WTB: Zplus for 3XL upgrade

I know the Zplus for the 3XL is not made any longer, I am checking to see if there are any of them out in the used arena. I am trying to decide which avenue I will go down, update my 2019 3XL or buy the PRO.

I have a 3XXL with HDZ, BitZero, BitSetter and BitRunner. It is a descent machine. I bought it used in 2019 and do not think it was very old when I bought it. So my SO3 is close in age to yours. The SO3 has been very little trouble. A few things here and there but mostly ID10 errors. Although a great machine at this point in the life cycle of an SO3 it is likely not worth upgrading unless you can do it super cheap. The HDZ was the best upgrade I did but a Z-Plus would likely have been just as effectve as the HDZ on an SO3. Being belt driven you can do a lot but not what an SO5 can do. It is a significant investment to go to a new SO5 but it is your money to spend. I am retired and have done woodworking for 50+ years and have a full woodworking shop. But I am not trying to make money with the work I do. I give away most of what I make and keep the rest. Woodworking is a hard business to make money in general. There are niche business and people do make money in woodworking but I dont want to chase that rainbow.

So I would recommend selling the SO3 while you can and buy the SO5. It is easy for me to suggest you spend your money and not mine. If you are just a weekend warrior then the SO3 is a solid machine if upgraded to a Z-Plus or the HDZ if someone here on the forum has one to sell.

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Guy

I am also retired and use the 3XL to keep the stock at the borg fresh and rotated. My main purpose now is to turn big wood into little wood then give it all away and start over. In my spare time I rent myself out to the hardware store as a paint shaker, I knew there had to be a use for those tremors. Just putting it out there to see what the what my options are as I need to be able to tram the router, at this time it is a game of ping pong before the bolts can be tightened. The good thing is if I want to make Chia pet boards the furrows are already there. :crazy_face: I am leaning more to the PRO XL but I am just looking to see what is there first.

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Just in the last week or so I seem to remember someone upgrading from a Z plus to a HDZ. There was a comment in the post about a stripped thread on the Z plus. If you can find the post and he did upgrade there might be one available. I searched for the post and couldn’t find it, maybe someone else can or remembers the conversation.

@Ed.E and @Tail-wagging-the-dog … That would be me.
Problem is I’m in Canada and it wouldn’t be economical to try shipping to the states if/when I decide to part with it

.https://community.carbide3d.com/t/well-i-bit-the-bullet/99398?u=jeffish

Jeff and Ed

Thank you for the reply, i will keep looking for a while to see if there is anything out in the wild.