PM66 vs General 650

[scott spencer]

Since my pics caused some confusion earlier, I spent a couple of hours today searching for an actual pic of the General's trunnions... I did find a low resolution pic of the General 350 trunnions. The pic of the Griz 1023 trunnions was merely used to give an idea of the differences between mounting brackets of the PM66 and the General's trunnion design...the Griz and the General trunnions are mounted differently from the PM66's, but Griz's picture was much better. Hope this helps.

PM66:


General 350:
G350.jpg

[Scott Seigmund]

General 350.jpg

Here's a picture of the General 350 trunnion. As you can see, it has more similarities to the PM66 than the Unisaw or Grizzly 1023 copy.

-Scott

[Bob Hallowell]

I once considered an import vs domestic. I climbed into the cabinets at woodworker supply one by one and examined the bolts threads of each. i ran my finger along every gear in each one. i examined for sae gradeings.I examined the cut of the gears.The salesguy thought i was some kind of nut,when i told him I dont care if the top is shiney or if the paint is glossy...i want to see what it will be like in 10 or 15 years.Whats going to rust? Whats going to wear out?I did the same thing recently at Wood Craft. I made the same decision as I did the first time. Everyone really should do that for themself.NOTHING has changed in that respect.The tops have simply gotten shiney-er.The internal machineing is still the same. Some good...many CRAP!
Some countries I would be comfortable buying from...some NOT.

I did see a titanium coated saw top recently....now that just strikes me as RETARDED!

Well I guess I own a RETARDED saw whch btw I really like. I got a good deal on it but I love the titainium top as my saw lives in my unheated garage and when drastic temp chages come thur It's the only tool out there I don't need to clean the rust off of.

Bob

[Jeff Duncan]

Zach, you've already gotten a bunch of info, I'll just throw a few other observations into the mix.
I've used the 66's, Uni's, Tannewitz's, Olivers, etc and for a general purpose cabinet saw I have to say the 66 is the best saw I've used. For my own shop I went with a Uni b/c it was what was in my budget at the time. Unfortunately I haven't used the General, haven't really bumped into any either.
As far as "offshore" that's a very broad term. There are many European made machines that put some of the US made stuff to shame (take a look at Martin or SCMI). There are many factors that make a broad statement like that inaccurate. There are some very good machines coming from Asia as well as other points on the globe. However most small shop owners are looking for inexpensive machinery and so they don't really have much experience with the better made equipment. There is so much competition for the small shop that companies have to make their machines cheaper and cheaper. How many times have you seen forums where guys push knockoff brands in favor of US made stuff. That's why it's unaffordable to make machines in this country anymore, not enough people are willing to pay for quality. I would argue that any Asian country with modern manufacturing facilities could build a machine as good or better than any other country. But they build to they're clients price point, not to provide superb quality.
Anyway enough rambling, either saw will do what you need and will have parts readily available, so flip a coin. Or for that matter which color best goes with your decor? I've also looked into the Sawstop, have no idea where it's made, but if I was buying new that's what I'd get. As much as I liked working with a 66, the Sawstop reflects real improvement in design IMHO, whereas the Uni and 66 are almost unchanged over the decades. I've got too many other machines on my short list, but if someone wanted to trade a Sawstop for my 54' USA made Uni, I wouldn't have to think twice.
good luck,
JeffD

[Dave MacArthur]

I'd like to say thanks Scott Spencer for taking the time to find and post some very interesting pictures of various trunnion systems. We often read about saws being better/worse based on trunnion, but this is the first time I've ever seen some pics for side by side comparison, very interesting!

[Jon Grider]

Just a couple of observations on my mid 90's 66,and qualifying that with the admission that I've never used a General.I can compare it to an old Unisaw and contractor grade Craftsman from the 1950's both of which I knew intimately.
My 66 is well built overall,and to address a couple of your concerns,the miter gauge engages the slot well,and the depth of cut and tilt mechanisms,both work well with accurate repeatability.The Bessie style fence is very good as is the flatness of the table.The side table wings bolted on pretty much dead nut true out of the box.The 3 hp Baldor has never given me any trouble or even shown more than a hint of slowing when cutting some pretty hard stuff.
Lest I sound like a PM rep,I'll point out some of the shortcomings.The plastic motor cover is ill fitting and cheap.Ditto on the plastic handles attached to the DOC and tilt wheels.The dado head insert took extensive filing and sanding before it would drop into the table recess.
After owning this saw for nearly a decade and a half,I can say that I made a good purchase.