A fellow with failing health is selling a Powermatic 66, 3hp, 1phase, with
50" Beisemeyer fence and a CMT 8" dado set for $1800. It is 16 years old and has less than 100 hours of use. I took a look and it is in excellent condition. No rust on the table, everything works and is tight. I noticed that the tilt was hard to turn. He said he'd never tilted the blade in 16 years. Should I buy it?He had a bunch of other stuff as well, all top of the line Powermatic.
Should I buy it?
Does a wild bear walk in the woods?
Lew
NO! You shouldn't!
What's his name and where does he live (just wondering....)
jc
$1800 seems a little on the high side to me. As I recall, in 1990 that's about what they sold for new. I would expect to see a little bit more of a discount for used, even if just hardly.
And in a hobby application, 100 hours of use is a lot of turning on and turning off as well as run time. It's like being in a cabinet shop, running it continuously the full 8 hours, every day, for two and a half weeks. It's no wonder the tilt is stiff--it's probably packed with sawdust.
Not saying you shouldn't get it--just that the price seems a little high. Of course you could also argue that it really holds its value...
It sounds like a good saw and probably trouble free after you lubricate the insides so that the tilt will "tilt". IMHO he is selling for more than he paid and or more than you would have had to pay, I could be wrong. Although the age and use make the machine relatively brand new, the actual age works against it in what it would bring price wise. If you are OK with the price I would say that you are not going to get stung. That said, you can probably find a better deal. As a comparison, a brand new PM2000 with a Bies style fence is about 3 to 4 hundred dollars more with a warranty and more features.
sixteen years ago that saw and every component that went into it, was manufactured in the McMinnville, TN facility. That includes all of the castings which came from powermatic's dedicated foundry.
Today, the saws are assembled close to Nashville of compnents that come from...........?
If I had my choice.........
Frank
I wish it were closer, I would pay the price with no questions asked and then try to figure out what to do with two saws (although if I were forced to chose, I think I would have to take that particular vintage PM over my less than 6 year old Unisaw).
That they don't make them like that any longer is an understatement!
I bought a 66 about 1 1/2 years ago. It is a 5hp, single phase. I like it a lot, it has a router lift built into the table too. I think I paid about $2600 incl delivery. So the only concern I would have is the price. I would think it should be less, but I'm glad to hear they hold their value. Of course I am aware that an older saw may be better in terms of where it was made, but I have no complaints with mine. I got it online at etoolclub.com ( I think that's right).
It is a very good saw for the money.
I bought a 66 about 10 yrs ago and paid about 1800 for it. A wonderful piece of machinery. And the tilt is hard to turn. Just trying to find time and incentive to take off the top and clean/grease everything. Buy it - you'll be the envy of your block. I know I am except maybe for the guy with two Unisawrs. spend it, jo4hn
Before you take the top off and loose you alignment, try shooting Automotive Brake Cleaner on the gears and their mating surfaces using the small stemmed nozzle. This will wash away debris and old lubricant. Follow up with a dry lubricant or the one of your choice.
Agree...there should be no reason other than sawdust and grime (or perhaps the locking knob is turning on the locking shaft rather than loosening the lock as an outside rather farfetched possibility?) for the tilt to be hard. Air nozzle will do wonders to get stuff out of the gear teeth, etc. The rotating trunnions may be dry and crudded up, too.
My 66 is pushing 25 now and it's never been hard to tilt unless there was stuff in the way, but I've never had to take table off to clean it up...that would definitely be last resort kinda' effort...
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I do get the shop vac (small nozzle) in there to get the loose saw dust out. The manual (General Maintenance, pg 10) suggests a stiff brush plus a solvent or oven cleaner to remove pitch and gum. It says to remove the table by removing the three mounting screws and exposing the works. After cleaning it goes on to say to grease the tilting and raising worm and worm gear segments and the trunnions. It further suggests a grease such as Fisk Company "Lubriplate". Is that stuff diffenent from cup and chassis grease?
Anyway, I will try brake cleaner and the air nozzle before doing it the hard way. I appreciate your comments.
mahalo, jo4hn
Lubriplate is name brand name for a line of industrial lubricants including "cup and chassis grease"
IMHO, this is definitely a time for "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
A stiff brush to break up the clumps and gain access to the gear teeth so the brake cleaner can do it's job would be my choice.
When clean, I use spray on chain lube on my saw, it works for me.
Time to come down off the hill and do a little shopping at Grainger. They will have the industrial grade stuff on display at the counter.
Have fun
Lew
The manual ain't handy so don't know offhand what they specifically recommended. "Lubriplate" is a brand name, not a specific product so unless there's more than that, they haven't really told you anything.
What you want is something that isn't gooey and remains sticky like bearing/chassis greases that are sawdust magnets. One of the spray white lithium-based is what I use along w/ one of the (also spray) chain/cable lubes that penetrate and coat but aren't sticky.
The high-pressure air nozzle, followed by a small wire brush where can't get a big one (I have a brass-bristle toothbrush (battery terminal brush in reality) that is just the cat's meow. Then some solvent if needed, followed by the lubricant and it should almost spin like a top going down and crank easily going back up. Loosening the top and having to do the realignment again is just needless work unless you just want to spend a half-day messing around. (Of course, Ed will now chime in and say you could do it in 10 minutes or less w/ his magic tool set... :) )
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I don't know about the brake cleaner. It may have changed in 40 years, but when I was wrenching part time in the '60s, that stuff would take paint off pretty easily. We used to use it to desqueak fan belts, but you always wanted to cover the fenders before you applied it.
Brake cleaner can also degrade wire insulation, crack plastic, and strip decals and labels.
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