not like this feature because I had an AXA quick change tool post that I wanted to use with this machine. Most QCTPs are held in place using a “T” slot machined into the compound. Precision Matthews offers a QCTP that will work with the pressed in post but I wanted to use my existing hardware. The solution can be found in the next few pictures.The underside of the compound slide shows how the tool post is pressed into the casting. A roll pin keeps it from turning.The supplied 4 position tool holder is placed over the post and my AXA QC tool holder to it’s right. In order to use the QC holder, two corrections are necessary: the base of the post required a bushing to match the ID of the AXA unit and a special hold down bolt needed to be made to reach the pressed in stud.Here is the solution for using a standard AXA QCTP with the PM-1022V lathe. A bushing with very thin walls was made to go over the base of the pressed in stud to match the ID of the AXA tool holder. A long nut was machined starting with a standard 5/8″ bolt machined to match the ID of the AXA holder, long enough to engage the M8-1.25 threads on the pressed in post.The standard AXA QCTP mounted on the Precision Matthews lathe. It’s very solid and was accomplished without modifying any of the lathe parts so the warranty is intact.The wiring cavities were opened for inspection and tightening a couple of switches to the housing. All connections were tight and the wires were neatly routedThe motor speed control board is easily accessible if it ever needs replacement.Wiring to the front panel.Before moving the machine to the basement, I attempted to start it and discovered that it has another lockout switch. The switch can be seen on the left in this photo and it’s activated by a cam attached to the chuck guard. It is necessary for the chuck guard to be in the down position in order to start the machine. Fortunately if the guard is removed, the bar can be left in a position that activates the switch all the time.The manufacturer supplied a nice rubber pad to fill the top cavity so you can use it to temporarily store delicate tools while working on the machine. I thought that this was a nice amenity.The PM-1022V lathe had to be moved into my basement. Without the proper equipment, this would be nearly impossible because of the weight. The machine was bolted to a 2×12 and then the 2×12 was strapped and clamped to a furniture dolly. I enlisted the help of a big strong man (my son George) to do the bulk of the lifting. The center of gravity was close to the bottom of the dolly so it was stable and easy to handle.With the right equipment, two men can easily move the PM-1022V down basement stairs.Safely down the stairs, George moves the lathe the last few feet under another waiting chain hoist mounted in the ceiling joists. About 10 drops of oil spilled out of the gear boxes during the transportation process, not enough to cause any concern.The final lift was made and the cabinet moved into position for bolting through the top. I put some Silicone caulk under the drip pan so it wouldn’t rattle when the lathe was operating.One tiny little glitch was discovered when I attached the crank handle to the cross slide. It slipped and when I took it apart, I discovered that a drive key was missing from the assembly. Not a big deal because my local hardware store had some 5/32″ key stock which fit the keyway perfectly. Not shown, but a not-so-tiny glitch was the fact that I had to remove the apron and file an internal cam so the carriage feeds would work properly.A photo showing the Precision Matthews PM-1022V’s new resting place next to a bench top milling machine. Hmmm, what should I make first?Update 2017: The lathe has been performing excellent for a year or so with the exception of a small, persistent oil leak from the apron gear case. It leaks about an ounce per year but I wanted to eliminate it so the following photos show how it was done. Removing the apron gear case is quite easy beginning with the removal of the pin driving the lead screw.The other end of the lead screw is held in position by a block with tapered pins. I inserted a machine screw into the threaded pin and gently tapped it to remove it.The two tapered pins were removed followed by the hex head cap screws. The lead screw then slides out of the apron gear case. The 4 hex head cap screws holding the gear case to the apron were removed and the gear case drops off.Here is a look inside the apron gear case. Notice the two blocks attached to the back side of the case. I suspected that this was the area to investigate for the oil leak. Also noteworthy is that the worm gear cradled by the brass block on the right has a mating key that falls out. Make sure to insert the key prior to replacing the lead screw on re-assembly or the apron and cross slide will not advance properly.This underside view also shows the drain plug and a small set screw. The set screw secures a spring and ball bearing. It was removed and given a small coating of sealant as part of the leak control measures.After removing the hex head cap screws, the block was gently tapped with a soft hammer while pulling on the block. This action loosened the tapered pins and the block came off. Notice the lack of sealant at the mating surfaces.After the surfaces were cleaned, I added sealant to the surfaces and re-assembled.The other block was similarly removed and it was observed that the factory didn’t do a very good job of sealing the assembly.Here is a look at the cleaned surfaces prior to adding sealant.Sealant was applied to the second block and re-assembled. Installing the gear case was a simple matter of reversing the steps to remove it. The leak control measures slowed the flow to about 1 drop per week instead of a couple of drops per day. I suspect the tiny remaining leak is coming from the bearing that actuates the half nut block and there is nothing I can do about it. All in all, I consider the fix a success.
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