powermatic 90 lathe

[Joe Krawczak]

I found a guy selling an old Powermatic 90 12" lathe for $400. I don't know what I would use it for, but it's about all I need to compete my wood shop.
He claims it works fine considering the age. Is this old machine worth looking into? If so what kind of things should I look out for that would deem it not worth the price. I'm pretty handy and could fix just about anything on it as long as parts were avalible. Would be pretty cool to have a tool in my shop actually built in the USA.

Thanks in advance,
Joe

[Mike Cutler]

Joe

Short answer is, yes, it's definitely worth going to look at. Is it worth $400.00? I really can't tell you that, but I can say that you won't be able to purchase new for that price, and get a comparable lathe.
Look to see that everything is there,and in working order. Run the lathe to get an idea for how true it's running, maybe even have the person demo it for you.

You should repost this, if you can, in the Turner's Forum. I'm fairly certain that you'll get more than enough info to make a decision.

[Scott Conners]

Check that the toolrest banjo and tailstock move freeley and clamp well. Put pointed centers in both head and tailstock, slide the tailstock all the way to the headstock and check to make sure the points line up when locked down. Check that it runs smoothly in all speeds, and there is no play in the spindle. I believe the 90 is a reeves drive, check to make sure it operates smoothly (while running). For $400, if it's in decent condition it will probably be a better machine that you can get for anything near that price.

[Frank Drew]

Joe,

Unless I'm mistaken, Powermatic made (makes?) two lathes, models 45 and 90, and the 90 is the heavier duty of the two.

If the machine looks good to you and will work with your turning requirements, I think $400 is probably a fine price. I recently sold my older Rockwell 1460 for $650, but it did have variable speed and reversing with an aftermarket DC motor and controls, and was packed up for 19" inboard.

[Dick Strauss]

Joe,
Make sure your PM90 goes down to 500 rpms or slower. I've seen a few that didn't go slower than 1000 rpms IIRC. There were some made in the 70s-80s that went down to 215 rpms from what I read.

If you plan to turn bowls, the slower the better...

[Curt Fuller]

Check to see if it's 3 phase 220v.