If you saw my earlier posts you may oe may not know that I found a deal on an older PM model 66. It turned out to be of 1982 vintage, pre- yellow paint era. It had a Biesmeyer fence on it, but it was pretty banged up. My question to those who might know is should I stay with a Biesmeyer? If so, does anyone know a good source for aftermarket fences? haven’t been able to find one online.
Another question is what should I use to remove years of particle board build up on the trunion? The previous owner cut almost exclusively particle board and most of the innards are covered in a hardened glue/fiber shell. Most of it will come off with a chisel or scraper, but I’d rather not hammer too much on the trunion, etc.
I’m thinking oven cleaner, any thoughts?
Any other advice on this refurbish, whether specific or general, would be a great help.
Thanks,
Kelley Hamby
Replies
Kelley,
I can only reply to the first part of you question: I have heard that the Biesmeyer fence is heavy and solid, that is now-a-days. I don't know how it was 20 years ago. But if you are looking for a new one, I am a firm believer on the Incra products. Some may say, I work for them, but the fact is that after purchasing the Incra 3000 a few months ago and seeing what their fence is capable of doing, I have been saving up for one. It is about $350 to $400, but what I see it is well worth it if you do a lot of precision cutting.
Marcello
Kelly,
If you look back two days ago there was a thread on "help cleaning PM 66"..on 12/23...that might provide some info to consider.
I bought my 66 new in 1982. Powermatic had been using the "gold" color for a couple years by then. The stock fence was cast iron but they were in the process of changing to an extruded aluminum monstrosity that was only on the market a brief time. I'm not sure if the old green color was an option in '82 but, if your saw was originally equipped with that aluminum fence the used cables to stay square, it's no wonder it has a Beismeyer on it now.
One look at that aluminum fence and Powermatic's move to discontinue the old cast iron fence is was speeded up my planned purchase of my 66. If you can locate one of the old cast iron fences with its rails, that's the way I'd go. I wouldn't trade my fence for any of the after market fences I've seen or used.
Larry...you sure you gave the Biesemeyer a chance? I sold my PM jet lock to a sucker...er friend for $50 and never regretted it for a moment. I can rely on my Bies for repeatability with the scale and it stays parallel. I've made some modifications to improve it but the old jet lock was cumbersome and needed constant fiddling to cut with the accuracy and speed I knew was capable of with a Bies. I know the aluminum fence with the cables you are talking about. It was a Paralok. Used the same principle of a parallel drafting straight edge. It wasn't a bad fence either but didn't sell as much as the Bies. I'd still take one of those over a jet lock. You must be an old timer. I heard of one other guy who said the same thing as you. Oh well!
Rick,
We have two 66 saws. My old one and a newer one with a Biesmeyer. The Biesmeyer is okay but not as accurate as the old cast iron fence. I can keep the face of the old fence at 90ยบ to the table. I never use the rule on the fence for anything but a rough idea of where it's set and I've never seen a fence rule that agrees with a Stanley 16' tape which is standard in our shop. To set the Biesmeyer with a tape requires three hands--one to hold the tape, one to pull the fence head all the way forward and one to lock the fence.
We now have two shops and a saw in each shop but for the years they set side-by-side the cast iron fence was always used for critical work and the Biesmeyer was used primarily for roughing work. So yeah, I gave the Biesmeyer a chance.
My school shop has 2 PM 66 saws. I bought them early in my career which dates them in the 70's. I have had to do some work on them and know that they are not too bad to take apart around the arbor. Since you are making the effort, I would pull everything out and use a wire brush or what ever to clean them. Once they are all back together, you will have one heck of a saw. I would love to get ahold of one. Good luck.
Ken
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled