Are Precision Mathew’s crazy expensive when all shipping duties costs are added up? Anyone with experience out there?
In my opinion, PM’s selling point is that they stock “better quality” Chinese equipment, “upgraded“ to their specification, and Taiwanese equipment.
I cannot comment on whether that really makes PM’s Chinese equipment better than Busy-Bee’s Chinese equipment. Though the 5 year PM warranty is definitely a plus.
When I purchased my Taiwanese lathe, Trump had introduced his China tariff, so it meant that the difference in cost of going from Chinese made to an apparently better quality Taiwanese lathe was in the order of $500-$700, if I recall correctly.
Now that tariff is gone, the difference will be greater.
All I can say is that I’m very happy with my Taiwanese lathe, so when I decided I wanted a Mill, it was also going to be Taiwanese. But I don’t think you can automatically say purchasing Taiwanese means you will always get better quality.
I’m also of the opinion that any Mill is better than no Mill so purchase what you can afford and justify.