Powermatic vs Grizzly wood lathe

[Ed Morgano]

I'm starting to look at getting a new lathe. I've been looking at the Powermatic 3520B and the Grizzly G0694. The powermatic is 2hp vari speed and the Grizzly is 3hp vari speed. The powermatic is 34 1/2 between centers and the Grizzly is 43 between centers. I would appreciate any feedback you guys can give on these two lathes. Thanks.

[Jon McElwain]

I do not have either lathe, and I have never turned on either lathe, but I can tell you that the Powermatic is the highly favored lathe over in the Turners forum. You might post over there to get all the feedback you could want. I don't know how much you have looked at lathes - if you are looking for the best, or if you have a price point in mind, but it would be worth checking out Oneway, Vicmarc, Robust, and others if you have not already. That said, there are a lot of professional turners putting out amazing work on the Powermatic.

Hope that helps.

[Van Huskey]

I'm starting to look at getting a new lathe. I've been looking at the Powermatic 3520B and the Grizzly G0694. The powermatic is 2hp vari speed and the Grizzly is 3hp vari speed. The powermatic is 34 1/2 between centers and the Grizzly is 43 between centers. I would appreciate any feedback you guys can give on these two lathes. Thanks.

Having only a TINY amount of turning experience I must say this is about as easy a machine question as one can ask. PM 3520B for the win. Unless you replace Grizzly with Oneway or Stubby I doubt you will get much in the way of debate, well unless you need to turn 42" spindles...

[Frank Drew]

Props to Grizzly for offering the longer bed, though.

[Michael Simpson Virgina]

Just because its Powermatic does not mean it is good. I can attest to that as my last two Powematic purchases have been Flops. I personaly think you would get better support from Grizzly if you have issues and if it were me I would lean that way. 99% of all power tools (large and small) are made in china so there is no advantage one way or the other. Its just that Grizzly has been doing imports far longer than the others and they seem to have it down to an art.


FYI the best lathe I ever owned was a Grizzy.

[Cary Falk]

Just because its Powermatic does not mean it is good. I can attest to that as my last two Powematic purchases have been Flops. I personaly think you would get better support from Grizzly if you have issues and if it were me I would lean that way. 99% of all power tools (large and small) are made in china so there is no advantage one way or the other. Its just that Grizzly has been doing imports far longer than the others and they seem to have it down to an art.


FYI the best lathe I ever owned was a Grizzy.

I love Grizzy and have quite a few pieces of their equipment. Wood lathes are not their strong suit. I am not a huge fan of Powermatic but in this case there are many, many people that have the 3520B and love it. Grizzly lathes get mediocre reviews at best.

[Paul McGaha]

Ed,

Suggest you move this thread to the Turners Forum or start a new one there.

Lots of turning expertise over there.

PHM

[Burt Alcantara]

Hi Ed,
A satisfied ClearVue owner here! I've had the 3520b for 2 years and can say that I have no desire to ever buy another lathe (tho I'd love to get a metal lathe). When I bought it, it came with 2 bed extenders. I have both mounted. I never remove the tail stock and it's never in the way. I've never had to call tech support so I don't have any experience there. You will get tremendous support on the turner's forum here. I'd be happy to talk via phone. If you don't have my # just send a PM or email.

[Derrell W Sloan]

Hey Michael, which Griz lathe is the one you like so much?

[John Coloccia]

I predict 2011 will see the first cyclone turned from maple burl.

Oh, and it's just so hard to go wrong with a 3520B lathe. I'm going back and forth right now between that and a Nova DVR because I'm not sure I want to take up the room with the PM, and the Nova is just ohhhh soooo smooth. I like Grizz for a LOT of things, but I just really don't dig their lathes all that much for whatever reason.

[greg a bender]

I know it's not mustard yellow or green,
but the Jet 1642-EVS2 is a pretty nice unit for the money - IMHO.

Greg A

[Rich Neighbarger]

There is so much more to a lathe than what is seen on paper. Might I suggest trying a lathe before plunking down any amount of cash on a machine? Every machine I have every used (good and bad) had something about it that bugged me.

[Ed Morgano]

There is so much more to a lathe than what is seen on paper. Might I suggest trying a lathe before plunking down any amount of cash on a machine? Every machine I have every used (good and bad) had something about it that bugged me.

Rich,
Good idea. I'll see if I can line some up in my area to try out.

Thanks

[Ed Morgano]

I predict 2011 will see the first cyclone turned from maple burl.

Oh, and it's just so hard to go wrong with a 3520B lathe. I'm going back and forth right now between that and a Nova DVR because I'm not sure I want to take up the room with the PM, and the Nova is just ohhhh soooo smooth. I like Grizz for a LOT of things, but I just really don't dig their lathes all that much for whatever reason.

John,
Since I sold Clear Vue I haven't looked back. There will be NO cyclones made in my shop....even out of maple....:)

[Gary Herrmann]

Ed, I've had a PM3520b for several years now. At the time I was looking at it, I was also considering the Oneway and the Robust.

I went with the PM due to budget. At the time, the other two were twice the price. Are they twice the lathe? Maybe - but I doubt it. Or that just may be me being envious.

I can start, spin and stop an off balance 40-50 lb bowl blank with a nickel balanced on edge on the ways. I think that says a lot.

I can't speak to the Grizz. Never seen one in person.

Agree with starting a new post on the turning forum, but I doubt you'll get anyone that recommends the Grizz over the PM there.

[David Christopher]

Rich,
Good idea. I'll see if I can line some up in my area to try out.

Thanks

Ed, my Dad has the Grizzly G0632....he dont live too far from you...if you would like to try it out, PM me, and I will set it up for you

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I don't have a fancy lathe (an old Delta "benchtop" unit), but I recommend that you maintain perspective....the lathe just spins around. Not too much more complicated than that. Mass is an issue if you're spinning some big stuff...but just bolt the thing down. Also, how you vary speed settings (electronic, stepped pulley, reeve drive, etc.) is just a matter of convenience.

I've probably just committed a major sin in the wood turning spectra, but what the heck. I'm a utilitarian wood turner. But, if my limited opinion means anything, I would go with the Grizzly. It just seems the most economical option...and I'd spend the difference on good tooling.

-Jeff :)

[Ed Morgano]

I don't have a fancy lathe (an old Delta "benchtop" unit), but I recommend that you maintain perspective....the lathe just spins around. Not too much more complicated than that. Mass is an issue if you're spinning some big stuff...but just bolt the thing down. Also, how you vary speed settings (electronic, stepped pulley, reeve drive, etc.) is just a matter of convenience.

I've probably just committed a major sin in the wood turning spectra, but what the heck. I'm a utilitarian wood turner. But, if my limited opinion means anything, I would go with the Grizzly. It just seems the most economical option...and I'd spend the difference on good tooling.

-Jeff :)

Jeff,
I can't agree more. I've been using a home made wooded wood lathe for the past 15 years. I've been struggling with buying or building another lathe for several years. I really don't intend to do much large work but I really like the idea of the frequency drive for the convience of changing speeds.
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However, after a lot of thought lately, I've decided to build one more version of my wooden wood lathe. The main problem with the one I have now is the way I ran the grain didn't allow for srinkage. In some places I crossed the wood and some of it split. Other places, the shrinkage caused miss-alignment between the headstock and tail stock. This time I intend to laminate several plys of Oak to minimize any warpage and I'll run the grain in the same direction on head and tail stock so it should stay aligned. I'm going to start another thread in woodworking projects to document my build.

Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate your time and information.

[David Christopher]

Ed, thats a good looking lathe....if you build another one, and you want varible speed, you can use a treadmill motor....they go from 1 to 3 1/2 HP and you can get them pretty cheap

[Dave MacArthur]

Ed, you're a very handy guy... every time you post something I think, "there's a guy who should build and sell something for the shop made out of wood or such". ;) So much makes sense!

Impressive work on the lathe too!

[Dave Lehnert]

I always thought it was odd that Grizzly never went all out for the lathe bizz. Guess they have their reasons but could be a force in lathes.
I am not a huge lathe user but always thought the Grizzly G0694 "looked" like a decent unit but not much press.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/20-x-43-Heavy-Duty-Variable-Speed-Wood-Lathe/G0694

Or how about the Woodtech #1 can't find anyone who has one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enR7mP1Qj8k

[Ed Morgano]

Ed, thats a good looking lathe....if you build another one, and you want varible speed, you can use a treadmill motor....they go from 1 to 3 1/2 HP and you can get them pretty cheap

Thanks David....I'll look into that.

[Ed Morgano]

I always thought it was odd that Grizzly never went all out for the lathe bizz. Guess they have their reasons but could be a force in lathes.
I am not a huge lathe user but always thought the Grizzly G0694 "looked" like a decent unit but not much press.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/20-x-43-Heavy-Duty-Variable-Speed-Wood-Lathe/G0694

Or how about the Woodtech #1 can't find anyone who has one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enR7mP1Qj8k

Dave,
I watched that video and I can honestly say that I will NEVER turn anything that big....WOW. I can see why no one has one of these. The one in the video goes for about 8900.00. I'm sure if you were into that sort of thing, that would be the lathe to have.

[Ed Morgano]

Ed, thats a good looking lathe....if you build another one, and you want varible speed, you can use a treadmill motor....they go from 1 to 3 1/2 HP and you can get them pretty cheap

David,
I visited your dad on Saturday and looked at his lathe. I really appreciate his time and yours too. He also showed me some of the bowls that you've turned. All I can say is that you do incredible work. The one bowl was absolutely perfect in every way and the finish was amazing. I hope your work is getting some recognition.

[Rick Markham]

I made this decision a month ago, get the powermatic and never look back. 38" of outboard swing, nearly 700lbs, smooth, quiet,has a solid reputation and a very strong following (me included) The only thing I would even consider trading mine for would be a Robust American Beauty, and even then I would have a hard time giving it up. It's a solid machine and the fit and finish is top notch IMHO. I don't have a single complaint regarding mine, and I plan on pushing mine to it's limits, just give me time! It's a dream machine!

[Frank Drew]

I'm all for keeping it simple, and in the world of turning if you only do spindle work (between centers), then bed length is probably more important than some other features, but if you want to do faceplate work (bowls, platters, etc.) then some of the recent improvements in lathe design will make your work a lot easier. If your lathe is set up to do outboard work conveniently (including using the same tooling inboard and out -- Attn: General!), IMO you'll be a lot happier than having to turn everything inboard with the lathe bed in the way of your body; being able to move the headstock to right hand end of the ways (e.g. Powermatic) accomplishes the same thing, of course. Speed control and reversing are also what I'd consider genuine improvements, not just bells and whistles.