Now that the Powermatic 45 is restored

[Doug Morgan]

You did a great restoration on the lathe. I enjoyed watching it progress! A grinder and sharpening system of some type such as the Oneway wolverine would probably be a help as well. Sharp tools of any type will make it a lot more fun.

That sounds like what I need. Thanks Baxter.

Doug

[cal thelen]

nice job on the rebuild. I have the starter set of harbor freight tools also they have been fine for me. but i do like my 3/8" sorby fingernail gouge alot. okay what is the nickel test?

[Doug Morgan]

nice job on the rebuild. I have the starter set of harbor freight tools also they have been fine for me. but i do like my 3/8" sorby fingernail gouge alot. okay what is the nickel test?

Its a balance test for the lathe.
nickle test with unbalanced wood spinning!.jpg

You stand a nickle on end (same can be done with a penny if your really good). You start the lathe and look for vibrations. If the lathe vibrates the nickle will fall over. I did my test under adverse as I could. The wood was unbalanced. The stand was up on wheels and not directly on the concrete. IF there was a chance for vibration it should have shown up under those conditions. The alignments on the lathe are limited. The only tests are to run the tail stock in to the head stock using the two centers on each one. They should meet as close as possible. Those are the only two tests I know for a lathe.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Good job on the restore, Doug... When you get a chuck, build yourself a chuck plate and you'll never use a face plate again....... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Roy Turbett]

Doug,

Nice job on your restoration. I'm an OWWM fan and just picked up a 1955 PM 90 project lathe to go along with my other two PM 90's and a Jet mini. I bought some unhandled tools from Penn State on sale and turned my own handles. It was a great learning experience and I saved a few bucks too. I just made a few specialty tools for Christmas ornaments out of Allen wrenches.

Don't get too hung up on that horsepower thing. If you use your Reeves drive and run the 1 hp motor at full speed you will have all the torque you need for a 12" lathe. If you add a VFD, still use the Reeves drive and keep the hz as high as possible to get the maximum torque and keep from overheating the motor.

Does the PM 45 have a 1 1/2 inch x 8 spindle like the PM 90? If so, your choices for a chuck will be somewhat limited because its an odd size. Grizzly makes a knockoff of the VicMarc 100 that sells for about $125 but the threads weren't deep enough for it to seat properly without adding a spacer. I had the same problem with the adapter that Craft Supplies sells. I know the spindle on the PM 45 is shorter and the threads may be too making this a non-issue. The last time I checked the VicMarc 100 wasn't offered with a 1 1/2 thread and I ended up buying two VicMarc 120's for about $300 each. I like the VicMarc because of the dovetail jaws but you'll soon find out that opinions on chucks vary considerably. Check out your local turning club and see if you can try some of the accessories you're considering. Have fun.

Roy

[Mike Cruz]

Hey, Doug, you been turnin' on 'er? How's she holdin' up?

[Bill Wyko]

WOW that is absolutely georgeous. Nice resto. Is this the one I saw on PM's facebook page? If not, you should definitely share it with them.

[Doug Morgan]

WOW that is absolutely georgeous. Nice resto. Is this the one I saw on PM's facebook page? If not, you should definitely share it with them.

Thank you
Yes Bill this is one of the units on facebook.
I had so much fun and lots of support over the restoration on my lathe.