Outboard turning on Powermatic 3520B

[Neil Bosdet]

Hi there Powermatic owners. I'm debating which lathe to buy to replace my current General. At my club meeting last weekend they used a PM 3520B to do a demo. It's the first time I've seen this unit in person. It's a lot beefier than I thought. It would probably do for my needs and they are currently on sale 15% off. I'm wondering what you folks do for outboard turning for a toolrest when your piece is too big. I looked on the PM website and there only appears to be a freestanding toolrest available. That makes me nervous. What are you doing for an outboard tool rest?

Cheers,

Neil

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Neil,
If you buy the 18" bed extension it comes with a tool post riser. The bed extension has two possible positions. The first is at the same height as the bed, naturally. The second position is several inches lower allowing you to turn quite a large piece outboard using your regular banjo with the tool post extension. The 18" depth allows for a fairly deep piece. Lets put it this way, I can swing a larger piece than I care to. Big pieces beat you up.
faust

[Neil Bosdet]

Thanks Faust. That's the piece I was looking for but Powermatic doesn't list it on their site anymore.

[Ryan Mooney]

Thanks Faust. That's the piece I was looking for but Powermatic doesn't list it on their site anymore.

Its there (under "accessories), just buried and with no useful pictures. Download the manual, it has some small amount of useful data in it, and the "Pro Talk" brochure includes the specs on the lower extension

6294727B

18" Bed Extension with Tool Rest Ext. for 3520B

The lower mounting holes are 9" lower so 38" of turning capacity (20 + 9*2). It includes a tool rest extension so you're normal banjo/tool rest ~most work.

If you need to go bigger than that I'm afraid we'll need to see pictures and video

[robert baccus]

Neil, like you I went from a 20" General(great lathe) to a 3520B with an extension. The extension Faust mentions above works great for large pieces and also works great if you plan to do any deep hollowing as it allows 18" more for a stabilizer bar.

[Neil Bosdet]

Hi Robert, are you happy with your switch?

[Bob Hovde]

Neil,

The outboard tool rest works well- even for very large pieces. I have the 3520A and there wasn't a choice back then. Main drawback - you have to have room to store it, and it's very heavy.

Bob

[robert baccus]

Very much--it is more used friendly and the moving headstock is fine. Also it has a very beefy tailstock and wheel. The general needed a paintjob anywho.

[Neil Bosdet]

Thanks for all your replies. Very helpful.

Cheers,

Neil