Powermatic 45

[kirk Witmer]

Hello guys, I'm currently looking to get another lathe for woodturning heavy bowls and I am looking at a Powermatic 45, it seems like a good lathe, but it only has a 3/4 hp motor, is there a way to put a 1 1/2 or 2hp motor on it and if so is it cost effective? thanks

[Ed Aumiller]

I have a PM45... about 10-15 years ago I replaced the motor with a 3-phase motor 1.5HP... using a vfd to control it... do not turn heavy objects yet (but may in future)..
Primary reason was for variable speed and love being able to simply turn knob on vfd to slow it to whatever speed I need...
Kept the same pulleys and have belt on center groove. Have not turned anything heavy (yet) but extended ways by 18" to be able to turn bed posts..

One advantage is it becomes reversible.... also the price of a 3 phase motor is lower cost but you need the vfd to run it on single phase..

Using 3 phase motor it is small enough to fit in base with no problem...

Definitely go for it...

[Kevin Jenness]

I don't think I would put much money into a 45 for turning "heavy" bowls. It has only a 12" swing and is less heavily built than a 90.

I did what Ed describes on my General 260-20 about 5 years ago. I found a new surplus 3 phase 2hp motor and an inexpensive vfd and was in business for about $600 and a day and a half fooling around with the setup. I was considering a new Laguna 1836 and I feel like I have at least the equivalent for a bit less money considering what I could have sold the General for.

You could dispense with the vfd and just put in a new motor and starter, but the minimum speed will be higher than you want for larger size blanks.

[kirk Witmer]

Ok thanks for the info

[Ed Aumiller]

FYI, you can mount bowls on the outside of the spindle and can turn basically any diameter you want... I have a PM outboard rest and it works fine... If you do not have the PM freestanding rest, it is easy to make one for it..

[Kevin Jenness]

FYI, you can mount bowls on the outside of the spindle and can turn basically any diameter you want... I have a PM outboard rest and it works fine... If you do not have the PM freestanding rest, it is easy to make one for it..

True, but you can't use the tailstock. I nearly always rough out between centers for safety and control of workpiece orientation. Otherwise I am locked into my initial mounting and resulting display of the blank's characteristics.