Any comments on Powermatic’s 2415 24″ Bandsaw
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Replies
Corbs,
I can offer a second hand view. My deep-pocketed buddy took delivery on this very bandsaw just a week ago, and I got to play with it on Sunday.
It's beefy. It takes about 5 full seconds to spool up to speed, and left un-braked, would go for a minute to spool down. There is lots of inertia in the flywheels!
The fit and finish is quite good, though the bung that fits in the table's blade slot was somehow missing. Trivial, but why would they miss such a thing? Also, I think the lower blade thrust bearing adjustment lacks sophisticaion- a simple thumb screw secures the bearing's mounting post, where every other bearing adjustment has screw-threaded posts and lockrings, grippable with your fingers. Why skimp on this part? Cheap.
He bought the 3 hp version, which is far and away abundant for his home shop- yes, home shop! We were sawing up 12" cubed chunks of walnut logs, using the 1" blade that comes with the tool, and there was no such thing as a bogged down cut. There is more futzing to do with the bearings' adjustment to the blade, but overall, the saw cuts smoothly and relatively quickly. The dust collector port is in a good location, kinda beneath the lower blade guides, and overall, kept most of the mess out of the lower cabinet. The TEFC motor has an included blower unit, which feeds via a plastic tube to the upper blade guides, but with the volume of dust we were making, we have NO idea if it actually worked. Obviously, a change of blade and a more delicate project would illuminate its capabilities.
We didn't mess with the speed belt/pulley yet, though the blade's speed can be set to 2000 or 4000 ft per minute. We were cutting at the 2000 fmp speed, and it didn't seem terribly troublesome. I assume much of his work will be general cutting and shaping, with the occasional sawing of chunks for carving and sporadic resawing, so I don't think he'll be too fussy with changing the speeds.
In short, I think this is a good saw to buy, but I've never compared against Grizz, Jet, MiniMax, etc. As I mentioned, the overall engineering was pretty sound, and I don't think Powermatic has any appreciable 'cheapness' in the tool, e.g. flimsy table, weak trunnions, wiggiling parts, etc. A number, you say? I rate it 8.5 out of 10, rating it solely on what I saw.
To make room for his new beast, my buddy sold me his Model 44 14" bandsaw, which is a nice addition to my shop. Now, if he'd only buy ####20" planer, I know where I could get a 15" planer for cheap....
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Seth
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