Cabinet saw purchase ???

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Steven Wilson
Newer Powermatic 66's are the equal of ones built 20 years ago; having worked with a few there isn't much difference.

That statement, Steve, was based on what a reputable dealer of Jet, Delta, and Powermatic told me three years ago. They are made in Taiwan, now.

[Peter Kuhlman]

Well, after reading all this (thanks for ALL your replies)----
I am leaning towards the Bridgewood although the shipping cost is $169 .

Reasons are the box trunnion that is also used by General and PM, a nice review by Kelly Mehler in the recent Woodworkers Journal, and some web articals. Also, they will sell the saw without the fence as I am re-using my Incra TS-III. With the savings, I can purchase the Biesemeyer splitter and Delta Uniguard overhead guard system. Now if it wasn't so dang ugly . I still have a little time to think about this so this could change.

Again thanks. This is such a hot topic and there are so many good choices. Too bad that General, Bridgewood, and other saws are not available with the shipping charges included like Amazon does.
Pete

[Steven Wilson]

Originally posted by Phil Phelps


That statement, Steve, was based on what a reputable dealer of Jet, Delta, and Powermatic told me three years ago. They are made in Taiwan, now.

Your dealer friend has given you a line if he told you a PM66, or 1200HD, 1150HD, and a few others are made in Taiwan. Some of the PM stuff is (and BTW "A" in a PM model doesn't mean "Asia") but there are some items that aren't. The castings are farmed out but much of the machining and assembly is still done in the USA

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Steven Wilson
Your dealer friend has given you a line if he told you a PM66, or 1200HD, 1150HD, and a few others are made in Taiwan. Some of the PM stuff is (and BTW "A" in a PM model doesn't mean "Asia") but there are some items that aren't. The castings are farmed out but much of the machining and assembly is still done in the USA

Here you go Steve. Call D&R Saw at 214-637-1264. Ask for JD. He's no friend, just a knowledgeable sales clerk. He says they are good saws, with some parts made in Taiwan. Trunnions made here and come with Baldor motors. Jet is considering several changes that include more overseas parts. Really good macine, but as good as yesteryear? Not quite.

[Dave Arbuckle]

I make no bones that I'm not particularly fond of the gentlemen over at D&R...

1-800-274-6846 is Powermatic's tech support number, Phil. Why not get it from the horse's mouth?

Dave

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Dave Arbuckle
I make no bones that I'm not particularly fond of the gentlemen over at D&R...

1-800-274-6846 is Powermatic's tech support number, Phil. Why not get it from the horse's mouth?

Dave

What does "fondness" have to do with it? Will the folks at Powermatic be objective? The question was, "Is the Powermatic, built today, as good as the ones made many years ago?" I've never owned one, so I don't qualify. Just have to research and draw your own conclusion. I've spoken to three who own PM's and believe the quality is less today. I have no interest either way.

[Steven Wilson]

Originally posted by Phil Phelps
Here you go Steve. Call D&R Saw at 214-637-1264. Ask for JD. He's no friend, just a knowledgeable sales clerk. He says they are good saws, with some parts made in Taiwan. Trunnions made here and come with Baldor motors. Jet is considering several changes that include more overseas parts. Really good macine, but as good as yesteryear? Not quite.

Phil, you stated the the PM66 was made in Taiwan; that's wrong and if JD told you that he's misinformed. This was covered quite a bit in WoodNet this past February. A couple of messages from that thread should suffice

I'm next, seeing how I started this whole damn thing...

I spoke to Gerald Motley, Manager of technical support at Powermatic. He stated that there are tons of weed around the old Powermatic building because it's closed. It's also NOT the foundry. The foundry is located on the other side of Pioneer Lumber Co.

He also gave me the same phone number as mentioned in the previous post as well as the name of the plant manager (Kelly Heatley). If you call there, just wait for Option #2. I called and spoke to Kelly this morning as well. He thought it was pretty funny but after he finished laughing, he confirmed that the foundry is in operation and all is well and made in the U.S.

Gerald also mentioned that the differences in the casting colors are due to a vendor change. Apparently, it is a color code which indicates which company did the machining (old machine shop or new). He also went on to say that the newer castings are made a bit better due to the vendors ability to maintain closer tolerances.

Dave

and continuing

I spoke to Kelly today. He assured me that they are still manufacturing cast iron parts for the Powermatic industrial grade machines such as the PM66, PM72, large drill presses. They make the castings and machine the trunnions to specific specifications as listed by Powermatic.

He told me that they recently switched from "yellow" primer on the trunnions to "black"; however, there is no diffence in the two sets.

They also machine the cast iron tops which have excellent fit and finish.

All this aside, "made in USA" cast iron tops, trunnions, Baldor motor , excellent fit and finish and most importantly, a proven track record of excellence have swayed my decision regarding a cabinet saw. Clearly, the PM 66 is the best in its class!

As for quality, a few things have improved over the years on the 66 - the fence for one is an improvement over the Beis that was standard issue for a few years, I also like the electricals currently in use. As for the cast parts - no appreciable difference.

[Dave Arbuckle]

I would like to point out that, in Steven Wilson's quotation, I am -not- the "Dave" who made that post.

Phil, it was an attempt to disclose that it doesn't surprise me, anything those boys say.

Dave

[Ken Salisbury]

I think this horse has been beaten to death. So - I have closed this thread.