Powermatic 3520B with bed extension, needs new VFD!

[Nate Hawkes]

Just trying to see if there's any interest for a Powermatic 3520B that needs a new VFD. Pictures to follow. I've used it to turn hundreds of bowls and boxes, and apparently the VFD shorted out; either a big power surge or a lightning strike. It worked wonderfully until it just wouldn't turn on anymore. The current VFD is disconnected. I attempted a replacement with a used Delta S1 VFD type D and was discouraged when it didn't work as expected. I've decided on an upgrade to either a 4224 or an American Beauty, or I'd get a brand new VFD and figure it out. The lathe will come with 2 banjos, a 12" tool rest, the 18" bed extension, a powermatic faceplate, live center, and a knockout bar. I have a simple ballast box made of 3/4" plywood to hold 8 bags of sand to weight down the lathe and absorb vibration when turning very heavy out of balance natural edge pieces. I'll throw in if you're interested. Located in Staunton, VA.

$1500 firm.

I have had a couple back surgeries and can't help with the loading/unloading. You can pull a box truck up to the garage door for loading.

 

[Alan Weinberg]

great deal. VFDs are cheap, even good ones.

 

[Jonathan Silwones]

is it not possible to get an OEM VFD?

 

[Darryl Fective]

is it not possible to get an OEM VFD?

It's possible, but there are better options at about a third of the cost.

 

[Nate Hawkes]

is it not possible to get an OEM VFD?

The OEM VFD has been discontinued, and their new replacement doesn't work without a complete rewire of all the internal wiring. It's also $1000 and parameters cannot be changed by the owner. They've redone it so that there's no control panel without a computer interface.

 

[Nate Hawkes]

It's possible, but there are better options at about a third of the cost.

I wish it were possible. I actually bought and ordered a new one from powermatic, but was unhappy with not being able to go in and change settings. They also assured me it was a plug and play, and it was not. None of the wiring was long enough, and the enclosure was far too large to fit on the headstock. I have no idea how they expect people to be able to wire it up. I was pretty disappointed in their customer service. They did accept the return and gave me a refund, but I'm without a working VFD.

After the replacement from Powermatic, I tried wired up a used delta S1 type Dmodel, but the potentiometer didn't work, the RPM gauge didn't work, and it didn't have a brake resistor. I'm sure that a different VFD would work fine, but I'm not very electrically inclined. Also, I want a lathe with stainless bed ways. I like turning green, sloppy wet wood, which leads to a lot of surface rust on the powermatic.

 

[Darryl Fective]

Powermatic has the most useless customer service. It pissed me off everytime I had to deal with them, no help at all.

 

[Fred Hargis]

That does strike me as a great deal for someone.

 

[Wyatt Holm]

I put a vfd from Amazon on my 1961 Powermatic 90. It was less than $100 and not too difficult to install. Most of the programming was going down a list choosing options. It's all on the manual.

 

[Darryl Fective]

I put a vfd from Amazon on my 1961 Powermatic 90. It was less than $100 and not too difficult to install. Most of the programming was going down a list choosing options. It's all on the manual.

Agreed. Way easier to program, and if something happens, cheap to replace. I've put 3 of them into use (with no problems) and have a spare on the shelf.

 

[John K Jordan]

Sounds like an excellent deal, I have one - for me the bed extension is so valuable. I use mine for extra bed length but if not aware, the bed extension can be mounted low on one end and a tool rest extension can be used to turn things much larger than 20" dia.

And programming a VFD is not too difficult. I bought one for about $100 to replace a Delta S1 that died in a 20 year old Jet1642.

JKJ