PM66: an Odyssey of Inheritance, Heavy Lifting, and Rescue (with Pics(!))

[David Klotz]

Folks -

I am a newbie Creeker, and grateful to have found this Forum. My Father, very unfortunately, passed away nearly ten years ago, and left me a Powermatic 66, that sat in his barn workshop in Massachusetts all this time. I live in Upstate NY, only started woodworking seriously several years ago, and didn't go get it for two reasons: 1) afraid of the power; 2) afraid of trying to get the beast into my basement workshop, which requires a lift up three steps into the house, then a descent down thirteen steps into the spacious shop. (No walkout or Bilcos.)

Based on posts here, and my skills advancing to the point that I wanted something more powerful than the Jet Contrafctor saw that has served me very well, I saddled up.

The purpose of the remainder of the post is to share the resurrection of a fine tool, that has immeasurable sentimental value to me, and to show others that it isn't quite as bad as it seems.

THE BIG PICTURE:
1- Rent moving equipment
2- Sadlle up
3- Run to Mass
4- Break the saw down into smaller parts
5- Take copious notes on how to put it back together.
6- Don't lose any parts.
7- Don't hurt my back.


GEAR FOR THE MOVE:
1-I am all set with a tow vehicle (full sized, Diesel pickup). And, yeah, it's a Cummins(!);
2- Trailer: I rented a 9'x5' open trailer from UHaul, which has a very sturdy ramp that folds down for easy loading, $25 per day;
3- I dress like a bum, and was patient with the harried guy at UHAUL, and got the slick appliance dolly for free. This is a key piece of equipment. It is a burly dolly, with a stout ratchet strap, and belts mounted on the back to allow you to walk the dolly up stairs, and ease it down stairs.

Upon arrival in Mass, I saw this:

It's a 3 hp (Leeson, not Baldor powered) PM66, in overall very solid condition, but in need of some help. My Dad bought it used from a private individual. To the best of my knowledge, it has not seen any commercial service.The table had some serious surface rust.

And I got to work.

[David Klotz]

Taking the PM66 apart was pretty straightforward. Off came the blade, fence, insert, cabinet covers, and switch panel. Then, the wings. Kinda heavy, but manageable for one guy. Then the main table came off by removing three bolts. That sucker is heavy, and I slid it straight onto a high wheeled cart, and left it on the cart until I finessed it into the bed of the truck.

I have read here that removing the main table is a last resort, due to there being keyed shims underneath it. I didn't know this when I removed it, but would have removed the main table anyway, because I needed to get the weight down. I called PM tech support earlier this week, and they told me that not all PM66 saws needed main table shimming. If mine wasn't shimmed, and it wasn't, it was because it didn't need to be shimmed. (My Dad wouldn't have missed the shim issue. He was a very talented mechanical engineer, and a real belt and suspenders guy by nature.)

The motor comes off with two bolts, and I had an office chair on wheels waiting for it to plop onto. What is left is the cabinet base, trunnion, tilt and lift mechanisms.

Onto the dolly that went, then I simply pushed the dolly onto the trailer, undid the ratchet strap, then retightened it after securing the saw and dolly to a trailer rail. Rock solid. All other saw parts fit nicely under the truck cap in the bed of the truck. Arrived home Sunday afternoon at 2pm. The tow went fine. No damage of any kind to any of the saw parts.

With very little difficulty, I was able to get everything into the basement myself, using repeated dolly trips for the heavy pieces, except the cabinet base. That piece is pretty beasty. Here's what it looks like on the dolly in the middle of my kitchen, right where my wife didn;t really want it(!)

[Brad Noble]

Quick, more pictures!

Brad

[Peter Quinn]

Nice. I love it. Beautiful pics. Saving the old iron...very rewarding. Please keep it coming.

[David Klotz]

Well, one of my buddies came over to help, and with me below and him above, we coaxed it down the stairs. Since then, I have donw the following:

1) clean cabinet base
2) buff and fine sand the table tops (they look much better than in the attached picture);
3) thoroughly cleanr tilt and lift mechanisms, chip guard, power switch, and motor;
4) lubricate internals
5) hang the motor
6) re-install the drive belts

Then I got to dealing with re-installiong the tables. Not a really fun time. I had the wings on and off at least three times per winrg. Finally, with some adhesive aluminum foil tape, I got it shimmed so it is about as flat as I can get it. Try as I might, the left wing has a small, but noticeable sag in the middle. Less than 1/64", but you can feel it when you run your finger over it. No amount of shimming will fix it.

Then, I squared up the table to the blade. Run out is just under .001".
Then, I carefully adjusted the 45 degree tilt, and it is also good. Adjusted my base model Incra miter gauge.

Then, I ordered a Vega 50" fence. I ordered that directly from Vega. Amazon's site said that the fence "usually ships in 5-8 weeks." Vega took my order over the phone, and promised to ship it the same day I ordered it. Shortly after ordering the Vega fence, I saw a nifty Powermatic AccuFence, with table extension and legs, on sale in the SMC Classifieds. DOH!

Here are some pics of where it's at.....Also attached is a photo of my bench, with three vintage Stanley hand planes that I also inherited.

Still to go.
- Wire up 220 for the saw.
- Install new fence.
- Install aftermarket zero clearance insert.
- Fiddle with dust collection (cabinet is poorly, if at all sealed, and doesn't have an internal dust collection shroud like the new ones)

[David Klotz]

Thanks, guys.
Any PM aficionados out there that can tell me a little about my saw?
The Leeson isn's a bad thing is it, vis-a-vis Baldor power?
What year is this baby?
what's the original PM66 fence worth in the SMC Classifieds (replacing with aftermarket)?
Is this saw worth $1000?
FYI, serial # = 8266852

Here's a shot of the mighty trunnion assembly, before cleaning and lubrication. All that pitch on the chip deflector came right off with a little persuausion from an old chisel.

[James Hart]

It's a 1982, the first 2 numbers in the serial #. I have the identical saw, same year, everything. It will be worth the effort. It's easily worth $1,000, more when you're finished with it.

Jim

[Kurt Bird]

David,
My saw looks very similar (yearwise) to yours. You can usually find someone selling a new PM Accufence on eBay for about $150. There is a new front rail (with the tape measure on it) on the same site for about $110. If you have a little patience, you can outfit the saw very well without spending an arm or a leg! Best of all, you can enjoy the feeling of putting your Dad's saw back in action. Way to go!
Kurt

[J. Z. Guest]

My condolences on your dad's passing.

Congratulations on the saw though. I'm sure he'd be happy to know that you're resurrecting it.

Come to think of it, there aren't many better ways to remember a man than by keeping his tools in use and in good shape.

Leeson motors are the equal to Baldor, in my opinion. They're both industrial grade.

[Dave MacArthur]

Great work and post! I have the manuals for your saw, if you'll PM me your email I'll send it to you. I spent some time on OWWM and the WMH site and online searching, wasn't as easy as I thought as the manuals don't have the date for the saws they serve, and the company changed hands several times around 1980-89. More confusing is that they didn't update the manuals that often.

Good luck, and if you post anything about cleaning the gears/trunnions so the saw adjusts smoothly, I'll be interested! Mine still needs some work there.

[David Klotz]

"...if you post anything about cleaning the gears/trunnions so the saw adjusts smoothly, I'll be interested! Mine still needs some work there...."

The tools I used were the following:

1- two different brass brushes; one about the size of two toothbrushes; and the other with bristles about 6 in. long and 1 in. wide;
2- old chisel, a slot tip screwdriver;
3- old paintbrushes;
4- WD-40;
5- shop vac.

First, I emptied the contents of the bottom of the cabinet with a small bucket, then the shop vac. Then, I used the old paintbrushes to get as much lightly embdedded sawdust out as possible. Shop vac again.

Second, I used the chisel and slot tip screwdriver to clean the pitched up residue on the chip guard, and very, very lightly ran them through the grooves in the tilt mechanism to release accumulated grime.

Third, I brass brushed all the worm gears used to lift and tilt the saw blade. Then I vacuumed again.

Then, with the extension hose on the WD-40 can, I hit all the areas of accumulated grime, let it soak, then scrubbed like heck with the brass brushes. The back of my hands got skinned up pretty good in this phase, so gloves would be a good idea. I think it is almost impossible to do this part of the job effectively without removing the tables and cabinet covers.

I then let everything dry, and cleaned as much of the residue away as possible with clean, dry towels.

Regarding lubrication, Powermatic customer service suggested I use white lithium grease, which seems to me like it would accumulate sawdust very quickly. I didn't use it. Instead, and as a temporary measure, I lightly hit the pivot points and gears with silicone spray. (I am researching long term lubricants that will dry pretty hard, and will report my findings.)

The tilt mechanism is like butter now. You can literally give it a good spin, and it will zip through almost all of its range of motion on its own. I would note, though, that the smaller locking knob for the tilt wouldn't lock on the shaft properly, due to the flat part of the shaft being deformed over the years where the knob tightens to it by allen bolt. A couple of light passes with a metal file squared that back up, and the lock knob is working 100% again. The lift mechanism is also very smooth.

[Randy Davidson]

I'm sitting on the edge of my chair reading this. I love my PM66 and like reading about restoration though mine was not. Your father would be so happy to have his son using this saw.
Can't wait to hear your comments after firing it up.

[Mike Spanbauer]

Good work! I've an '83 and had a more intense restoration project for mine than yours even. Leeson was formed by Lee Baldor's Son (hence, the name Lee's Son...)

Looks like it's coming back very nicely! Keep up the pics and let us know how it comes back! I also have all of the PM66 manuals in pdf format (courtesy of PM tech support when I was trying to find mine). I don't know if I have the exact manual for my saw, but they are all similar enough that any are good enough.

Cheers,

Mike

From Leeson site:
*Our Beginnings

Our enthusiasm for this business has stood the test of time. It has continued through three generations of a single family devoting themselves to the manufacture of motors and related power transmission components. It began over 80 years ago with Emil Doerr at St. Louis Electrical Works, later renamed Baldor Electric, with Emil as co-founder. In 1939, Emil's son Lee and two of his brothers founded Doerr Electric. Finally, in 1972, Lee's sons formed LEESON Electric Corporation. Few American companies can trace their roots so deeply, and fewer still can draw upon such a wealth of electric motor manufacturing experience.*

[John Browne]

Great posts! I have a 99 '66 and I love it love it love it. Was like new when I got it (it also was in a basement). Your dad would be enormously proud of the care you're putting into getting it working again. He obviously cared enough to invest in good tools...

[Russ Filtz]

Don't know about Leeson's, but Baldor's are nothing special. They are the bottom of the commercial barrel I believe. Could be wrong now or in this size. I think we used to spec Siemens or Toshiba if we wanted "good" motors.