Small Craft Home : My Shop : Powermatic66
Tools and the Shop
Powermatic Model 66 Cabinet Saw
Having built two small boats in the past three years without the aid of a tablesaw I decided that I really needed one before the next project. I was planning on a small contractor's saw but circumstances and a nice bonus at work led to the decision to buy a big cabinet saw. After weeks of research I decided on the Powermatic.
I ordered it from Amazon's Tool Crib - it was the cheapest price I could find and there was no shipping charge. Along with the saw I ordered a Forrest Woodworker II blade, and a Shopfox mobile base directly from Grizzly.
The saw arrived within two weeks. It came on the back of a full-on semi tractor/trailer rig. I was worried about how I'd get it off the truck since they are usually delivered F.O.B. Fortunately, the carrier - ABS - called a week in advance to schedule delivery time and told me there would be a lift gate on the trailer. So when the day came the driver was able to lower the pallet the saw was bolted to right to the level of my pickup truck's bed and we just pushed it in (there's no way that big rig would make it to my garage). Instant loading dock!
I unpacked the saw and removed the top to lighten the load and then had three neighbors help to lower the saw to the shop floor (right onto the mobile base). A few hours of re-assembly and I was ready to go!
In assembly I ran into two issues: first the Accu-Fence that came with the saw appeared to have been damaged even before packaging. It was bent in just the right place, and just the right amount, such that it wouldn't actually fit over the fence tube. Second, after wiring the switch I found that the saw wouldn't actually power up (or off) with the switch cover in place. Without the cover on things worked just fine. After some fiddling around it became clear that the switch mechanism was not fully seated within the back half of the covering box. A good push seated it and the the saw started fine with the cover in place.
A call to Amazon's customer service resulted in an email notification that a new replacement fence was on the way directly from Powermatic. Simple and quick resolution with no effort on my part beyond the phone call. Well of course it took about three weeks for the replacement to arrive and when it did it was also not quite up to snuff. In this instance the plastic fence cheek pieces were both so bowed (vertically) that mid-table there was a gap between the fence bottom and the table top of almost a quarter inch! Since Powermatic had kindly sent the replacement fence without demanding the return of the original I was able to bash the two together (good fence design - easy to remove the plastic cheek pieces) to create one good fence.
The saw also came with a tenoning jig which is pretty nifty. I haven't used it yet but it seems well made and is nice and hefty. I've also purchased a SuperBar and MasterPlate manufactured by MasterGage - used for setting up and precisely aligning the saw (and many other things besides).
I've started making jigs for the saw - the first being a crosscut sled which I'm almost done building. Simon Watts also suggests a simple sled using a pair of Jorgensen 1600 hold-down clamps with a small-ish (12" x 20") piece of 3/4" plywood that simply runs along the edge of the saw fence. It's handy for securing oddly shaped pieces (like knees and frames).
I've started spending lots of time reading the contents of a few woodworking sites including WoodCentral and John Lucas' Woodshop Demos. Worth a look.
More info as I play with the saw and get to know it