Oh, oh! Won auction for PM3520

[David Utterback]

Good morning,
I am the slightly nervous new owner of a PM3520 that I have to move to my home on Saturday. I have been on the lookout for one since I retired almost 2 years ago and found an opportunity last night on a local auction site. I was very surprised when my initial bid was a winner. Very surprised!!!

This forum contains a lot of information on the lathe and good info on strategies for disassembly and handling. The lathe is in a garage so I should be able to get my pickup tailgate right to the machine. I plan to use a floor jack and a 2x6 frame to lift the bed after removing the all the attachments. One post suggested placing a rebar piece through the headstock so 2 people can lift it. I have a 36" long piece of 1/2" d cold rolled steel that should handle the weight. That leaves me to wonder if the spindle can be easily removed and if any special tools are required, e.g. spanner wrench.

Also, the S/N begins with 98 and it has a Baldor motor and digital readout. Does this mean that it is a 3250A? It has a "made in USA" sticker on it. I may also be in need of an owner's manual. Please let me know if one may be located readily. I would appreciate your comments, insights, and other ideas.

Thanks,
David

[Dale Miner]

Congrats.

The 3520 is a great machine.

FYI; The legs unbolt from the bed if that makes moving any easier.

[joe marra]

Personally, I would not put a rebar through the headstock, it could damage the Morse taper when lifting.

[Doug W Swanson]

Take the lathe apart into the smallest pieces possible. The headstock, tailstock, legs and bed all separate nicely. The heaviest pieces are the headstock and bed but the rest can be handled by one person. Should be easy enough to get everything into a pickup bed.

I hauled my PM to my basement with the help of a neighbor. Wasn't bad at all...

[allen thunem]

did you get it for a good price??

[Bob Holcombe]

Take the lathe apart into the smallest pieces possible. The headstock, tailstock, legs and bed all separate nicely. The heaviest pieces are the headstock and bed but the rest can be handled by one person. Should be easy enough to get everything into a pickup bed.

I hauled my PM to my basement with the help of a neighbor. Wasn't bad at all...

+1

Plus, make sure to protect the headstock VFD while in the truck.

[Dwight Rutherford]

Here is the manual for the 3520B
http://content.powermatic.com/assets...001_man_EN.pdf

[Mike Goetzke]

When I assembled mine I put saw horses under the bed (w/o head or tail stock) when I attached the legs. I also found it very helpful for attaching the legs to cut a hex wrench so you can drive the socket head bolts with a ratchet wrench.


Good Luck!

[Reed Gray]

The B has a digital read out on the front side of the headstock, and it is an rpm indicator. The A has a read out on the back, and you can figure out rpm from it through a formula. If this one is made in the USA, it is not a B model. The A was first made here, then manufacturing went over seas, about the same time PM sold to that tool group.

You can hand truck the legs no problem. The bed is so heavy that I could barely get it up onto the legs by myself, and I am on the Brute Squad. I heard of one turner who reassembled the PM by laying the bed on the floor upside down, bolting the legs on, then tipping it right side up. That would most likely require at least one friend. The motor assembly is more bulky and awkward to handle.

robo hippy

[Rich Sabulsky]

Congrats on the new lathe!

I'll second the idea of phoning a friend for help in setting it up. I'm with Robo Hippy on the Brute Squad and had a similar experience to the one he described. I also put the bed and legs together inverted with the thought of then rolling it onto the levelers from there. I am not timid or fragile, but I couldn't pivot it upright by myself. I wound up enlisting my son with an 8' 2x4 as a lever, and added a whole lot of my own grunt and determination. As a bonus, I had a backache and a strained bicep for about 2 weeks over it!

[David Utterback]

To all of you, thanks for all the information and especially Joe for the comment on the rebar. I will wrap the 1/2 steel rod with multiple layers of cloth from an old tee shirt prior to placing in the headstock spindle channel. The link for the manual is also great to have.

My plan right now is to disassemble on site and put into the bed of my pickup. I was thinking about building a 2x6 rectangular frame with diagonal bracing that would fit under the lathe bed and attach to it. A cross brace several inches off the ground would permit carefully lifting the lathe off the ground with my hydraulic car jack, after all components except the legs have been removed. Hopefully, this will permit detaching the legs and lifting the lathe bed high enough to slide into the pickup. Could someone please let me know the leg height dimension so I can make the frame before leaving home?

Bob, what precautions should I take with the VFD other than protect it from collision with other components?

Again, thanks a bunch,
David

[Mike Goetzke]

Also, if you plan to make the lathe mobile now is the time to add casters or whatever.

Mike

[Bob Holcombe]

David, just protect it from being hit with other parts or sliding into the sides.

[Justin Stephen]

I assembled my 3520 alone using only a lift cart that I bought for $100 or so from Harbor Freight. While not the heaviest piece, the motor unit itself is the clumsiest part to deal with. Set the legs up (easily moved alone if in decent shape), drag the bed onto the cart and lift it into place, then lift the motor up to the edge of the bed and move it into place. Once done, you can use the left cart to move the entire lathe around the room, even though it exceeds the listed capacity of the cart it works fine.

All that said, this was in a garage with the pallet containing the lathe sitting on the floor. If there were any stairs involved, I would have needed help.

[Brice Rogers]

In September I picked up the crate containing my new Grizzly G0766. The crate was about 5-1/2 feet and easily fit in the 8 foot bed of my pickup. The first time that I applied the brakes, the 600 pound box slid a foot and a half forward and hit the box so hard that I'm lucky that it didn't bend it (I don't have the courage to look really closely) or set off the air bags. It was like getting rear-ended !! Yikes. Luckily I had some lumber pieces with me to help take up the gap and keep it from sliding around for the remainder of the journey.

My purpose of posting this in this thread is to remind you make sure that it is impossible for your load to slide around in your pickup bed.