I previously bought the PM-940V. Got rid of that and now have PM 9 x 50 Knee Mill. Its alot heavier somewhere around 2,500 lbs. Had to put it in with a Fork Truck. Its a Chinese base with a Taiwan made power head. I like it except that its very tall and I had to make a platform so I could reach the drawbar.

Can't believe it's been 6 months already!

Precision Matthews is about the top of the cheap Chinese machines. Decent quality assurance, decent after market service. They add value to the product. The Vevor/no-name mini-lathes are essentially factory seconds and stuff thrown together. A kit you can often but not always clean up into a a tool that is good enough for a home shop. Sadly or happily it is about as much money as most of us can justify for a hobby tool.

Great, honest opinions. Everything you said is true, if you can afford the extra cost, get the better machine. After sales service IS a big deal. Ive got heaps of random(and often good) tools from Ebay, and vevor, but my machines are name brand and locally sold in Australia. Like you said, its all very $$$ to get into. Mate, get those chips flying 👍👌🇦🇺

I also bought the same vevor lathe and what I like with it (its low price of course so accessible) is the fact that you have to put your hands into to clean it, fix it and customize it. I did not hesitate to drill the thing, modify it to make it my own. Now I master it and I know what is its value. This lathe was a project on its own and a good way to start learning machining.

As others have said, if at all possible, purchase any Chinese made equipment from a known importer like PM or Grizzly. You will need the best support you can get and the few extra bucks you spend with them will be well worth it. You will notice in machinery catalogs, any stuff made in Taiwan will be noted in the description... along with the higher price. Do check carefully the total cost including shipping. I found that some tooling, like vices and rotary tables, were the same price or even a little cheaper from a quality manufacturer like Vertex in Taiwan when you compared the delivered to the door price. Cheers from NC/USA

i was one they sent a whole new lathe too because they could not give me a new saddle. a $50 part they could not get me so they spend $900 getting me a whole new machine. it was Amazon and Vevor. Vevor did make it right in my eyes but kinda extreme just for a few parts. i did have to order a new saddle and the one i ordered off aliexpress was perfect! everything was machined exactly how the one that came with the lathe should have been. then with some final touchups onthe bed, it is butter smooth! now i want to figer out something better for a cross-slide and tool post slider. that will make a big difference. i plan to make a custom cross-slide that goes on the saddle and has T slots. that would be better in my eyes.

Been a while. Glad you are enjoying the mill. I haven't had time to play around in my shop for 5 months now. Been busy with work and life stuff but still happy that I have my machines if I need them. As always glad you are enjoying the hobby and hanging in there.

A tip for you guys that like your stuff looking sharp, I found a touch up paint that matches the white sections of the PM25MV very closely. I bought it from a Nissan dealer, color code QM1. It comes in small bottle with a brush applicator. Its great for the small nicks and scratches. I know, its a machine that will eventually have battle scars all over but for now that its fairly new I like to keep it looking good.

I have a 9x36 PM mill , it will do everything I ask of it , had a proximity switch go out precision Matthews was all over it sent one right out ,it’s a good day when I have a project on the table, I’m fixing to order the 14x40 PM lathe as well, finally got the wife onboard on it , lol

Comes with a 5 year warranty pm-728 vt