Customer Reviews
Good quality saw minor issues 
2006-08-24
I bought this saw a few weeks ago and so far it works great. Assembly was straight forward but mildly challenging. A lot of you guys complain that you have to adjust everything on the saw to make it run right. I think this is great because I know that if anything does go out of adjustment in the future, I can fix it. It's a great solid piece. My only dissapointment was that the back rail of the included accufence had all the holes drilled in the wrong locations, none of them matched the holes already in the table. So I had to drill new holes to make it work. I almost cried to have to drill new holes but it turned out just fine. I'm sure I could have called powermatic and had a new one sent out, but I'm impatient. My other complaint is that you have to wedge a board into the blade in order to change it. It's old school and I dont like changing a blade that way. The 66 model has an arbor lock on it that aparently hasn't made it to this model yet. I bought the mobile base for the saw and dont regret it. Moving this thing without it would be hard. I paid $749 on sale for this saw at a local distributer. So far I love the saw despite its minor setbacks.
built like a TANK 
2005-12-21
i bought this table saw two years ago and have used it to build a number of pieces of furniture around the house including: a bookcase, two stools, a toy box, a built-in four cabinet wardrobe system, a vanity, a linen closet and most recently a set of kitchen cabinets.
one thing about this saw is that it's pretty SOLID from the cast iron wings to the terrific rip fence. all of this adds to the overall weight of the saw which is great for minimizing the vibrations. putting it together will definitely take you a few hours and a bit or perspiration - consider getting some help when you're tilting it on to the base, although i did it alone without too much back strain. fine tuning the adjustments are not impossibly difficult as long as you have an engineer's square to alight the front and rear rails for the fence. don't waste too much time trying to get your cast iron extension wings to less than 0.0000005 - it's a HOMEOWNER's table saw and your wood will probably expand/contract much more than that for crying out loud! make sure that you fit a panel to cover up the back of the saw and tape up the seams around the dust port on the bottom so that you can get decent suction from a dust collector which is also a requirement unless you enjoy arguing with your wife about the dust that's currently blanketed her new car! the blade guard works extremely well but i recommend not fastening the screws on the INSIDE of the saw too tightly so that you can swing it upwards when you need to make a non-through cut. converting it to 220 volts is a MUST unless you enjoy seeing the lights dim every time that you turn it on - not too difficult with the drawn in wiring diagram and an 18 gauge cable and a replacement dryer plug from home depot. don't forget to buy some form of mobile base or you WILL NOT be able to budge this beast once it's standing on its feet. one last piece of advice, if you find that you can't raise the blade, look inside the cabinet of the saw and make sure that the miter gauge didn't fall into it like mine did. BTW, a woodworker two blade and a sliding table will maximize the capabilities to this fine table saw.
this is a fantastic saw, but if i had to do it all over again, i would strongly consider either the ridgid contractor saw from the local borg since it's about $400 cheaper and has many features including dust shroud and integrated mobile base, the sawstop with it's blade-braking device/riving knife or the new craftsman hybrid saw.
highly consider ALTERNATIVE methods of cutting dovetail joints, tenons and dados like hand tools which are MUCH safer. don't crosscut with the rip fence and ALWAYS use push sticks for narrow pieces!
You can do better if you want to spend a Bundle. 2005-10-18
These usually come out in my wife's name. She's never used a table saw. This is Bruce. Before purchasing a table saw, I drove a hundred miles East then another West and man was it disgusting to find absolutely nothing I'd want to own. Lowes, Home Depot, local lumber yards, hardware stores, I actually gave up and went online.
I found this saw on sale at Amazon for $849 with free shipping, and yes you absolutely need the mobile base if you pull it out and put it back.
1. The solid cast iron top is one requirement my saw needed, it has it.
2. A fantastic rip fence, this one exceeded my expectation, even has high density plastic on both sides to cut friction. Adjustment is a breeze and very accurate. You will love the AccuFence.
3. The power of the motor is incredible, 2 HP I believe. I cut two inch exotic hardwoods like it was butter.
Only complaint and it's minor, the lock-knobs on the tilt and height adjustment are small and could be on a larger shaft. They work though, and that's what matters.
Best saw I've ever owned. The only better saw I've ever used is a Delta Unisaw, but at twice the price it better be great. Buy it, you can thank me later.
Good Saw....but 
2004-03-05
The good things about this saw: It's easy to assemble (one person can assemble alone), it's powerful, the table is ground to precision, and, for the most part, assembly instructions are good.
The bad things about this saw: The worst feature is the only part made in the USA...the Accu-Fence. Neither the original fence nor the replacement fence I received are acceptable. Secondly, the arbor gearing inside the saw very quickly gums up with sawdust affecting the ease of blade height adjustment. Thirdly, you can simply throw away the dust collection plate since you will collect virtually no sawdust in your vac system.
This saw certainly beats my old Craftsman, but it's definitely not a 5 star piece of equipment.
Review from long-time owner 2004-01-08
I've been reading the reviews of this saw while out on the road for work and I'd like to offer my two-cents worth. I've had my Powermatic saw since 1998, purchased from Tool Crib which was an actual entity way back when. My saw has performed admirably through thick and thin with few exceptions. Those annoyances have already been addressed, but I'll list mine anyway. My belt guard rattled and whined until I removed it. Vibration was reduced with a link belt. I removed the blade guard/splitter assembly. After I hacked up a bunch of hickory scrap, I chucked the cheap blade. Put the saw on an HTC mobile base, man did that make my life easier. I also installed an aftermarket router table extension wing (Bench Dog)to the left side that fit flawlessly. Probably the most significant concern was blade alignment. Mine was almost 1/16 out. I loosened the two bolts on back side and whacked the arbor with a mallet and wood block. It moved easily into alignment. I have used this saw to cut 12/4 walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany etc. I only bogged the motor down once cutting green 12/4 hickory. I have no regrets whatsoever purchasing this saw and have recommended it to all my woodworking friends. They too have purchased this saw and all have been satisfied. Next month though, I'm moving up to a 66. Just built a new "garage"...at least that's what my wife calls it. More room equals bigger tools.
Solid machine 2008-05-24
This is the second powermatic tablesaw I have had the oppurtunity to work with. Assembly was easy, took about 4-5 hours. I had to take some time to get the motor alignment correct, but once everything was done properly it purrrs like a kitten. The accuaracy is great, very solid machine for many years of service. The one and only knock I can think of is the motor alignment. When first asembled I had alot of vibration. After looking closely the belt had rubbed on the guard screws and took a chunk out of it. Replaced belt, confirmed alignment, no problems since. Very happy with saw.
Gold Standard for 750$? 2008-05-06
Easy to assemble even for a novice. Took about 4 hours with the help of my Wife. Couple of gripes on set up is the guard for the drive belt. Your drive pulleys must be precisely aligned for it not to rub badly. Also, the blade guard/splitter combo anti kickback mechansims mar the item being cut. The guard splitter is also very bulky and akward to adjust, at least for me. Blade adjustment was neglible due to it being dead on out of the box.
The fence system is excellent, just make sure you align it properly or you will learn the hard way. Popped the breaker a few times, and some very loud/bad noises.
This is my first table saw and went with reputation and reviews, it is worth the 750$ I paid.
Just got most of it 2008-03-23
I just received most of the saw, the fence rail is missing, it's on the way. I assembled the saw lined everything up, but it vibrates. I don't know how this thing can pass a nickel test. I lined the pulleys up with a 32 inch level so they are pretty dead on. I notice the motor shakes a bit on start up and shut down, does this change if I wire it for 230? Any other helpful hints on getting it to stop shaking will be helpful.
Perfect Balance of Quality and Value 2007-04-14
I've owned the 50" version of this saw for 2 years now. I was enticed into purchasing this saw for a couple of reasons. First, it is left-tilting, which is safer for bevel cuts on the 'big' part of the table. Second, Powermatic was having a pretty good sale - I paid approximately $775 plus tax for the saw, 50" Accufence and extension table.
I took several hours assembling this saw. There are a lot of adjustments to make to get everything square. I read reviews that reducing arbor runout is difficult. I did the assembly by myself and my runout is no more than a few mils (vs. my miter slots). I did have to shim the cast iron wings to get the tabletop flat, which was a good bit of trial and error work.
I haven't had any issues with the belt cover. When I first assembled the belt cover rubbed against the belt, but that problem was easy to adjust.
I bought a Forrect Woodworker II blade and highly recommended it. My only complain with this saw is that the splitter/blade guard is hard to adjust. Even though I've tweaked and adjusted the splitter a couple of times, I still get slight binding after the wood passes my thin kerf WWII blade. It isn't problematic and I probably wouldn't have an issue with a regular kerf blade. I've recently purchase a SharkGuard aftermarket splitter to address the minor binding issue.
I bought thin kerf to minimize the load on the blade. I tried running this saw initially on 110V using a 15 AMP circuit. I blew the circuit a few times when I heavily loaded the saw. So, I strongly recommend upgrading to 220V or using the saw on 20 AMP 110V circuts (or more). The saw runs much better on 220V and I've had no issues since converting.
I've been very pleased with this saw. If you purchase, you might consider installing a router table in the extension table since it already has hardwood framing for one underneath. I installed the Rousseau router plate and Freud fence. I've been very happy with the combination.
Great Saw for the price. 2006-09-12
I did not buy this saw from Amazon, but I figure I should give a review since I use these reviews for research on a purchase. Thank you all others who have given these reviews.
As for the saw, it is a great saw. I could lean towards four stars but five is my choice for these reasons. It is a sturdy, simple, clean and I am sure it will be durable. It was a labor intensive process to put together (6 hours), but the instructions were clear, all the hardware was present and I had the outlook that I became really familiarized with the saw itself (more than I could with a prebuilt one). The table top is solid, (but there is small crack on one of the table extensions on the medial bolt side. I will ride it out to see if it gets longer, not visible from above). I just learned what the "nickle test" was and it passed with flying colors. Mind you that this table stands on a very sub par garage concrete floor that is rapidly falling apart. It is very quiet. I have a Forrest Combo saw blade on the way from Amazon and I am sure this will only add to the purr like sound it makes. I am using a Bosch stock blade from my 4000 table saw and it makes this blade perform better. The wings flushed out pretty well with the main table top. I did not make use of the fiberboard extension because I mounted my Bosch router table top as the extension. It was meant to be since the 27" width of the router top fit the depth of the table saw. Two drill holes on each side of the Bosch top and the unused bolts from the saw extension, I now have the router attached to the saw as an extension. The motor seems sound. This is another reason I went with this saw, (other than the Delta 10" Hybrid 36-717 was out of stock from my local retailer, so by fate I ended up with this great saw), I wanted a 110,115V/220,240V motor since I am not wired for the higher volts in my rented garage. To eventually convert to the higher voltage will be a flexibility I will come to appreciate in the future I am sure. I wish more of the cabinet saw styles came this way (particularly Powermatic). Finally, I like this fence a lot. The Beisemeyer fence is nice too but after feeling the weight of both, the thickness of the handles and the material used, the slick solid "plastic" on the Accufence verses, the laminate on the Beise, I felt the Accufence is a better, evolved choice. The handle hardware on the Accufence seems more durable base on thickness. I think this will be important in the long run since this is the "mechanical" part of the fence.
Again this could be a four star base on some cracking issues but I have faith that it won't be based on the solid materials and not to mention great warranty, so it gets a five from me.
