PM 2000 Rail Set - Upgrade??

[Jon McElwain]

So we are moving to a new house with a shop space nearly the same size as the current space. The problem is that the 50" rails on my Powermatic table saw are longer than I really need (I break down sheet goods at the store or with my track saw), and the space is just a little smaller than is comfortable. I can order a short 30" rail set for a little over $200, and I think this might be a really good time since I'll be dismantling the saw in order to move it. This will give me just a few extra square feet to move around.

Question is: while I am buying a new rail set, is there an upgrade I should consider? Keep in mind that the new rails are only about $200, and I don't really have a bunch of extra cash to spend on upgrades - we are moving, and that makes me cash poor for the time being. I see that an Incra rail and fence can be bought for around $400, but I don't know much about them.

Thanks for your help!

[Ben Rivel]

Is there a reason you wouldnt just cut down your current rails for free?

[Van Huskey]

While cutting down the rails is a free option I will try to spend your money for you... the Incra fence is a worthy upgrade to the Accufence. The Incra site has some good videos that intoduce you to the fence

http://www.incra.com/table_saw_fences-tsls_fences.html

[Jon McElwain]

Is there a reason you wouldnt just cut down your current rails for free?

Mostly because I want the option of having a longer set of rails just in case. There is probably a part of me that doesn't want to ruin the paint and having to touch it up. Does Powermatic sell their gold paint? The more I think about it, the more I might be talking myself into it.

The Incra looks pretty good though...

[Ben Rivel]

Mostly because I want the option of having a longer set of rails just in case. There is probably a part of me that doesn't want to ruin the paint and having to touch it up. Does Powermatic sell their gold paint? The more I think about it, the more I might be talking myself into it.

The Incra looks pretty good though...

Im sure you can get touch up paint from Powermatic. If not you could always take a yellow piece into Lowes or some other place that sells paint and have it color matched for free. It would just be a tiny bit on the ends of the rails.

That said I do understand where youre coming from. I bought the 36" SawStop PCS but I also bought the 52" rail set from someone selling it for $100 brand new still in the wrapping on CraigsList. Just threw it up on the wall for storage just in case. Youre right it can be good to have options.

And yea the Incra system is pretty cool and would even go nicely with their goldish anodizing and your yellow Powermatic.

PM2000 2 800x600.jpg

Its just quite a bit more than the $200 I thought you were trying to keep it around.

[Jason White]

Just cut the the rails shorter with a metal cutting blade. Consider making them 36" instead of 30". Glad I did.

Jason

[Van Huskey]

Does Powermatic sell their gold paint?

They sell the mustard paint in 12oz rattle cans, the price is just over $20. You can find the formulas for all the PM colors from pea green to the current mustard with a google search or you can take a piece to a paint store, as Ben mentioned, and get it matched, I kept one of the little metal shipping brackets that had overspray on it just in case I needed it. I have read that one of the Rust-oleum industrial "farm colors" (can't remember exactly which one) is a near perfect match as well.

[David Kumm]

Many of the fence rails are powder coated so you must sand aggressively to get regular paint to stick unless it is just the cut ends that you are doing. Dave

[Bob Bouis]

I know you don't want to mutilate your saw, but look at it this way -- the 50" rails are just $25 or so more. So you could buy them any time you want in the future and it won't have cost you much.

[scott spencer]

$200 for powder coated tube steel seems steep to me for what it is. I'd be more inclined to cut it down and cap off the end. You can always slide the front tube over on the angle bracket by one bolt hole to gain another 10" of rip if necessary. Or as Bob Bouis pointed out just hold off with the purchase til you see a solid need.

[Jim Becker]

I know you don't want to mutilate your saw, but look at it this way -- the 50" rails are just $25 or so more. So you could buy them any time you want in the future and it won't have cost you much.

I agree with Bob and others who have suggested cutting what you have down for now. That's $200 that you can use for other things needed to setup your new shop...