Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe Review

Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe is considered one of the top-range powerful wood lathes. Designed both for beginners and experienced woodworkers this machine is a solid and stable well-designed piece of equipment. Like in most good quality lathes it's base is constructed using carefully machined thick walled cast iron parts. The heavier the base the better since there will be no need to add those sand bags or weights for to keep the machine from vibrating when working on unbalanced workpieces.

 

Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe Power Capacity

20'' swing and 341/2 between center capacity allows turning wide variety of projects sizes. But this is not all: the extension kits are available to allow working on huge projects sized from 38" to 50" in diameter. To be able to handle such huge workpiece sized the Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe is geared up with a 2HP 220 volt powerful motor that can function with either a single phase or three phase power supply. Three phase power supply is normally used in large power grids around the world. Since residential areas are normally powered up by a single phase supply in order to use Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe in three-phase mode in your home workshop the inverter is integrated into the electrical system of the machine which is both convenient and economical in terms of power usage.

Powermatic 1352001 Model 3520B 20x35-Inch Wood Lathe with RPM Digital Readout

 

Powermatic 3520B Wood Lathe Control Features

• All the controls are conveniently located on the headstock front.
• Speed control dial regulating unlimited RPM during forward and reverse settings in both 50-1200 and 125-3200 ranges.
• Toggle switch for forward and reverse
• Simple and easy to read LED display
• A pull ON, push Off switch to power the lathe on and off.
• Built in inverter incorporates a safety feature preventing the sudden start up of the lathe in case the power goes out and then comes back on. The switch has to be pressed into off setting to switch the lathe back on.
• A specially designed Poly V-Belt resistant to surging connects a set of two pulleys. Access to the pulleys is conveniently located on the right side of the headstock front, tension levers are used to change the RPM speeds.

 Spindle Locking Mechanism


Spring operated button operating a spindle locking mechanism is conveniently located on the front of the headstock. The button activates two locking detents for fitting in and removing the adds-on. There are 24 indexing positions allowing to drill evenly spaced hole patterns for various ornamental purposes like routing flutes etc.  


Spindle Bearings


Only high quality spindle bearings are used on Powermatic 3520B for the best possible stability of the machine. They can be spaced nearly 12' apart thanks to wider than normal power head. The machine presents another convenient feature namely endplay bearing adjustment which is located right behind the hand wheel. In years to come there will be no need to send the head for re-adjustment as it can all be done by yourself easily by turning the adjustment nut gently to stop the endplay.  


Awesome Tailstock


Heavy cast iron tailstock is a usual feature in a high quality lathe and Powermatic 3520B is of no exception. Tailstock contains a storage compartment with the hinged door to store all those bits of pieces of equipment you will often need to be close at hand. 1 3/8 inch ram has 4 1/2 inches of movement controlled by way of good sized 5 7/8”-diameter cast iron hand wheel built with a free wheeling speed handle. Drilling holes with precision can be achieved easily as there is a laser-engraved scale on the top of a wheel. The tailstock ram is built with a #2 Morse taper to allow a broad range of add-ons. With full retraction the tailstock ram (or quill ) automated ejection mechanism will free the addon accessory you have in the Morse taper.  


Can be regarded as money-saver in the long run


Many novice woodworkers buy this lathe as their first lathe and there is sense in this. According to many customers purchasing the best you can afford will actually be cheaper if you are going to be serious about your new hobby. As you progress you might want to try big projects and have to upgrade. The small projects can be turned on a big lathe but big projects cannot be turned on small lathe.  


Customer Reviews


Powermatic 3520B receives consistent 4,5-5 star reviews. Though there are minor complaints about the state of packaging and scratched paint and some shipment the one thing the overwhelming majority of customers say about this lathe is that it is "dream lathe", easy to set up and get running.


For the price this lathe is hard to beat in this cost category - under 4k. This lathe runs quite smooth - but...
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There isn't much I can say, that others haven't already said. I have owned mine for a little over 2 years. This is a great lathe, and for most users, will probably be the last lathe you will ever need or want.
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Warranty


Powermatic 3520B is supported by a 5-year warranty.  


Price 


  Powermatic 3520B is a superior quality professional wood lathe and there are not many places that will offer a substantial discount unless you don't mind buying it used. The lathe is currently available on Amazon at 17% off including free shipping.