Recently, I asked everyone about their opinions on lathes. I got a lot of good advice. I passed on what many told me might not be suitable for me. I searched and, low and behold, I found a posibility at an auction that was going to take place today (Saturday). I did some research on what I THOUGHT it might be (auctioneer couldn't tell me a whole lot except that it was a Powermatic and it was green. When I asked about its condition, he said there is some rust, but that is because it has been sitting outside for the last couple of weeks...Yep, it was sitting in the middle of a corn and hay field along with all the other stuff: Dozers, dump trucks, pickups, heavy equipment, wwing machines and other stuff. Yeah, left outside, no wonder it had rust...
Anyway, I really kept my expections to a minimum, knowing that it was outside and who knows what it was like before.
Dan Hintz was kind enough to meet me at my house this morning at 7am so we could make the almost 2 hour trip to the auction. The lathe was one of the last things that was going to be auctioned off, so we ran an errand I had had lunch, then went back to the corn field. There were some pretty nice pieces there besides the lathe. I'll start another thread on those...There was only one other guy bidding against me. Had he not shown, I probably would have had a steal! But instead, I paid a hefty sum. I mean, I had to. How often will a PM 45 come around. I dug deep in my pockets when my nod at $300 was not topped.
She's 3 ph (so I'll be looking for a VFD for her), 1 HP, included 12" and 4" tool rests, 6" faceplate, and a reverse thread aluminum faceplate for the outboard, two wrenches, and a mouse nest on top of the motor.
Dan and I gave it a pretty good once, twice, and third time over in the field. A couple of onlookers mentioned that all these machines came from the county's Board of Education auction a month prior. They had sold there, but for some reason, were all back up for auction. Best I can figure, someone bought them, and that someone's wife said "Oh no you didn't!". A couple of people mentioned that all these things ran perfectly at the other auction. When we got it back to my shop, Dan and I took it apart (a bit) and everything seems good. Unfortunately, not only couldn't I test it out in the field, no 3 phase there...go figure, but I can't test it in my shop either...no 3 phase there either.
Thank you to all for your advice and steering me in what I hope to be the right direction. Thank you to others that have offered help with phase conversion and tips. And thank you Dan, a million times over, for going with me. He offered a lot of support, an extra set of eyes, and alternative perspectives that I hadn't thought of. Hey, the extra set of hand moving that monster around didn't hurt either.
I have some sanding, wire brushing, priming, painting, and part ordering to do. But, I think she'll turn out to be pretty darn close to what I want.
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Originally Posted by Mike Cruz
