Great series coving the TL 16" lathe from Precision Matthews! I've been researching new lathes an I am strongly considering this one for my new shop. Thanks Brad!
I am from the future. Yes ABOM, you did buy a Precision Mathews Lathe TL-1660 :) You got it delivered very recently, and it is now placed in your new shop. Congratulations!!!
I do narrowboats in the U.K and have the 1236 with dro and coolant . Needed a 38 mm bore and cant say enough about it. Like you i had a pair of small Myford lathes and out grew them quickly. The 1236 is rigid as hell and can take 5mm cuts in stainless with carbide tooling its highly accurate and i love it!!
A pity we don't get these machines in South Africa. I calculated that the import duties and transportation alone will work out USD 10 to 12k. But wait that's not all a similar Knuth would cost me USD 40k all inclusive!!! And now we know why this dump is still 3rd world.
Hey, Doc! I feel the same way you do! Since the lathes come from Taiwan anyway, we should get them to drop off 2 here for us! I'm based in Pta. Where are you situated?
I keep looking at some of the sentimental stuff (10EE's and the like). This machine would be so much easier to live with and so much more capable. Great presentation Brad! Eventually need a lathe and this was very helpful.
I ordered a PM-1440GT lathe last fall, but due to a pending new home construction project (that actually happened *early*), I ended up not taking deliver of the lathe yet. But seeing Brad's video series--I think I might actually change to a 1440TL lathe. It's a few thousand dollars more, to be sure. But it looks like a entirely different class of lathe. Not that the 1440GT machine wouldn't be great I'm sure, but I really love the look of this machine. I don't see myself having a use for the 1640TL, but I can certainly see myself making use of the 1440TL machine.
First time viewer. Great presentation, talking to camera. Great camera and audio work. This lathe is a dream machine. Even for the 14k or whatever it cost it’s worth it. Edit: wow my guess was right on. Price makes total sense for quality/size.
Interesting. This lathe seems to be identical to the ACRA 1440 TE except in a 16" version. There are a few small differences. My lowest speed is 70 rpm and the speed adjustments setup is a tiny bit different. My "chip tray" is cast and not removable with to coolant drain in one end. Other than that everything else seems identical. I had heard that Precision Matthews uses the same Taiwanese manufacturer as ACRA. An interesting note: on mine the jog button is reverse so when you are power tapping a tap of the jog button winds the tap out. Also I was told by ACRA to never use the jog button to align gears for changing speeds or feeds, rather move the chuck by hand. Excellent review.
Thank you for sharing your impressions and thoughts on this lathe. You are unbiased, very humble and true to the point Gentleman. I commend you for that. Great review and also good sample tests. Well done! It is a serious machine, definitely capable for everyday use in the machine shop. God Bless.
That appears to be a real decent machine Brad. And for a gear head pretty quiet. It would have been nice to see the certificate of accuracy it came with and what the factory's maximum allowable limits are. Did you run all the checks the factory did on that certificate, and if so how did they compare to the factory numbers? For the last lathe I got mine were coming up a bit better than there's and I'd guess that was from taking a bit more time.
💯%🎯Your absolutely Right.... ( For real 🤔🤨🧐 and using your brain and thinking logically... This is One of the most important and crucial questions in the whole entirety of the comments section... And would allow the general public from a prospective buyers position a actual chance at making a informed purchasing decision based on the quality standards of a less expensive Asian made Machine... And I completely understand proofing a product that ya' spent a significant amount of hard earned money on ...it unfortunately could be very embarrassing if the quality control assessment for tolerances didn't meet up to the assured stated dimensions, yeah ,that would absolutely suck and would be a horrible investment especially if it's for a business as the machine is not priced as a hobbyist machine ... But for him to not put his feelings aside and review the product honestly with the tolerance findings is kinda Grimy, the video title should be what's in the crate with the lathe and whatcha it make chips 🤣🤣😂💀.... why not divulge accuracy in the machine against the company's claim...." it's basically really not a review of the machine" so someone's going to see this unboxing video series on this guy's channel and has to make that blind gamble they don't crap out... The only reason I can see in withholding the tolerance values is if he have a dog in the fight and is sponsored by his (advertisement for the company's future sales) compensated by either paid or a discounted amount off his purchase price... False advertising is not a good look,not saying that's the situation..( but come on fellas 🤷🏼♂️ ) when the absolute tolerance & accuracy is of the upmost got'dam importance with all non hobbyist machinists & in actually performance of the F'n machining equipment. This F'n crucial lacking information screams ,( "DO NOT SHOOT THE DICE ON A ASIAN MADE MACHINES" ) .... Just spend more money and buy a Quality USA,or European Made machine. just saying though. 🤦🏼♂️ Take care and be safe,and thanks for having the intelligence to voice what really matters 💯% 🧠🦾🦾🏆🏆🏆👍🏻😎✌🏻
@@BasementShopGuy na, he complains about it whenever he parts anything off. Maybe after seeing your beast in action he'll finally get around to checking the bearings in the head stock. Everytime he parts something off he mentions he has to. Or maybe he'll just trade up to a PM. Lol. I doubt it. That old Victor has a lot of sentimental value to him.
I have to say im impressed,looks like mighty fine medium machine.Althou proof is in the pudding ,time will tell how it holds over the years .Test of time is only true test.
I have the 1236T on order right now, and you're making me drool, despite the fact that the 1640 is WAY more lathe than I would ever use. :) Not to worry - no buyers remorse, just wanted to compliment you on an excellent series explaining things clearly and interestingly.
Really nice machine, very quiet in operation compared to some of the Chinese made lathes. I think it would be nice with a VFD as well maybe? I hate to think what it might cost? Cost prohibitive for shipping to get it downunder, with exchange rate, and Goods & Services Tax 10% on top, then the motor would have to be swapped out to suit our power supply etc. Lovely lathe but will have to stick with the available cheaper Chinese clones unfortunately.
That is one beautiful machine Brad! I don't need one...but I NEED one! I am in the market but health issues have slowed me down the last few years. So I likely will opt for a 14" in the $8K range. We all know that the new tooling will add another $4K at least LOL! From one "Brad" to another, good luck with your hobby, your new beautiful toy and your business!
Thanks for this detailed video. I have a PM-1660TL arriving to PA any day. I have my rotary phase converter (I bought an American Rotary AMP-10) and lathe tooling all ready to go. The CXA and MT4 tooling was VERY expensive!
👍 nice machine there my friend. I would be figuring out where I could add some rubber way covers or something. Especially the ways near the chuck area. Enjoy that babie!
Nothing. I like that. Virtually no movement in any runout, etc. test. Nice. You spoil me every time I watch this. Sooner or later I'm going to need a getaway driver so I'll have the money to get one.
Exceptionally well done. I'm going to also get a Precision Matthews Lathe, just a bit smaller. Great audio and video with professional comments that I learned from. Thanks!
Nice looking lathe but i noticed every lathe on precision Matthews website is back ordered are they still in business, KBC tools has many lathes in stock an also made in Taiwan.
Our conversations on IG, and this Video series is what has sold me on this Lathe. This is without a doubt the one I am going to purchase. Thanks so much for the education. This thing is so Badass, and ultra accurate!
Seems like a pretty awesome lathe. Searching their site, I dont see mention of taper attachments. I need to turn tapers every once in a while. Do you know if they make a model with a taper attachment or can be added?
Na, just busy using it and the CNC’s. Works been keeping me very busy. But oddly enough my shop camera was broken and just came back from repairs two weeks ago so I’m actually working on a video using the TL 1640 making a stainless steel project that I’m editing right now and will be releasing shortly, so good timing on the question!
A great review! I ordered my machine the first part of May. This will be my second pm lathe, the first was a 1440 that I bought from Matt almost 20 years ago. I order the tl1660 and unfortunately it isn't here yet, dang corona. Your videos are great so I can begin to familiarize myself with the machine. I wanted the factory collet closer, but it was unavailable at the time I ordered my machine. Keep up the great videos. -Brian
Those tolerances are insane. Taiwan made I presume. Makes me think about selling some of my old US Iron including my Heavy 10, especially with the feed clutch. No more crashes, thread to a shoulder without turning off the lathe and hand feeding at the end seems really nice.
Hi, that is a wonderful lathe, way too big for my 8'x8' shed. My lathe is just a Sieg SC4 and I also have put a DRO on it. However, I was wondering why, after you have used your micrometer to measure the diameter, you didn't set your DRO to be the measured diameter rather than zeroing each time (obviously you wouldn't move your cross slide after making the cut before entering the value)? I find that this makes working to diameter much easier because I no longer have to keep track of diameter between cuts. Obviously check with a micrometer towards the finishing passes and make any small corrections to the DRO as required etc. To me, being able to set the diameter ont he DRO after the first cut/measurement is one of the biggest benefits.
Brad Out of the box was the lathe that accurate or did you have to adjust it? Also it sounds really smooth. I like options like the one shot oiler and the flat castings are always a good thing, it seems pretty Ridgid. Thanks for sharing and I hope after the crash it is ok. Thanks for sharing.
@@kennethbrennan2916 Came here from Abom79. A bit tangential to the exchange, but an inherent feature of youtube is the lack of respect shown to people who have spent their entire lives turning on lathes and in industry from commentators who drool over a few chips being made.
@@arfonjones7188 its not meant to be a put down , its taken from my 60 years behind a lathe.ive had 2 brand new lathes made in china ,both have been rubbish,the machines made out side china have been good, sorry if this sounded like a put down.
Absolutely. Even with getting a new HAAS and Tormach (Lathe), I would still recommend this lathe all day long. It's my mainstay and not one issue, not one 👍
Great series! Been waiting for this part for a while now, and it did not disappoint. Can't decide on the 1440GT or the 1440TL, although there is a fairly significant price difference. That said, the TL-series machines look to be quite a lot more machine: Almost twice the mass, and some nice features like the one-shot oiler. But a rotary phase converter isn't cheap, so unless you want to go with a VFD, the GT-series machine might have the edge as you can just go single-phase.
I was in your boat. Was going to get the 1440GT. But I knew that I’d eventually want something more beefy. I knew that this machine would be the end of the line for me and I would never need another one. Maybe you can ask Matt and see if a single phase 5 hp motor can be swapped out? I’m no electrical expert so that might actually be an absurd fantasy, but I don’t know. In my opinion it would be worth it to get the rotary phase converter and never again be wanting another machine. However, if you do get the 1440 GT, it to will be a fantastic Machine as Gavin’s video shows.
@@BasementShopGuy Right, exactly. I don't plan to use it "commercially," so in that sense it might be hard to justify the extra $4800 it costs to get the 1440TL. It's a LOT more lathe simply in terms of mass, but for making hobbyist sort of stuff like model engines, or similar endeavors, I think the 1440GT is plenty of lathe. And that $4800 can go towards a nice Atlas handwheel 5C collet chuck and some other tooling. If you went with the 3-phase 3hp version, it would also basically pay for the rotary phase converter if a guy wanted to go that way. So for my uses, I think the 1440GT is more than enough lathe. Also, dare I say, at less than 1800 pounds including the stand, it could come apart and go into a basement shop MUCH easier...something I know you know a thing or two about, lol. Thanks for the reply Brad. Love to see you doing well in your garage-based machine business. It's been great following your growth over the years!
I'm jealous......I would love to have such a Unit. It reminds me of Colchester machines which I used in Technical College in the 1970s. I guess most reputable machines have the same features so no company owns a design.......however in this case the resemblance is overwhelming so that it's like recognising a family member you haven't seen for decades. With regard to the control features you demonstrated........I wouldn't change feeds, speeds or direction on the fly as there will be straight cut crash gears behind the curtain. The precision of your machine is a welcome change for stuff that has been built down to a price, There is a websit.....lathes.uk. Which will help you pick out who copied what and from whom! Stavros from the great south land north of Antarctica
SO.. now you can make parts for a KUKA -style robot pallet changing rotarytable axis turret live-action crosslide, on a trunnion spindled Hydraulic Cylinder ?? TOMBSTONES ANYONE ??
Almost identical features to my King Industrial 1640 except mine is Chinese instead of Taiwanese. 4HP instead of 5 and 2" spindle bore vs 2.5". I have the DRO pro's EL-400. I'm sure yours has better bearings and such since it is about 35% more money ($13k US vs $13k Canadian.) I'm quite happy with mine so far though I have barely used it and have no point of reference to compare it to. As a hobbyist I am sure it will be as capable as I am and more than able to meet any tolerances I will work to. I am not Stefan or Robin. I did buy a Bison 10" 6 jaw though I have not installed it yet as I can't safely lift it (about 120lb with backing plate). I have to finish the gantry crane first. My manual was very explicit about not removing the gap bed unless absolutely necessary. They state that it is fitted prior to final grinding and that once removed it is virtually impossible to realign properly. They strongly recommend permanently leaving it out once removed. I saw the same warning on a grizzly lathe. Is yours the same?
