SawStop or PM66?

[Lynn Kasdorf]

I have an old Powermatic 66 that I'll be restoring soon. I also will soon be receiving a SawStop cabinet saw from a friend (long story). My question is- I'll find myself in the enviable position of having to choose which one of these fine saws to keep. This will be my 2nd saw- I have an SCMI slider that I use for most things. The 2nd saw will be set up facing the slider, with a shared outfeed table between.

Do you consider the SawStop to be as good as the Powermatic? Other than the safety feature of the SawStop, one big advantage I see is the riving knife.

I am a fan of old iron, and really love Powermatic, and hate the thought of replacing the PM66 with the Taiwanese made SawStop. But it may make sense.

[Chris Padilla]

SS without question.

[Glenn Kramer]

I have owned a PM66 and a Unisaw, then bought a SS, I never looked back. Although I am a big fan of PM (3520 & a mint 141 BS), SawStop's are awesome.

Best of luck!

[mreza Salav]

What version of SS is it? I think their ICS version is better than *any* other traditional cabinet saw of that size (note "size" and "cabinet saw").

[Lynn Kasdorf]

What version? I don't think it is the "industrial cabinet saw"- I think it is the professional cabinet saw. It is a few years old- it may be their first cabinet saw that they released.

Tell me this- on a sawstop, do they provide a way to test that the flesh sensing mechanism is functioning without actually triggering the stop? I assume this thing has some rigorous start up tests that the computer does as it powers up.

Another question- Over the years, I've learned to power all my electronics through a UPS, for the sole reason of protection from lightning surges and crappy power in general. I run all computers, stereo, tv, etc through a huge UPS in the basement.

I'd be very nervous having the sawstop electronics exposed to the vagaries of the power lines. I guess the solution is to switch off the 220vac to the saw when not in use. I actually do this now- all my 220vac tools are powered through a huge switch, which also powers a big red light, so I know when everything is armed. I actually have an enormous UPS that puts out 220vac- I need to check that supplies enough current to run the SS. The batteries are toast, but all I care about is power conditioning and not running when the power goes away.

I wonder if folks have had their sawstops fried from lighting hits?

I don't think I'd have any sort of warranty on this saw.

[johnny means]

The first saw from Sawstop was the ICS. You'll know it by its 30" deep table. It was designed to rival the 12" saws out there. I have one and can say that, even without the brake, it is better than any other 10" saw out there.

[johnny means]

BTW, it does constantly run diagnostics and has a flashing signal system to alert you to any issues. All you need to do to test the sensing mechanism is touch the blade with the saw off and you'll get a signal. Sawstop also has the best manual ever made which details all of this quite thoroughly.

[johnny means]

Also, for what it's worth, I'd rather worry about sensitive electronics and lightning strikes than amputation.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a powermatic 66, its a fine saw, does its job, but I'd go saw stop for the safety and the riving knife personally given a choice. In fact if SS had been available when I bough the 66 I would have gone sawstop then. I used a saw stop for a while at a side job, I wasn't all goo goo for it, I don't consider it cut wise to be functionally above the competition, but its a good solid cabinet saw, and having the break is just a great asset should you ever need it. I look at it like this...If I had $4K I didnt know what to do with I'd put it in the kids college funds rather than take a bath on the 66 and buy a new sawstop, but I'f someone rolled a SS up to my shop door....I shake the old 66's hand, thank it for its service and fire off a crags list add.

[Shawn Pixley]

Saw Stop definately. Two very good saws but one is better than the other.

[Don Jarvie]

I would keep the 66 and put a Forrest dado blade in it and keep it exclusively for dados and sell the saw stop if I could. I'm not sure how you got it but maybe it wouldn't look good if you sold it.

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Well, as I said, whichever I keep will be my 2nd saw, and will probably have a dado in it a lot of the time. Maybe I can arrange a 3 saw setup...
The PM66 has 2 large cast iron wings- so it will have a lot of iron table to the right of the blade.
The more I think about it, having a sawstop for doing general purpose stuff is appealing, especially since I have 12 and 14 year old boys that I hope will get interested in the woodshop before long. I'd feel better about them using the sawstop.

[mreza Salav]

I don't think you'll regret keeping the Sawstop, especially if you want to have trainees in your shop...

[Ruperto Mendiones]

Sawstop customer support is top notch. I would factor that into the equation.

[Danny Hamsley]

I agree with SS hands down, two. Both hands and all fingers down.