Powermatic 5 HP Model 66 Cabinet Saw with 50" fence - $1999

[Chris Smith]

Looks like a close out over at Amazon on the Powermatic 5 hp Model 66 cabinet saw. They are left tilt with a 50" accufence and table board with extension legs for $1999. They do charge $149 for shipping, but a great price for a saw that rarely goes on sale:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.am azon.com....

[Jim O'Dell]

WOW!! THat is a good price! Wish I had the bucks. Only 2 left in stock. Wonder if the 66 is not moving in the hobby world now that the 2000 is firmly entrenched? Jim.

[Daryl Upole]

I saw that deal and researched it to death. I could not resist it. There was one left with Amazon so I took it. This unit is supposed to include the Excaliber Sliding Table. With that, it was a deal I could not pass up. Hope I made the right choice. I had already pre-wired for 30 Amps; so the 5HP should be no problem. It was between a used Unisaw with 50" Beisemeyer and 3HP @ $1,200 and this with shipping @ $2,150. But, should be a decision I won't have to make again the rest of my life! Thanks for the lead!!

[Brad Counts]

I've been watching this one too. Already in pretty good shape with my Unisaw but WHAT A DEAL! I got the Powermatic Model 27 5hp Shaper this summer on Amazon for $1449.00. Thought it was too good to be true but everything worked out great and I saved over $1500. Please let us know how things work out with your deal.

[Bob Feeser]

I saw that deal and researched it to death. I could not resist it. There was one left with Amazon so I took it. This unit is supposed to include the Excaliber Sliding Table. With that, it was a deal I could not pass up. Hope I made the right choice. I had already pre-wired for 30 Amps; so the 5HP should be no problem. It was between a used Unisaw with 50" Beisemeyer and 3HP @ $1,200 and this with shipping @ $2,150. But, should be a decision I won't have to make again the rest of my life! Thanks for the lead!!

Daryl,
I have that exact same saw, circa 2004. Powermatic suggests that you have a 40amp circuit to run the 5hp motor. That comes with the TEFC or whatever they call it, Baldor motor with the cast iron end, weighing in at a nifty 100 pounds just for the motor. The 40amp requires an 8 gauge wire. Although from the saw to the outlet you can use a 30amp rubber coated wire, but I went with an 8 guage for that as well, cause I had a good length run to get the the wall.
Technically they mentioned that the motor draws 24amps, but with the headroom, being usually 20% for start ups etc, means that you would be right at the 30amp edge. Knowing that a breaker blower soon garners bleak reviews, they opted to tell people to put it on a 40 amp circuit.
Congrats on a great purchase. When I got mine I had to do some tweaking, in order to get perfect blade alignment for example. Some final assembly revealed a workforce who took flawlessly engineered, and manufactured parts, that were not assembled properly. Like the rule measure for the bevel setting, the tape gauge requires repositioning to fine tune it. The cast iron top needs to be removed, and the slots for the bolts need to be reamed out, so you can get the blade perfectly paralell to the miter slot. The insert needs to be worked over with a rubber hammer on a block of wood, so it sits perfectly flush with the table top, even though it has 4 adjustable allen wrench settings.
Check your side extension table for flatness. Any problems, they send you a new one.
Here is a set up tip for everyone with cast iron extensions. They come separately, and require you to level them with the top. It is very hard to get a PERFECT 90 degree angle off of the edge of the extension, to the extent that the outer edge of the extension may be a few thou proud of the rest of the top. Take a little bit of aluminum foil, fold it over a few times to keep doubing it, maybe as much as a total of 8 thicknesses, and cut a 1/4" sliver, and slide it down where the bolt goes, and between the table, and the extension, to act like a shim, and you will be able to get your extensions, PERFECTLY flat and level with the rest of the saw.
When moving it, and I had to move mine down some steps to get it in the basement, it weighs over 5 or 600 pounds. You can remove the cast iron top, then remove the motor which comes out with just 2 bolts. The motor alignment is a no brainer because it only goes in perfectly. It slides along 2 cast iron surfaces, so tightening it is a zero problem maneuver. PM told me to take it out without any concern, although they told me not to touch the trunion.
Removing the motor is easy. After taking the cast iron top off, you change the bevel setting by spinning the handle to make the motor tuck into the cabinet, then tilt the whole saw over onto a blanket. Then use the bevel handle to gently lower the motor until it is resting on the floor, protected by the blanket. Then remove the 2 bolts, and belts, and lift the saw back up. Now you are dealing with about 300 pound shell. I hand trucked the pieces down, wrapped and secured in a blanket.
I do not mention this things as any kind of damper to the excitement of the saw, I only mention them because I have not heard of anyone who did not have to do the above when they got one. Something to do with ticked off Union guys, who are making this one last piece of PM equipment made in USA. Angered that their jobs are going overseas. Wait until you see the polished top. You truly are going to love the saw. It's among the best of the best.


Here I am going down the highway when they phoned me and told me the truck was waiting at the door. :')

[Randy Davidson]

Thanks for all that information Bob. I have one on the way also. I was already doing a little rewiring in my garage for a new Griz 605z when this beauty of a deal dropped from heaven. I cut a lot of hardwood and a fair amount of sheet stock so this should also be my "lifetime" saw. Daryl, I hope you have fun with your saw also. Merry Christmas

[Daryl Upole]

Thanks for the info, Bob. I'm glad everything is in conduit, this will give me time to yank out the #10 & put in some #8. I'm glad I've got a couple week break from work to get this all set up.

[Bob Feeser]

Thanks for the nod. One thing I forgot to mention. By using a 30 amp 10 gauge for the rubber round wire going from wall to the saw, you will be able to feed it into the bottom of the switch assembly. It comes with 3 wire knock out openings, not counting the 4th which feeds the motor (between the switch to the motor) Here is the point, if you use the 10 gauge rubber coated wire, you can feed the inlet from underneath the switch box, which is preferred. They enter the switchbox with a standard wire clamp, the kind you would use with a romex box, albeit larger to accomodate the larger wire. The only opening that will accomodate the larger 8 gauge wire is on the top. After driving out of state to find an 8 gauge rubber coated wire, and a clamp that would accomodate a wire that thick, I was forced to use the upper hole to feed the wire into. That resulted in a possible dust settling into the box type of problem, so I had to seal the opening. (Not an industrial grade installation, with an accent on the professional if you know what I mean) It would have been cleaner if I had used the 10 gauge, and fed it through the bottom. The box has a knockout in each of the openings, with a threaded hole to fit the clamp.

[Bob Feeser]

I have to say one more thing. You get a really great saw for an unbelievable price. That is a 27 or 2800 saw, and you paid 1995 or whatever. If you got it with the sliding excalibur table, now, correct me if I am wrong, but that saw is over 3 large in Tony Soprano talk.
Now at the risk of a sub culture gloat, let's take a minute and talk about the saw. Here is a thread page that has the penny demonstration on it. Note the model 74 right above my comment. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...=722585&page=6

I want to preface this with the fact that I had a 1 hp Sears contractor saw, that my Dad, and myself loved dearly. Only when I went to cut some 2" oak to make some doors, did I realize the total limitation. Burning the edge of the occasional 1" board was greatly alleviated by getting fence perfectly paralell to the blade. Anyhow, I knew the 3 hp would be enough (It is what Norm uses) but I went for the 5 just to be sure. It can go through anything, and not even change pitch on the blade. It acts like it is not even cutting the wood. Doesn't slow down a hair. Then I am concentrating on making the cut at just the right feed rate, and not thinking about having to adjust for the capacity of the saw. With a Forrest WWII, it makes practically sand free cuts.
When you turn it on, it sings. The second you hit the switch, it goes from stopped to full speed, like turning on a tape recorder.
I still use the old Sears 1 hp from time to time, love them both. I dreamed of a 66 since 1966 when I used one in high school. I would love to have an old PM90 lathe. I used one of them in high school also. Had the outbound face plate too, so you could turn virtually unlimited bowl, or platter sizes. Came with a heavy independent stand on that side.
Oh well, I guess I am getting carried away. If you have any questions, when you get the saw, please ask, or even private message me.
100 years from now, hopefully someone will be saying, hey look at this vintage piece of woodwork, and this is the saw that he created it with.
You can't go wrong with the purchase. I saw a 3 hp 2 years old go for over 1700, and they had to pick it up.

[Bob Feeser]

Thanks for all that information Bob. I have one on the way also. I was already doing a little rewiring in my garage for a new Griz 605z when this beauty of a deal dropped from heaven. I cut a lot of hardwood and a fair amount of sheet stock so this should also be my "lifetime" saw. Daryl, I hope you have fun with your saw also. Merry Christmas

What is a Griz 605z. I am assuming it is a Grizzly model, but I was unable to Google it. Just getting excited about your new additions, and was curious to know. Bob

[Daryl Upole]

Yes, Bob, I could not believe the deal. Amazon had the wrong picture which is why it probably sat there. It was $2,150 with shipping. I was struggling between used unisaw $1,300, a Grizzly @ $1,300, or a PM2000 @ $2,200. All had the 50" fence with 3HP - which was all fine with me. I think you're right on the competitive pricing - I've found this unit was going for over $3,000 with the shipping factored it. So, it's a once in my lifetime purchase and coupled with this once in my lifetime deal - could not pass it up. Now I can liquidate those 2 Crafstman contractor saws once and for all.

[Bob Feeser]

Daryl,
We are all squeezed for space, at least most of us are but before you dump the Sears contractors saws, consider using one for a routing station, and to act as a second saw, for those times when you may want to dado, or use a repetitive setup. Here is my Dads circa 1950 Sears contractor saw, that I built a router station out of

This is just a moderate suggestion, everyones setup is different. Plus what is already being used, etc...
Just a note about the concern comparing the PM2000 with the 66. Just some notes:
PM2000 made in Taiwan, which is not neccessarily a bad thing.
PM2000 in a series was having problems with blade angle being off when fully extended. Not the case with any of the 66s
Polished top on 66 not so with PM2000.
Fine Woodworking rated the PM2000 better than the 66, but they had the off angle cast iron top/blade alignment problem, showing in their specs of being off to miter track, that I mentioned above. (I guess they didn't think removing the top, and reaming the slots as a procedure they wanted to consider to have to do in a run off)
The PM2000 comes with a built in mobile base function, which is not what I want to do with a 500 pound plus saw, attached to a side extension and outfeed table. That is a great feature for someone who wants to move it out of the way though.
The 66 has a more substantial trunion, heavier, from what others who have seen them side by side. Does the penny test work on the 2000 as well. Maybe it does.
I am not trying to knock anything, both are obviously great saws. I am getting perfect results out of my 66, accurate to a thousandth measuring with a dial caliper after a cut. Blade exactly paralell to the miter track. Even the bevel stops, I am able to accurately get a perfect 90 and 45, just using the stops, and a gentle feel for how much pressure to put at the end of the stop.
I also wanted to mention that I put an Incra TSIII 32 fence on it, and placed the Accu Fence (Beismeyer knock off) on the Sears setup. That is fodder for another post. The Beis and Accu are both great industrial grade fences though, and with a little effort when making a setting, just using the hairline indicator, you can get accuracy off the chart.
Are you dreaming of when it arrives?

[Randy Davidson]

What is a Griz 605z. I am assuming it is a Grizzly model, but I was unable to Google it. Just getting excited about your new additions, and was curious to know. Bob

Sometimes I wonder where those things come out of my brain. Got my xyz's messed up. Should have been G0605x. Great looking saw but I just couldn't let this PM by me. Can't wait till it gets here. I've been looking at two saw setups so I may be able to retain my Ridgid 3650.

[Daryl Upole]

Bob - I may keep one or both. Tried ebay but no luck. I do some house rehabs once in awhile and having the Craftsman on site was a whole lot better than not. The one I've been using in the shop has an Incra fence system - so I might try your suggestion with that. I've got a great shop with a 36' x 48' footprint. But by the time I set aside a room for finishing, one for the garden tractor & stuff, compresssor & DC room - I'm down to half. As crazy as it seems, with materials/projects I'm still almost tripping over myself! I try to keep one bay open for working on cars, equipment, cutting sheet material, etc. I do like the idea of two saws for certain cuts, etc. I've used my second one now to have the dado set up. Maybe I could integrate it at the opposite end of the PM outfeed table?

One other question, on the specs I think the PM was 34"+ high. I've set everything up in my shop based on Danny Proulx cabinet system with the adjustable legs. So, most of my counter spaces, cabinets, etc. are about 35". But this makes it easy to add other stuff with a level top even with the others. I always set everything up with a level & just adjusted the legs for the shop floor slope. Does anyone out there level the PM with shims, set it up an inch or two? etc.?

[Steve Kohn]

I have an older, circa 2000, PM66. I am of average height, about 5' 11", and quickly found that the saw was too low for comfort as it came from the factory. I have mine raised about 2 inches with a mobile base and levelers.

The extra height does make it more difficult to change blades, but easier to use.