powermatic 14" bandsaw

[Jeff]

Does anybody have this saw:

'd love to get feedback from somebody who knows.

TIA, Jeff

[SteveC]

I saw this Powermatic saw at a woodworking show recently. Very impressive. I'm gonna buy the Powermatic or the Grizzly G0555X 14" bandsaw. I'm leaning toward the Grizzly. Any opinions?

[David]

I may be somewhat unique in that I had a bad experience with this saw. It was about $850 at the time (with riser block). Nicely made, but the guide rod was twisted so the guides would move 1/4 inch left or right as they were moved up and down, requiring readjustment whenever the stock thickness changed. 6 weeks for a replacement. Better but not perfect. Powermatic suggesting loosening the bolt between the top and bottom halves of the saw, and twisting, which required readjusting the table to keep it perpendicular to the blade. (They said there was no need to make any effort to keep the wheels coplanar.) Helped, but still far from perfect. Lots of "barreling" to the cut, so I tried an Iturra spring and better blade. The quick release broke. Overall, it never worked any better than my 12" sears - although I never tried any serious resawing.

I was frustrated enough to get rid of it. I ended up paying $200 more for a Grizzly 0513x. (The current g0513X2 is $1044 delivered, and looks to have a better trunnion than mine, although I have no complaints.) Very happy. Much quieter, tracks perfectly, cuts anything. Everything works effortlessly. Biggest problem was the challenge of getting it into the basement!

Good luck David

Jeff wrote:

[Jeff]

David: How long ago was this? I'm not feeling good vibes...

[David]

August 2006. Before and after that there were good reviews on the wreck and elsewhere. While it just didn't work for me, YMMV. My main thought for you is that for not much more money you can get a MUCH nicer tool. The flipside is that you may be able to get a near equal tool (Rikon, Grizzly) for considerably less (although I personally have not used them). I think Grizzly will help you find local owners if you want to see something in person.

The "features" were all nice, but not really necessary. The quick release (a nice thing, but now available on most saws) bumped into the light. The auxiliary table is on the back where it is seldom needed. I never got around to installing it. I'm not sure the blower did anything.

I purchased mine from amazon, and was pleased with their service. They eventually took it back, minus a healthy fee (because I didn't tell them I was waiting for the guide post as my 30 day return window closed). They could have left me trying to sell it on my own.

David

Jeff wrote:

[Neillarson]

My experience is completly opposite Dave's. I bought my saw in February of this year, I got it for $899.99 with the riserblock kit and a $100.00 rebate. Took a month to get the riser kit and 6 weeks to get the rebate.

I assembled the saw myself and by myself (NOT recommended, this thing is heavy). I adjusted it according to the directions and installed the stock blade as all the blades I had ordered for it were 105's for the saw with the riser. I uesd the saw as it was for a month with no issues but without really straining it. After I received the riser and installed it, again by myself (really stupid this time), I put on a nice 3TPI hook blade in 3/4", trued up the table, adjusted the blade guides and support bearing and started resawing. The saw was dead on, plenty of power, I was resawing some 8 inch wide bloodwood and some real nice 9 inch wide walnut.The saw is vibration free and quiet, dust collection is ok. I do agree that the table extension at the rear is not a lot of help. I will also say that the fence, while well made and nicely adjustable, is too short to be of much use and there are no holes to attach an extension, so I had to drill it.

As far as comparing it too the Rikon and the Grizzly, I only have one Grizzly tool (a mortiser) and I am not crazzy about it, but it was cheap. I also like to put my hands on something that I am going to drop a grand on. The Rikon looked nice, but I was not able to get any real good feedback on it at the time. If I was doing it again, I would look more seriously at it.

The end result for me was that the saw "Felt" better, "Looked" better, had a real Carter blade relase and Carter type guides. I decided to pay a little more for something I knew to be a quality tool that worked out to be just that in my shop.

[Bonehenge (B A R R Y)]

I also did both of those steps alone on my Delta.

I feel your pain!

[Maxwell Lol]

had saved the money to buy the Powermatic instead. It's a better deal in the long run.