It has been kinda like Christmas in March here today. My new PM 3520b showed up, and a 12"x12"x6" USPS box of box elder arrived from GA, compliments of Donny Lawson. I am not above begging, and he respondedIt took myself and another sturdy old gent about an hour to tear through the crate and boxes to expose the new lathe. It was up and assembled in the hour, but I had an appointment that kept me away till late afternoon. I wanted to get a feel for it, so I used a drying red cedar blank of about 9"x3.5". I can't speak harshly of my Nova 1624.... it did all I ever wanted to do, but the difference between the Nova and the PM is quite like a double A minor league prospect taking on an All-Star major leaguer. The PM is all that I have read about, and had hoped it would be. It is quiet, smooth, so far vibration free, and it has some doodads that are nice. I really like the way is brakes itself within a couple of seconds from shutoff, and the idea of variable speed is a real kicker. The fit and finish.... the less than perfectly smooth castings.... are average or better. It was packaged well, and went together without a hitch. One does have to plan on how to handle and assemble the very, very heavy parts. I believe that the variable speed, coupled with the smooth quick-to-stop feature can save a great deal of time if one is trying to turn productively. It is a heck of a lot of money, but as I am more than 6 decades old, I expect that there will be others, perhaps unborn yet, that will get much use out of this unit. I will update the ownership experience as time goes on, but currently I think that it is top shelf.....
The white USPS box is from Donny Lawson.... thanks Donny.
And a big thanks to the PM owners that provided assembly tips.
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Originally Posted by David E Keller
