Customer Reviews

Powermatic 1791227K Model 64 Artisan 10-Inch Left Tilt 1-1/2-Horsepower Contractor Saw with 30-Inch Accu-Fence and 2 Cast Iron Extension Wings, 115/230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned this saw for just about 15 months, I only use it in the winter months so I think it has had enough use to rate it and I hope you find this information helpful. mostly I will spell out the negatives because I think they are the most helpful when choosing a machine. keeping in mind this is a medium price point piece of equipment so you can't expect everything from it and by no means is it a cheapy so you should expect good things. that being said. It, like everyone says is heavy, feels quite solid when using it. the motor runs well @ 220 and will cut 4/4 very well up until ebony, 6/4 mostly but don't go too fast, and 8/4 ok with the medium to softer woods, if you take your time with harder woods, but will noticeably slow down. the motor is very heavy but the mount is stamped and flimsy causing vibration with the belt that is impossible to eliminate. the blade is not true to the slots ( I'm not sure that the slots are true to the slots) and is near impossible to true up. you must first stand on your head and loosen all the trunnion mounts and try to twist the arbor assembly (need 2 people and good reference equipment)then tighten before it moves again. you will do that a half dozen times. then you need to adjust your tilt stops. here's a beaut!, the blade elevation lock does not work hardly at all!!, fortunately the tilt lock works better, you need to check it frequently!!. the fence (made in USA) not that spiffy, it features smooth slippery nylon faces, very nice but not flat well maybe they are but the metal tubing they are screwed to IS NOT TRUE! and I just fought that in detail tonight when trying to trim for glue joints and kept getting curved cuts. the whole fence itself has a warp in it. go with the biesmeyer if you can. speaking of warp, those wonderful cast extension tables, you guessed it WARPED very difficult to mount properly if you want dead nuts forget it!. you will need 2 people and a large deadblow mallet to try to flatten the tables while you tighten the bolts. and still you will have a lip of .0005 to .0010, same goes for the laminate table. being realistic it is Taiwanese. also it seems to me there was aproblem with the fence sytem when assembling it, having to redrill some holes, but that was a while ago so I'm fuzzy on that. it when together pretty smoothly all in all, but the adjusting and tuning took a long time and seemingly to this day readjusting constantly. I recommend a dial indicator and those slot things for adjusting the blade and critical stuff, unless your just moving up from a little table top saw, but if you are a critical craftsmen then put the time in on the initial set up. with the proper tweaking and patience it can be a good saw. for me I am a bit to anal-retentive for this machine and I am sorry I didn't spend the extra for the unisaw w/ the biesmeyer, the only reason I didn't is because I don't do this commercially and felt this powermatic (not the same company it used to be years ago) would suffice for what I am doing. it does a good job but with extra waste in both material and time. don't get me wrong I am not one of those disgruntled illusionists or chronic complainers, this is a true review. I am not saying don't buy one, just beware of the possible problems. personally I would not buy it again. I think it should be priced in the 6's instead of the 8's. happy cutting!

This is my first table saw, pondered many others and settled on the 64. Purchased from local dealer and fit in the back of an Explorer. I completed most of the assembly in one afternoon and by myself. The fence tube was damaged on one end, a replacement from Powermatic took about a month. The hardware kit did not include the bolts etc. for the wood extension table. The glide on the rear of the fence was not attached, had to call Powermatic for instructions. The instructions for the motor bracket were not clear, took several tries. Don't install the blade guard/splitter until after you have aligned the blade. Do not over-tighten the bolts that secure the fence tube. The dealer did not have the mobile base in stock, purchased after the saw was assembled and it took 3 hefty dudes to lift it onto the base, had to loosen the leg bolts to adjust the legs to fit the stand. If you ever intend to move this saw, get a mobile base. Wish the wheels on the base were larger to provide more ground clearance for wheeling over uneven surface. On a scale of 10, fit and finish were about a 7. I have adjusted the wings several times for level, have adjusted the splitter many times to keep it from binding. Purchased in mid November, still waiting for rebate. Fence, once aligned is nice. Friend with Sears model was positively speechless upon viewing the 64, almost worth the price just for that. It is a big improvement over a circular saw. Takes up a lot of space in the garage, so much for the car being inside this winter. Miter gauge was missing everything but the dial, new one sent by Powermatic is cheap, will get a differnet one as soon as possible. Like the left-tilt blade, think it is much better for right-handed persons. Saw is quiet once running. I have been satisfied with the quality and accuracy of the cuts. Comes with dado insert, cannot use guard/splitter with dado insert. Get rollers or build an outfeed, otherwise long pieces bounce off of the motor. Overall, very happy, even have got used to the color! Would buy another.

I have been using a Sears 8" bench top saw for the past 35 years and decided that I deserved to move up to a better machine. I have, over the years, made everything from buildings to musical instruments and toys and decided that fighting that little saw was going to get me hurt. I researched all the saws on the internet and visited the stores in the area and decided that this Powermatic 10" saw was what I really wanted. I took the chance and ordered it from Amazon.com.

I'm glad I did. The saw was delivered 3 days after I ordered it in good condition. The delivery man stayed around while I opened the boxes and determined that everything was OK.

I then undertook the task of assembly. If you buy this saw, wait till you are rested, have plenty of uninterupted time, send the wife and kids to the movies (unless they are the helpful type) and enjoy putting this machine together. The instructions are well written and illustrated. Follow them carefully and you should have no problem with assembly. The person who wrote them obviously has assembled this saw himself because all the tips and shortcuts are described in detail.

The fit and finish of all the parts are exquisite and when assembled the saw is a thing of beauty. The cast iron top and wings are smooth and level. The fence system is dead on accurate. The fence has the new slick teflon faces that can be replaced if necessary. I never used the blade guard and splitter on my old saw (It never had one) so I thought I'd at least set up and try to use the guard and splitter on this one. What a great system!! Safety and accuracy all in one smooth move. I bought the Shop Fox mobile base from Grizzly for convenience and to save a little money and it fit up perfectly.

For the price of this saw, Powermatic could have included a better blade. The blade that comes with it is probably good for framing work or rough cuts in dimension stock but with a precision machine like this I found I needed a better blade.

The miter gage isn't the best or is it bad. Just a standard miter gage.

I was a bit surprised to find that the saw is made in Taiwan as is the motor but the fence is labled made in the USA. I can't imagine any one making a better quality machine anywhere but if this is important to you then be advised. To satisfy myself that I had done the right thing I went back to the stores and looked at the Delta and DeWalt saws that I had considered and am satisfied that I got the best saw I could find for the money.

The manufacturer states that this machine can be placed in a truck and hauled to a construction site. Once you see this saw in your shop you'll never want anyone to touch it, least of all haul it off to a construction site. It is so heavy that trying to move it would damage either the saw, the truck or the people trying to move it. Keep this one in the shop for cabinet work and buy something lighter for the job site.

I had researched this saw for quite some time, looking at Powermatic, Jet, Delta, etc. to upgrade from the bench top saw that I have been using for the last 10 years.

I settled on the Powermatic as I wanted a left tilt saw that was under $1,000, and I wanted a saw that would last. Powermatic ( combined with the rebate from WMH tools ) was the choice.

Assembly time for the saw was about 5 hours. Take your time, and plan on making some minor adjustments. The saw weighs 300+ pounds, and it has been bounced around in the box all the way from Taiwan.

The stand went together well, and the saw is sitting on a Shop Fox mobile base with extension.

I spent an additional 2 hours making minor adjustments. You could do it in less time...my philosophy is that I will do these adjustments ONCE...so I took extra time and paid extra attention to each one.

The most crucial adjustment is the miter slot to the blade - mine was off by .035 inches....so I loosened the trunion and brought it into line ( instructions are in the back of the manual ).

The 45 and 90 stops were on, and I spent extra time making sure the motor and pulleys lined up. What I found worked well as a straight edge was a 2.5-foot section of T-Track.

I converted the saw to 220V... runs great and puts the maximum power to the belt / arbor. This was very easy to do... instructions are in the manual and on the motor housing.

The saw runs smooth with the stock belt, but I am upgrading it with a 3/8" Power Twist link belt. It passes the nickel test on startup with the stock belt though - I just want it to run whisper smooth.

Dust collection is pretty good, but I will make a cover plate from 1/4 plywood to seal up most of the back.

I cleaned up the wings using WD-40 ( soak for 5 minutes ), wipe with paper towels; spray and wipe again; spray with 409 and wipe the top off, and then give it a good rub with paste wax. The surface is flat, smooth, and wood glides right over it.

I upgraded the fence with an INCRA TS-LS...that fence is hands down the best I have found. I have always planned on upgrading any saw that I purchased with the INCRA fence. I set mine pretty far to the right for a 42" rip capacity ( using 6' rails ). The fence took an additional 3 hours to attach to the saw and adjust.

My miter gauge is an INCRA 1000 SE...again - really well put together and accurate.

I am running Freud blades on my saw - 24, 50, and 80 teeth.....very smooth cuts.

So - I spent 10+ hours putting this together...I took my time and I am very happy with this machine.

Recently purchased the Powermatic 64a from local dealer. Setup went well until I tried leveling the table extensions - badly warped and/or milled. Store accepted extensions back and swapped me for another pair that fit true.(This was a one week delay due to the store being an hour away and closed on Sunday) Directions were concise and to the point - and to my surprise all the necessary hardware was in the box. Miter slots align true to the blade, however I am not thrilled with the miter gauge itself - will be replacing it soon. Rip fence is the best I've ever had - versus the Craftsmen and Delta table saws that I own. Be sure to apply at least ten coats of a good quality table saw wax to surface - I've seen what oily fingerprints do to the table surface of this saw. Saw runs smooth and quiet, makes easy precise cuts - would suggest zero clearance table insert - the one shipped with it has too much play and is hard to adjust - overall I'd rate this saw between an 8 and a 9.

I've had this saw for 1 year now and used it for many projects. All I can say is that for the money this is probably the best saw you can buy. It is solid, vibaration free and a work horse. I've heard stories of this saw being difficult to assemble. Some reviewers have said the holes don't line up. I for one have not had any of those problems. Once the saw is properly adjusted, it cuts dead accurate. It is however important to note that no saw will cut accurately out of the box. It goes without saying that this saw is heavy (over 300lb). This makes for smooth vibration free operation. I was able to stand a nickle on it's side, start the saw letting it run up to speed - then I shut the saw off to a complete stop. The result was, the nickle was still standing. This saw is smooth and quiet. When turned on, all you hear it the wind made by the spinning of the blade. If it's power you want, well look no further. Although this is only a 1 1/2 hp motor, take my word for it, you will be hard pressed to bawg it down. For example I used it to resaw a 6" piece of 5/4 cherry and had not problems. To top it off, the fence that is included is of very good quality. Once adjusted, it gave me dead accurate results.

The only reason not to give this saw a 5 star rating is because there are a few annoying problems. First, the belt guard does not fit properly. I took off one of the bolts holding it together and all seems well, but you have to wonder, did Powermatic ever take the time to put one of these together and run it? My guess is no. Secondly, although it was thoughtful of Powermatic to include 2 table inserts, they are of bad quality. They are held in place by a little plastic plug which either wears out quickly or falls off. Lastly, the miter gauge is garbage. It has way to much play which makes it impossible to get an accurate miter cut.

Hello, "DISGUSTING" is the word I'd use to describe looking for a quality table saw at local lumber yards and hardware stores. Yes the people are wonderful but their product is a cross between a toy and a tool. But, I understand price is what most hobbyists base a purchasing decision on.... that and gadgets, whether they work or not.

Now to the saw: The Powermatic 64 10 Inch Contractors Table Saw with 30" Biesmeyer Clone Fence System. In a word "Fantastic"! Another word is "Heavy", you'll want a mobile base. This cast iron monster weighs in at 265 pounds without the fence or mobile base. You'll want to take your time on assembly and it's nice if you have a helper.

Aside from the cast iron top, wings, powerful fan cooled motor, and heavy trunion casting and hardware, the reason you buy a quality saw is for the fence system. This quality Taiwanese built saw has a quality American made fence system. And just like we had to change our minds about Japanese products years ago, the Taiwanese are producing quality machines. I love my saw and my fence, Accufence made in USA. Amazon/Toolcrib folks, hats off to you for carrying a great product.

Something I didn't know, Powermatic is owned by the JET Tool people, hats off to you too. .. I got a usable carbide tipped blade. Freight was prepaid. The freight company called and I dropped by and picked it up at their dock for fork-loaded efficiency. Slidding it down a couple boards to the garage floor was a breeze. As soon as I get the mobile base on it and roll it out of the way, my wife can get her car back in the garage. Look for my comments under Delta Mobile Base later, to see if that worked out.

Thanks for reading my comments and happy sawing. I gotta go build a few dozen guitars. Bruce

P. S. I had to fish around my bolt box for the hardware to mount the nice formica covered wingtable attachment, and to get the motor pulley to align with the arbor pulley, I turned the motor pulley around. The quality of saw and value represented here make these two points hardly worth mentioning, but thought you'd like to know.

This is my first table saw, so I won't pretend to be an expert. After researching the available contractor saws and reading the reviews, I decided to go with the Poweramatic. After six months of regular use in my home shop, I've come to appreciate this saw as the best saw in this class...in my opinion.

I chose the contractor model because I did not have the space/budget for a 50" cabinet saw. Also, I wanted to buy several other medium priced machines (sliding compound miter saw, router table, and drill press).

The saw has cut everything that I've thrown at it, and the fence is a pleasure to use. I removed the plastic sub-fence and have installed a wooden one in its place with board buddies mounted on top. The board buddies, along with the weight of this machine and some paste wax have made ripping full sheets of plywood by myself easy. Also, I can cut rabbets right up against the wood fence.

I recently bought a dial indicator to check out alignment, and all I can say is ignorance is bliss. After reading up on how to make the alignment adjustments and checking accessability, I decided to forge ahead un-aligned.

I had the same shipping and alignment problems as others. While I can't fault Powermatic for their brain dead shipping company. They should listen to our "Quality Control" complaints. If this means a higher price tag for this saw, so be it.

Overall, I knew what I was buying, decided to deal with it, and am very happy every time I use it. As my skills increase, I will deal with fixing my saws alignment problems.

I have been using my Powermatic 30" table saw for about nine months now. The saw has consisently performed like a more expensive machine.

Although the box arrived a little scuffed and dented, the table saw was undamaged in any way. Setup was relatively straight forward and took one person approx. three hours to complete (incl. calibration). The directions were well written and the diagrams useful.

All components were well machined and the finish was excellent. The cast iron table and wings were among the best I have ever seen in this price category. The seam between the wings and the main table is completely flush and snag-free. The only problem with fit is the alignment of the miter slot and the arbor assembly. In order to properly align the blade and the miter slot, I was forced to "egg" out the bolt holes where the arbor assembly met the table so that I could slightly adjust the blades alignment to bring it true to the miter slot. (This method was suggested by a carpenter with 30 yrs. experience who has had to perform the same operation on much more expensive machines.)

I operate the saw on 110v 20amps and have found the motor to be sufficient for all of my ripping and cutting needs. Even three inch stock rips without dragging the motor. (I do plan on converting to 220v however.) The freebie blade is great for ripping framing material and other soft woods. But, for any furniture building, I would switch right away to a more serious blade.

Lastly, the fence is excellent. The setup was quick and the alignment has stayed true with only two tune-ups in nine months. Overall, this may just be the best table saw on the market at this price.

I bought this saw myself and I couldn't be happier! Just like the guy with the revue from Reno, I did my homework. After much hands-on commparisons between Delta, Jet and Dewalt, I decided to go w/ this model. The fit and finish on my saw is superior. The table seems very flat, as I spent the time to ensure all three tables were level to each other. I did not have any trouble w/ the alignment of the bolt-holes when attatching the tables. and the fence was set almost perfectly out of the box. My saw also came w/ the router raiser table insert. I attached the Freud 2000 router and am amazed at the stability and smoothness of the entire package! I had a few glitches while assembling, a bolt missing here/there. No big deal. When I attached the wooden router table to the right saw table though, I noticed that the rear iron table RAIL only had one hole to accept a bolt to hold the wood table in place. (two in the front rail, one on the back.) Since I'm not using extra legs to support the router table, I decided to drill a 1/4" hole in the rear wing to provide more unilateral support. I also put this 64A on a mobile base w/ a sheet of 1/2" plywood between. I assembled the legs to the base and then built the saw and lifted it to the legs. A little backwards maybe but I couldn't see attempting to invert the saw w/ legs & base attached after assembling the saw.(per instructions) It seem to help w/ stability. I was advised to purchase the RED link-belt to replace the standard belt- to further reduce the vibration. (which originaly isn't bad, but now I can put a nickle on its edge w/ saw running and rip 4/4 red oak) However, the pulleys are 3/8" and the common size for the red link-belt is 1/2".(Try Grainger.com) Anyways, the saw is fantastic! The fit/finish is very professional. I couldn't imagine trying to pick this beast up and taking it anywhere! I bought this saw because specifically I like the Jet-Powermatic quality of my other "big" tools, the left tilt for easier cabinet making, the 30" because of my limited space and router-raiser for the extreme control of the bit height. I hope this helps. I would suggest to everybody to compare the performance and quality of Jet tools for your other items before you buy anything!(I have their 6"Jointer, the 1100-Dust collector and the 18"Bandsaw and love them!)