Powermatic 66 - USA Made?

[Rob Will]

Is the Powermatic 66 still USA made?

Does Powermatic plan to continue building the 66?

Thanks,

Rob

[John Browne]

Yes, in Tennessee, down the road from the old factory in McMinville. Delta, and all the rest of the Big Brands are made in Asia (Taiwan or PRC).

No one can say how long they will make it--as long as there is a profitable market, I guess.

[Dana Vogel]

I was told by a tool distributor in Nashville who deal directly with Powermatic/Jet that the 66 will be discontinued and be replaced by a PM**** model made in Taiwan. Also all manufacturing in the USA will be move to Taiwan. So get your 66 now if you want an American made saw.

[Rod Sheridan]

Yes, in Tennessee, down the road from the old factory in McMinville. Delta, and all the rest of the Big Brands are made in Asia (Taiwan or PRC).

No one can say how long they will make it--as long as there is a profitable market, I guess.

General is still made in Canada......Rod.

[Ben Martin]

Yes, in Tennessee, down the road from the old factory in McMinville. Delta, and all the rest of the Big Brands are made in Asia (Taiwan or PRC).

No one can say how long they will make it--as long as there is a profitable market, I guess.

Hmm, I was watching an episode of "Cool Tools" on DIY network last week and they toured the Unisaw factory in Alabama or Tennessee, I forgot where, but nonetheless, it was in the USA. SO, unless that show was very old (which it wasn't reconizably old) the Unisaw is still made in the USA....

[Steven Wilson]

Rob, the castings haven't been made in the USA for a few years now. Assembly is still done in the USA. If you want a USA made tablesaw with well seasoned castings forged in the USA you'll need to buy a Northfield.

[Bob Feeser]

When I bought my PM66 in 2004 I was told by the Powermatic rep that they were losing money on every saw. They also explained to me that the workers were angry at losing their jobs overseas. Not that I blame them, but they are taking it out on the saw. The engineering is superb, the parts are magnificent, the assembly sucks. I had 7 major reassembly problems that had to be done. Things such as the plate they weld to the top of the cabinet, wasn't even eyeball close to square. This is a plate that the enlongated holes are in that the top mount bolts slide through. That way you can adjust the top to get the miter slot parallel to the blade. That was impossible with how far off they assembled it. I had to remove the top, and drill/enlongate the holes, just to be able to set it properly. That is just one thing. Without going into a dissertation on reassembly for the PM66, I also had to remove the rule for the bevel indicator angle, and reposition it and redrill, and install. The insert was rocking in the slot, so that had to be flattened with a rubber hammer. I could go on.
I do want you to understand, that if I had to buy another one, I would do it, just expect to do a certain amount of rebuilding of the saw. All told, I still think it is either the best, or one of the best considering the Saw Stop is out there.
I bought PM 8" jointer made in Taiwan, and the PM Hollow Chisel Mortiser station made in Taiwan, and they came right out of the box, perfectly square, and well assembled. With all of that heavy cast iron, I couldn't imagine anything more substantial or well made. I did have a problem with some rust on the top of the jointer under the cosmolene. A splash of moisture must have got to it before they protected it. I was able to sand it out with a ROS and finer grits, and Amazon rewarded me with a PM side table size mobile base for pennies on the dollar. By the way the jointer was $1100 and it was $1800 prior to that, and Powermatic is now making money on it too.
I know this is all controversial stuff, considering losing jobs right now is a problem, but I do have to tell you what happened. First we realize what the problem is and then we fix it. Many Creekers have mentioned they would rather buy something built over here and pay a little more for it, then go for an overseas product. Well how about our guys help out a little and give them a product that is worth hoping for. Sorry but they butchered the assembly of my saw, and I am not the only one. Check out the reviews in Amazon, most of them had to redrill, relaign etc. I know that some adjustments are always necessary when buying big iron, but these things were outright screw you. Then they enclosed the check sheet that had initials next to every adjustment being set up and checked. All items were initialed, like the 45 degree bevel stop was checked, and it was about 50 degrees, etc. It was impossible to get the blade to not only get parallel to the miter, you also couldn't tilt it to a 45 and clear the saw cast iron top. Someone not knowing, could have tilted it, and started the motor, and chewed up the slot and the blade. C'mon guys unless we get together and get this worked out, even the 66 is going bye bye. The PM rep said that a new employee totally unskilled, starting out sweeping the floors, starts at 20 per hour. I am not against Unions, but in this case, this is reverse discrimination. Net result, the company has to lose money on every saw.
I could go into my pep rally, about how we can rekindle the American spirit, and not listen to the naysayers, ....

[Mike Gabbay]

I was told by a local tool dealer that the PM66 is not entirely made in the US anymore. There are parts (cabinet and some electronics including motor) that are being made overseas and assembled in the US.

He recommended the 2000 over the 66 and even the General. He sells General, PM, and Steel City.

[Mike Spanbauer]

I actually read from another site this morning that the last PM66 rolled off the line last week. There was no fanfare as PM doesn't really want to "market" this to the world.

I don't know who the source was exactly, but it would be disappointing if this were true.

/guards '84 PM66 with a shotgun :P

mike

[David DeCristoforo]

"Rob, the castings haven't been made in the USA for a few years now..."

In 1988 I was working in a shop and the owner wanted to buy a large shaper. He had narrowed it down to two machines, a PM and a "Master Machinery" shaper made in Taiwan. I went with him to look at the machines and they were exactly the same! The PM did have a Baldor motor and "American branded" switch and starter. But everything else about the two machines was identical. It was very obvious that the major components came from the same factory.

The sad truth is that we have completely decimated our "manufacturing sector" in the attempt to keep costs down and profits high. I really feel that we are all to blame. It's not just the manufacturers because they would never resort to these tactics if we refused to buy the products. We are as much to blame as the manufacturers. How many of us are really willing to spend "twice the price" for a machine (or anything else for that matter) simply because it has "Made in America" stamped on it? Until we are, I'm afraid we are not going to see American made products re-emerge as the "gold standard" they once were.

YM

[Lance Norris]

The sad truth is that we have completely decimated our "manufacturing sector" in the attempt to keep costs down and profits high. I really feel that we are all to blame. It's not just the manufacturers because they would never resort to these tactics if we refused to buy the products. We are as much to blame as the manufacturers. How many of us are really willing to spend "twice the price" for a machine (or anything else for that matter) simply because it has "Made in America" stamped on it? Until we are, I'm afraid we are not going to see American made products re-emerge as the "gold standard" they once were.

YM

Id like to know how we are the problem here. We had nothing to do with the movement of manufacturing overseas. Its corporate greed and the bottom line. We didnt demand cheaper priced products. I lost my job as a result of outsourcing. You better read the TOS here at the Creek about posting political argument's.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/terms.php

[Rod Sheridan]

Lance, I'm sorry to hear about your loss of employment due to outsourcing, however in my opinion, Yoshikuni is correct.

Suppliers sell us what we want to buy, when we buy a Delta piece of machinery, or General International, we are purchasing imported machinery.

When I purchase General machinery, I'm purchasing a locally manufactured piece of machinery.

Yes the General costs much more than the Delta, General International, Steel City etc, however you are obtaining a higher quality product. My basement mostly contains General machinery because I am willing to pay the premium.

If we all voted with our dollars and purchased locally manufactured machinery, the jobs would stay here, however we all want everything cheaper, even if unfortunately, we damage our local and national economy.

That said, after all the Canadian flag waving, I spent money at the Felder booth yesterday on a planer/jointer which is an imported machine for Canada. In this case it wasn't cost, it was the fact that there wasn't a Canadian (or American) manufacturer of the machine.

I hope you are able to find an equivalent job to the one you lost, best regards, Rod.

[Stan Welborn]

Id like to know how we are the problem here. We had nothing to do with the movement of manufacturing overseas. Its corporate greed and the bottom line. We didnt demand cheaper priced products. I lost my job as a result of outsourcing. You better read the TOS here at the Creek about posting political argument's.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/terms.php

Yeah, I guess companies could just close the doors, if they can't be profitable, instead of going overseas. Either way, the jobs are lost.

I like it here and have had enough posts edited, so I'll refrain from speaking my mind about labor.

[Terre Hooks]

There are no more PM 66's being manufactured or assembled.

[David DeCristoforo]

" You better read the TOS here at the Creek about posting political argument's. "

So sorry...this was not my intent. Please accept my apologies....

YM