I have a much used and much loved Powermatic 3520B lathe and a bunch of tool rests I have accumulated, including a couple of robust rests. If I now upgrade to a Oneway banjo, can I still use these tool rests?
Thanks
Ron

Carl’s Answer:

Ron the Oneway banjo is the standard height for a 20″ lathe. The PM 3520 banjo is a lot lower to accommodate their tool rests. To compensate for this people who by standard tool rests to use in a PM banjo have to buy them with an extra long shaft.

You will NOT be able to use PM tool rests in a Oneway banjo. You should be able to use the rest of your tool rests. The extra length shaft will just disappear inside of the Oneway banjo. The distance from head stock down to the ways (10″) does not change. So if there was room for that long shaft above the ways when in the PM banjo then there will still be room when in a Oneway banjo.

It is not an all or nothing choice. Because you will still have the PM banjo around? Thus you can just slip it back on if you want to use it?

The round washer on the bottom of the PM banjo is a lot better than the square washers that come on all other banjos (on the Oneway, etc.). The round one does not have any sharp corners that catch and thus the banjo slides around easily. So I use the round PM washer on my Oneway banjo. Making my own big beefy round washers for my Oneway 2436 lathes is high on my todo list.

Very good, impartial (I think you rained equally on everyones parade 🙂 , and complete write-up. I will refer people to this article when I get asked that question. After they read it, I will help them determine which is best for them, based upon the items on the local market.