POWERMATIC 3520B WOOD LATHE REVIEW

The Powermatic 3520B wood lathe was one of 7 heavy-duty lathes I tried to test ranging in price from $1200 to $3200 to find the best wood lathe. I measured each for vibration, ease of speed control, power, lathe movement, ease of adjustment and tool rest design for outboard turning. I evaluated also the live centers and tailstocks and tried to test how each lathe performed both on small and large workpieces.

The Powermatic 3520B lathe was my choice for best overall. It's built like a tank with the beefiest tool-rest base and the stoutest tailstock. This wood lathe also has a lot of power. Initially designed with the assistance of a legendary wood turner - the late Rude Osolnik - the 3520A was a good lathe with a couple faults. The 3520B - designed with the assistance of Ernie Conover - did everything right.

The Powermatic 3520B was strong even when turning a large and off-balance blank. This lathe won’t move once you start turning an expansive bowl and take a progression of interrupted cuts to make the blank round, and it showed that no significant speed loss even with the maximum 40lb. of weight applied to it throughout our test.

To set up the Powermatic 3520B lathe for outboard turning, you slide off the tool rest and tailstock, move the headstock right down to the tail end of the main bed and then bolt on a bed extension. It works fantastically.