Replies

1. 
   coolbreeze | Dec 24, 2006 05:13am | #1

   Genevette, Thank you for posting. In the most recent FWW comparison of cabinet saws, Among the things they checked was flatness, parallelism with regard to the mitre slots, and fence deflection.  Powermatic got good marks, but it was for the PM2000. I know that General is a good saw. I do not recall anyone ever hitting on Genaral.

   I would be interested in seeing others respond to your experience.

2. 
   cmiller231 | Dec 24, 2006 08:48am | #2

   I went through the same night mare with my new PM 66 2 yrs ago .Among the worst were a spindle with excessive slop . So they sent me a whole new spindle and trunnion. I had a lot of trouble  trying to get the blade in the middle of the slot when tilted to a 45 deg angle.The way the saw  came the blade just cleared the throat  plate by about .020. when tilted to 45 deg ., way too close for me . I had a bad experience with a sears throat plate  that tilted down hit the blade and threw the throat plate ( leveling set screw was missing)past my shoulder and hit the wall(Blade was tilted on a 45 deg  angle).Pin holes of blood up and down my left arm.After that i drilled and tapped  in the land where the throat plate sits and it was screwed down.No forgetting to look to see if a s et screw had fallen out. Now i know every body is going to say make a wooden one ,well i also do that BUT .I feel that it should be safe enough to use the factory accessories.

   SO with the new arbor /trunnion in place  I continued to set up saw . as there are two different ways to get the blade centered ,Move the arbor or move the table .There is very little arbor movement as it will throw the belts out of alinement. I had this saw for two monthswaiting on parts and setting it up. I wound up elongating the holes in the sheet metal stand .They also replaced the wood extension table ..Orginal was warped>

    So guess what? after i got  the saw  lined up i discovered that i could not set the courser on the fence .Becuse they went  to a thicker fence material (UHMW) , the allowance in the courser was all used up in one direction.It appears they never allowed for it and kept putting the tape down in the same place.The good news it all is right now .Would i buy another PM, don't think so! maybe a Martin!

   Its too bad and very embarressing that american workers  and designers  let machinery out the door in the condition this one was in.Its no wonder we are losing our industrial base.Since i bought this one from Amazon the local dealers did not want to fix these problems .They treat you like a second class citizen when they find that out .Apperntly there is not enough money in it for them.Just another p'roblem that Pm needs to address.

                                                                Chris. May be next time it will be OLD iron that i buy

1. 
   tinkerer2 | Dec 25, 2006 06:25am | #7

   Don't put too much credence in this, but I think for several years the PM66 was built overseas, as The PM2000 is now.  And again I could be wrong.  Yours might be one of these.  If that is so, it could be like any major change - in manufacturing - things just aren't up to snuff for a while.  I bought my PM66 probably 6 to 7 years ago, just before it was taken over by Jet, and I know it was made in the US.  I have been well satisfied with my PM66 except for one thing - the notches of the pawls catch the throat plate when pushing the work piece through.  I have disabled the pawls temporarily but will seek a permanent solution when I start using it again.

1. 
   cmiller231 | Dec 25, 2006 08:23am | #8

   I think mine was made in US as when i was having all this trouble i was taking to the head quality control guy.He explained a lot to me ,how parts are assembled and checked . At least it sure sounded like it was made here ,then again maybe it was assembled here  and the parts were made overseas.                     Chris

1. 
   UnclePablo | Dec 25, 2006 03:31pm | #9

   Sawstop.

2. 
   terrylee86 | Dec 25, 2006 04:23pm | #10

   I think the 66 and the PM shaper are still US made.  I think it is still made in the McMinville plant, but with machine manufacturing it is all a moving target.  My daughter's Subaru has more US parts than my Jeep Grand Cherokee, so who knows anymore.  I know the PM 2000 is made in Taiwan right now, but who knows about next year.

1. 
   tinkerer2 | Dec 26, 2006 04:19am | #11

   Possibly the final assembly of a machine is not as important as the manufacture of its individual parts that may come from points all over the globe.  By the way, are they still making the PM66 since they have come out with the 2000?

   Edited 12/25/2006 8:22 pm ET by tinkerer2

1. 
   jc21 | Dec 26, 2006 05:20pm | #13

   The 66 is still made here in the US but not in way it once was. Powermatic used to have their own foundry and did most of the manufacturing in house. Now from what I understand most everything is farmed out and assembly takes place in their warehouse in LaVergne, TN.

3. 
   woodman54 | Dec 24, 2006 05:04pm | #3

   It is a sad state of affairs when a top of the line tool company goes down hill. I bought my Powermatic 66 about 20 years ago and it has performed flawlessly in that time.

   Back then Powermatic was royalty as far as machine tools go. Now I hear complaints about them on a regular basis.

   I expect my saw will out live me and and still be working perfect in 2050

1. 
   Jimma | Dec 24, 2006 08:10pm | #4

   Ditto. My 66 is eight years old, but great.

1. 
   Joe | Dec 24, 2006 10:42pm | #5

   I bought my PM 66, 27 and 60 in 1991. They have been just excellent through the years. I had the feeling that once the company was sold that things would take a turn for the worst. . . If you buy the General line make sure it their line made in Canada.

4. 
   cmiller231 | Dec 25, 2006 12:41am | #6

   One thing that  i can say is at least they supplied the parts. But then again they had to pay no warrenty labor costs . , I did not want a disgruntled dealer working on it. Does anybody know if they are still making the 66?              Chris

5. 
   brownman | Dec 26, 2006 09:07am | #12

   So sorry to hear about the newer Powermatics. I had been considering upgrading from my 66 to the new 2000 and now I'm glad I didn't. Owners of a local tool dealer here had also recently told me to hang on to my American made one as it was better built. I have owned it for about 12 or so years and it has been flawlessly accurate and indestructible.

6. 
   ETG | Dec 26, 2006 05:49pm | #14

   I know it's great fun to buy a new machine, smell the freshness and set it up and use it for the first time.  However your experience and folks with bad experiences with other make machines led me some years ago to forgo new machines.  I now search for "vintage models" - proven machines that are 20 or more years old.

   There's a great article in FWW 101 that describes in some detail how Delta, General and Powermatic manufactured their machines 15 years ago.  Powermatic was the most conservative - even aging their castings for 6 months before machining them for their tools.  Without any doubt, I would buy a PM66 - but it's got to be old - at least 20 years or more.

   Portable tools have become a commodity and it looks like tradtional woodworking machines are headed that way also.

1. 
   Napie | Dec 26, 2006 11:22pm | #15

   I just re-read that article, (I was digging through the old issues again, FWW is just not what it once was…), it made me sad to think that all that expertise in machine tool manufacture is going away from the US now.  Wow, tools and magazines, both are shadows of their former selves…

7. 
   gb93433 | Dec 27, 2006 12:34am | #16

   I bought a Powermatic 27 shaper in 2001 and when I got it the spindle was not centered in the hole in the table and it had a clunk when you turned it on. It looked like a gold painted Jet.