Is this lathe worth the Money???

[Doug M Jones]

This used Powermatic 45 was posted on Craigslist (hope I attached the thread correctly). Is it worth looking at?

Thanks


http://desmoines.craigslist.org/tls/294395634.html

[Brent English]

Yes, especially if it's under power so you can run it a bit. These are nice sturdy machines. What's the price?

[Bill Wyko]

Looks like $595.00 with tools.

[Dick Strauss]

Doug,
I might be getting the PM45 and PM90s confused but...some are meant for spindles and some are more general purpose. If you plan to turn bowls, make sure that the slowest speed is around 500rpms or less. They made one that ran from 750 or 1000rpms all the way up to 3500-4000 rpms that was meant for spindle work and is too fast for most bowls. MAke sur eit has the slow speeds for a larger variety of uses.

The old PMs are definitely built like tanks. They will turn a nice 10-12" bowl (assuming the right RPM as mentioned above). Even though they say they turn 14" over the gap, the gap is useless if you add a chuck (the gap is actually covered by the additional length of the chuck). You can turn a 14" platter on a faceplate in the gap but that's about it.

Good luck,
Dick