Help me Pick a New Lathe

[Chris Barton]

Hi Kent,

Almost a year ago I was in the same situation as you except, I was not replacing a broken lathe, only replacing one that I had out grown. I looked at many lathes and I can honestly say that the price of the lathe was a secondary consideration for me. What I wanted most was a quality instrument that would last a lifetime. I seriously looked at Oneway as my primary choice and I also considered a Stubby (The importer of Stubby lives here in Nashville). But, I had the good fortune to see a PM3520a side by side with a Oneway 2436. And, what I found was that except for the color of the two units, they were very similar. There were a few things the PM could do that the Oneway couldn't. The headstock on the PM will slide the full length of the bed while the headstock on the Oneway is fixed. The movement of both headstock and tailstock could allow for almost infinite configuration of the lathe to satisfy your turning needs. The new PM3520b has refined some of the features of the "a" model. So, in the long run what would drive my consideration of which lathe to buy?

Well, I was able to get a deal on a PM3520a that provided me a 18" bed extension that allows me 53" between centers, an outboard tool guid stand that weighs about 300 lbs and is the most massive I have ever seen, a collection of tool rests, indexing ring, Oneway Stronghold chuck, and other accessories that I am probably forgetting all for a cost $3K less than the Oneway. Now, as I said, the price of the lathe was clearly secondary for me. But, for the life of me I couldn't find a reason to buy the Oneway over the PM. So, for less than $3K I bought the PM and had plenty of money left in my pocket to buy tools and wood...

But hey, this is just my opinion. I have come to understand that picking out a lathe is a lot like picking a lover, lots of subjectives in the consideration...

[Jim Becker]

The 3520 is a no brainer over the Jet--my opinion.

Of course, they are nearly the same machine other than swing/size in most respects. The Jet 16" was patterned after the PM 3520A, but had the digital readout that the PM didn't. The new PM 3520B adds some goodies. I agree that a PM 3520A is an awesome deal and the extra swing definitely warrents the few dollars more than the Jet. The new PM 3520B may be a stretch for some folks, so for as long as the older version can be had...great deal.

I didn't think that $3200 was all that far off $2800 Jim?

True, but that's before you add the outboard bed to get back to the larger swing. I was only making the point that the OneWay is the next level up...perhaps ineffectively.

And yes, OneWay has great resale and the one that many folks use as the benchmark. My previous lathe was a (small) OneWay... I might have bought the larger one when I moved up, but I turned on all the candidates before plunking down the big bucks to be sure I was comfortable with the machine I would ultimately buy to do the work I enjoy doing. I wanted it to be the last lathe I even wanted to buy and it had to be a comfortable fit. All of the machines were incredible, but only one "felt right". A lot of people in my local AAW chapter looked at me like I had two heads for not buying another OneWay, but they were not the ones going to be turning on it! But trust me, if a big ol' OneWay dropped of a truck in front of my house, I'd cheerfully put it in the shop...LOL!

[Earl Eyre]

[quote=Chris Barton]Hi Kent,

But, I had the good fortune to see a PM3520a side by side with a Oneway 2436. And, what I found was that except for the color of the two units, they were very similar. There were a few things the PM could do that the Oneway couldn't. The headstock on the PM will slide the full length of the bed while the headstock on the Oneway is fixed. The movement of both headstock and tailstock could allow for almost infinite configuration of the lathe to satisfy your turning needs. The new PM3520b has refined some of the features of the "a" model. So, in the long run what would drive my consideration of which lathe to buy?

quote]

Most turners will accept comapring a Jet and a PM, maybe even saying the PM is better. But to say the PM is as good as a Oneway...somebody is liable to get you! That's just downright heretical. LOL But, being I own a PM, glad you said it. :-)
Earl

[Chris Barton]

Hi Earl,

I like the Oneways and I do think they look very well built but, for the life of me I can't figure out what makes them so desireable. I have even tried one out. And, the bottom line was that if my eyes were closed I couldn't tell the difference between a Oneway and a PM. I guess it has the "mercedes" status... For some folks the more you pay for something the better you will like it.

[Bob Oswin]

Hi Earl,

I like the Oneways and I do think they look very well built but, for the life of me I can't figure out what makes them so desireable. I have even tried one out. And, the bottom line was that if my eyes were closed I couldn't tell the difference between a Oneway and a PM. I guess it has the "mercedes" status... For some folks the more you pay for something the better you will like it.

Where is the PM made?
Maybe your are unwittingly sending money overseas along with quite a few jobs

[Chris Barton]

Hey Jim,

I want to get a little more of your opinion here. You said,

"That all said...a serious turner really should consider the additional investment up front for a custom lathe to avoid the most certain "move up" later on!"

So, my response would be, tell me what the Stubby, Oneway, etc... do that makes them different than a good mass produced lathe? I looked for this same guidance back when I was contemplating such a purchase and no one could tell me what this elusive difference was. I have a very good friend that has a Stubby and it is a lovely machine but, even he can't show me what it will do that the PM3520a will not and I can show him quite a few things that the PM will do that the Stubby won't...<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[John Shuk]

I've felt that the PM is a great machine with little compromise especially for the money. My friend has a Poolewood and it a beautiful machine. I think the drive system is awesome but I can't say that I don't think that the castings on the PM are about equally well tended to. It is just a great quality machine.
As far as sending jobs elsewhere, I can only think of the Robust lathe that is made here in the USA. That is a substantial price hike over the PM.
Good luck whatever you choose.

[Andy Hoyt]

When Kent first launched this thread he said that he'd narrowed it down to the Jet and the PM. Having turned on both of those, several Oneways, and various others I chose to encourage him towards the PM (as per my earlier post) and not say anything to further distract him. Besides, he's a big boy and I respect his research and determinations.

But now that this thread has strayed so far afield I thought I'd jump in with these thoughts. If it it helps Kent - or another creeker - fine. If it makes me look stupid - well, I've known that for a long time.

My first lathe was a used Oneway 1018 that I got most reasonably from Wayne Shipman out in California. Took awhile, but I finally outgrew it this past summer. Mind you, my turning skills are less than remarkable; but I devoutly want to get better and want to turn larger stuff. Naturally, I drooled over the OW 2436 but pretty quickly ruled it out cost wise, but that 24" swing was really appealing.

I ended up doing a lot of soul searching about my turning expectations over the next 20 years or so; and solicited a lot of advice from many people including my good friend Dave Lancaster about all this. At the time, I'd never heard of SMC, or you can bet I'd been talking to you folks too.

I truly believe that I did the responsible due dilgence thing and road tested a Jet, a PM, a OW, a Delta, a Vega, and a homemade monster. These machines were all less than a year old. And they were all great - except the Delta, but I believe I was predisposed to not like it.

In the end, I went for the Oneway 1640 with outboard extension. Gave me great spindleturning length at 40", 16" swing inboard, and 24" swing outboard. I really like the outboard end since I can stare straight at a hollow form and not get all contorted.

But why did I go with the Oneway? It's a combination of a lot of things.

1. I had years of experience with their level of manufacturing quality.
2. Dave Lancaster is 20 minutes away if something goes horribly wrong with it.
3. It is built in North America, and the profits from my purchase stayed in North America.
4. It will force me to become a better turner, because I cannot blame the machine.
5. I can concentrate on technique, form, size, and style without worrying that I might be pushing the machine's tolerances.
6. It's a great color.
7. Its cost will force me to turn more, so I can sell more, so I can turn more...
8. It will still be in tip top shape long after I'm not.

I don't expect that any of you reading this will relate to each and every point I've listed, but I'm sure most of you can do so with (perhaps) half of them. And that's not too bad. It is indeed the uniqueness of each of us, the uniqueness of our turnings; of our machines; of our critiques; and of our circumstances that makes life interesting. It would extremely boring if we all had the same lathe, the same wood, and the same form in our mind's eye.

So, Kent. This is post #23 in this thread and you've been awfully quiet since yesterday. I think all of us would like to know what our comments have done to your decision making process. Not asking you to decide, just asking what effect this has had towards making that decision.

[Jim Becker]

So, my response would be, tell me what the Stubby, Oneway, etc... do that makes them different than a good mass produced lathe?

Let's take a clue from Andy's post that we've moved beyond the intent of this thread. (and I'm a prime offender to a certain point on that) I think that a new thread for this might be a nice way to have an exchange of ideas because there is no one answer...only possiblities.

[Dennis Peacock]

It's quiet simple in my book. I've seen both lathes, I now own a PM 3520A and I wouldn't trade it today for any other lathe out there. Not even a Oneway. Oneway is nice stuff, but shoot, all I'm doing it turning wood and making square and oblong stuff round with it. At 720 pounds of cast iron, the PM is solid and is a great lathe.

[John Hart]

.....I really like the outboard end since I can stare straight at a hollow form and not get all contorted.....

I've been following this thread with great enthusiasm since I intend on getting a better machine next year to go with the new house. But reading this response from you Andy....I just couldn't believe how stupid I can be. All this time, I've been bent over trying to peer into a little hole until my back ached. I never thought to swing my hollow forms outboard!!! Sheesh!!! Dang near blew coffee on to my laptop!

Thanks!

[Chris Barton]

Andy,

Thanks for a great reply! You explained why the Oneway was the right choice for you.

Bob,

Sorry, I am not a trade protectionist and have always believed in buying the best tool for my dollar regardless of where it comes from.

Jim,

You'er right and the thread has gone sideways. I suppose my motivation to explore this question is because I think there are lots of folks out there that are considering which machine to buy and they have heard of the "iconic" machines that are held to be the cream of the crop. But, they don't know what makes these machines so special.

Thanks Everyone!

[Matthew Clarke]

Hi Kent,

I own the Poolewood model that you worked on at David Ellsworth's. You can no longer purchase that model (Euro 2000). I love that mathine. However, I also have to agree with most of the other posts. Grab the PM. Turning is all about mass. The extra weight of the PM (not to mention quality) is something that you wil you will ooh and ahh over when you start using it. PM did a great job in putting that machine together for the mass market.

[Jim Ketron]

I love my PM 3520a! It was the best lathe for the money I was willing and able to spend!
As far as lathes go each one will have a certain feature that makes them different than the other. I like the features on the PM 3520 and it suites my turning style. as far as quality I think it is very well made machine, and I have had no problems with it.
as far as dependability in any lathe or any man made equipment as far as that goes, they all will tear up sometime or another, so just get the best you can afford
Jim

[Kent Cori]

Wow! I was out of town for a day and did I ever get a surprise when I returned!

Obviously this thread has taken on a life of its own. Regardless of the fact that it wandered a bit off the original tack I, and I'm sure many others, enjoyed the give and take. Thank you all for your input.

Given my two choices, it is clear that the universal consensus is one of the PM3520's. Now the question is the "A" or the "B"? For those of you with the A, has the lack of a digital RPM readout bothered you? If you had it to do today, would you spend the extra $500 on the "B" for the extra features and goodies?