Customer Reviews

Powermatic 1791228K Model 64 Artisan 10-Inch Left Tilt 1-1/2-Horsepower Contractor Saw with 50-Inch Accu-Fence, 2 Cast Iron Extension Wings, Table Board and Legs, 115/230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This saw will give you great cuts and accuracy for a modest price. The Accu-fence is very nice, better than any other standard fence. I did not appreciate it until I used a cheaper saw.... now I love it.

My saw arrived in a beat up box, but it was well protected. The assembly wasnt too bad, I agree that if you could put together a BBQ this should not be too much harder. the hardest part is squaring it all up if you have never done it.

It passed the nickel test barely and after some tuning it is very square. I added a Power Twist belt and now it is as smooth as a very expensive cabinet saw. Absolutely no vibration - it just hums. Sure, it works well without it, but thats like buyng a sports car and putting cheap tires on it.

Others have said how bad the stock blade is, but I still use it for rough work, save the expensive blades for finish work. Its always best to have a few blades to rotate through. I have it on a mobile base, but I never move it, instead choosing to move the other machines around it. my shop is very small, and the saw serves as the centerpiece.

I have it on a 20A circuit with other outlets, and it dims the lights so I would suggest a dedicated outlet or something with less on it. The powertwist belt helps in startup - it hasnt blown a circuit since I installed it.

1 1/2 HP is plenty to rip to the saw's max depth of 3" in most woods without bogging. I have only tried large pieces of fir, oak and cedar, nothing really hard. You just have to be careful on the rate of feed.

I agree that the miter stick sucks. I replaced that after about a month when I had to make my first miter cut. I have a great Porter Cable compund miter saw (LOVE it) so I do 99% of my cuts at 90 deg on the table saw. There are many aftermarket miter guages that are great. At least its a T-Slot in the saw.

I made an outfeed table that bolts on with the rear angle iron that the fence rides on. I looked at buying a table, but none of them were exactly the size I wanted, or had the right method of attachment. It wasnt hard to make.

I highly recommend Jim Tolpin's book "Table Saw Magic." It will give you plans for jigs that are indispensable, and show you basic and advanced techniques for using the saw.

I have slowly replaced all the fastners with high grade ones and used locktite so I can get everything snug without bending threads and it wont vibrate loose.

Make a zero clearance insert for your best blade. when you do your finish work you will notice the difference.

Overall this is a great saw, I have used it for everything from cabinetry to rough cutting lumber for framing my house. I consider it the high end contractor style saw, better than some cabinet saws. Whats the use of having a cabinet saw if the arbor isnt true and the fence sucks? The stock blade guard is easy to work around, and if you get in the habit from the begining of working with it, it will save you one day. The saw is heavy enough to take a large sheet without moving, and has enough HP to cut to its max depth.

Next upgrade?

Summary:
Worth the money, great saw.

Tips:
Buy a Power Twist Belt, cheap upgrade.
Buy good blades - keep them sharp and clean.
Use featherboards and push sticks and ALWAYS use the blade guard unless Dado-ing.
Make or buy an outfeed table.
Get Zero Clearance inserts.

I've used the model 64 for about a year now in my basement cabinet shop to cut everything from 1/4 inch birch plywood to 8/4 oak. It is a great performer. Some comments:

The saw cut true pretty much right out of the box. The blade was parallel to the fence and the 45 and 90 degree stops were correct. Little adjustment was needed. The saw is very solid and well-built, and shows virtually no movement when I lean hard against it. That 350+ pounds really pays off here.

The cast iron table and wings arrive covered in a sticky tar to prevent rust. Right after you clean that off I would recommend at least one good coat of standard furniture paste wax. The top can oxidize quickly from hand prints or any water. I momentarily placed a glass of water on the table top and the ring mark is still there. The wax all but prevents this.

Replacing the belt with a multi-link aftermarket belt does reduce the small amount of vibration that was there to begin with. To be honest, mine actually passed the nickel test even with the factory belt installed after it was broken in.

Having the 50" capacity is not something I use every day, but when I need it I REALLY NEED IT. I am glad I got the longer fence, and as an added bonus I can mount my router in the extra table space. Also, I use a shop-built cross-cut sled on the saw and with the longer rails I can slide the fence out of the way without removing it from the saw.

The fence itself is marvelous. It took 2 minutes to get it calibrated to the inch-scale along the edge and parallel to the mitre slots. I trust the fence to measure correctly. I cannot count how much time this has saved me in the shop--not having to double check the fence-to-blade distance for each cut.

The saw blade that comes with the unit is pretty crappy, but is nice to have for cutting recycled wood, which might have nails or such in it.

Overall I would give it 5/5 stars, since the minor defects of the free blade and having to wax the top are minor compared to the other very fine merits of the saw.

I got this model because I'm going to start doing a bit of cabinetry work. I also purchased the Forrester WW2 and the Power Twist V-Belt - 3/8" x 4' due to previous Amazon buyers' comments. This 310 pound behemoth arrived in 5 separate boxes, and I had to help the delivery guy lest he lose his back. The only slightly damaged piece was the saw guard, but a few quick and careful bends restored it nicely.
+ The installation guide ranks as a 6/10. While some of the instructions were really well done (like the stand setup), others were lacking (like the motor and the saw guard setup). Also, I found some errors in the product schematic provided at the back of the guide. Nonetheless, with perseverance and patience, setup is not that bad.
+ Technical support gets a 9/10. I called these folks because one of the two bolts which hold the pulley cover to the motor plate rubs against the motor. Thinking this was bad, I called tech support. They told me that contrary to what the installation guide states, that particular bolt is not necessary. Thumb's up for tech support, thumb's down for the guide.
+ Part availability gets a 8/10. I thought it would have been a small miracle if all the parts came in this delivery. It turned out the bolts required to mount the extension table to the front and back support bars were missing. A quick trip to Home Depot burned a $1.84 hole in my pocket - not bad, but annoying. Also, adjusting the Accu-fence (which you'll probably need to do) requires a particular Allen wrench (not included). My second trip to Home Depot solved that problem too.
+ Setup gets an 8/10. This was my first saw, so I was expecting the worse. Unlike some of the other Amazon buyers, getting the saw installed took me between 6-7 hours. The stand install is easy. Mounting the stand to the saw table is easy. Aligning the motor to the table was very difficult for me. After four attempts, I decided to remove two extra links from my V-Belt which shrunk the belt, which pulled in the motor, which lifted the belt, which prevented the belt from rubbing against the pulley cover bolt and the cover itself. Pulling back the motor as far as possible helped too. The extension tables are heavy - having a friend helps. When setting up the guard, read the guide (which makes little sense of this procedure), then look at the picture in front of the box, then try to get the guard installed yourself - it's not that bad if you follow the picture. Finally, there were some instances where I had to make adjustments requiring extremely small fingers and minor feats of gymnastics. All in all, installation went well. It could be improved greatly by a better guide and better design of the adjustment screws. Also, common sense and the picture on the box helped a lot with installation.
+ The Accu-fence gets a 9/10. For some reason, my Accu-fence is not totally flat. The right back side is raised by about 1/32 of an inch while the left back side is flush with the table. This makes the Accu-fence put its weight on the left back side. Accordingly, when I slide the Accu-fence past the right mitre slot, it falls in instead of sliding over. I cut out a small piece of wood and attached it to the end of the right mitre slot to prevent this from happening. This was annoying, but otherwise, the Accu-fence is ACCURATE. I suppose I expect more from a $900+ product, but, the fix was relatively minor and now it works perfectly.
+ The saw gets a 10/10. I can't believe how quietly the saw runs. I actually don't need ear protection (like I do with my Mitre Saw). I'm not sure if the Power Twist belt makes a difference (as I have no basis of comparison), but the saw runs as smooth as butter. Also, unlike my mitre saw, with the Forrester blade, my cuts are clean on both sides. With an aligned Accu-fence and blade, my cuts were perfectly straight and perpendicular. Nothing short of spectacular.
Overall, this is an awesome product. However, I felt that the guide could have benefited greatly if Powermatic put a week's worth of additional time into it. Also, for a $900+ product, I expected quality assurance to catch the missing bolts, the need of an adjustment wrench, the non-flat Accu-fence and slight inaccuracies in the instruction guide. But, now the beast is built, it runs better than I could have ever imagined. If I had to do it again, I would - in a heartbeat.

I've had mine for about a month now and I really love it. first and foremost the Accufence is SPECTACULAR. True cuts every time - zero fence movement. And you can adjust the guage as well as the mounting bar if you need to in order to get it 100% accurate. It really handles like a cabinet saw. Heres a quick rundown:

Vibration: Passed the nickel test with the standard drive belt. I replaced it anyway with a Powertwist and now I can lay 00 biscuits on the table while the saw is running and they don't move at all. Purrs like a kitten. Solid. BE WARNED THOUGH! Amazon does not sell the right size drive belt (found this out the hard way)! You need to order it directly from Fenner.

Power: Hasn't bogged down yet. I've put 12/4 hard maple through it and it chewed it up.

Assembly: Well, I got to do this chore twice. The original one I received had a broken trunion. So I had to disassemble it to ship it back and reassemble the new one. Its a chore, took me about 6 hours the first time, and 4 hours the second time. No helper needed at all.

Dust Collection: Mediocre, but it does the trick. It comes with a dust hood attachment, but the back of the saw is open, so some dust does get out

Stock Blade: Useless. Don't bother. Save it for cutting plastic for jigs or REALLY rough work.

Miter Attachment: I like it, despite what others have said. You can micro tune 45, 90, and 135 degree settings.

Splitter/Blade Guard: This is a tough one - I like it, but it is a real hassle to take on and off. Unlike the Unisaw's splitter which just slips out, this one has to be bolted in three places. Its a hassle, I will buy an after market splitter.

FYI - WD40 is a miracle worker to get the caked on grease off the table and extensions. Spray it on and let it sit for 10 minutes minimum. The stuff just wipes right off after that.

This is really a great saw for the long haul. And, even better, I did my homework and you won't find it cheaper anywhere else. Its a no brainer if you're serious about woodworking. A very easy FIVE STAR review.

I ordered the 64A because of company reputation and it was a left-tilt and that has been what I've been used for over 20 years. It came Fed-Ex..tractor-trailer with liftgate that because of some tree branches the driver was unable to access my driveway. Not a problem..we dropped the liftgate equal with my truck's tailgate and put everything on that, then drove to my shop and the driver helped me unload it into the shop. That was a 10/10.
Unlike Dave, what I had the most problem with was the stand, must of had a bad day because all I could say when done was "You Dummy!" It would help though if they did number the parts in the instruction sheet as well as the parts themselves. Give this an 8/10.
All of the basic saw to stand installation was a piece of cake. I think this deserves 10/10.
The fence rails went together well, the main guide rail was bent on one end but I was able to straighten that out in a couple of minutes. It was missing 1 end plug. The fence itself was perfect! Perpendicular and straight, no gaps against the straight edge. 9/10 sounds about right on this step.
The extension table..gotta agree with Dave..this is a 2 person job..but being onery like I can be at times I was able to do it with some grunting and groaning and muttered words. I was impressed with how it's braced underneath since I do intend to mount a large router under it to. Also, like Dave, they shorted me the bolts to mount it!
Mounting the switch..I have large hands & short, fat, fingers..it wasn't my idea of fun! Some contorsions, arms at an unfamiliar angle, a cramp in my left hand & it was done. I really can't fault them much on this because of my hands but maybe that should be something to be considered by them. I'll still give them a 9/10.
The drive belt..this thing is really something to look at! LOL! There are 2 kinks in it..side to side..I knew this wasn't going to be a cause for 0 vibration! Also at 1 spot on the back it is wider that the rest of the belt. To be truthful though, the vibration is there but not all that bad. I've been having trouble locating a 3/8" link belt so hopefully someone will write me back on where to get one. I won't even rate this because I wasn't going to use it anyway.
The arbor..dial indicator says .001 runout on the face, .0005 on the shaft. Definitely 10/10!
Also bought the Forrest WoodworkerII. I've heard all the stories on rec.woodworking about how great this thing is but always thought that it can't be perfect. Pardon me and wash my mouth out with soap! Dial indicator says .0015 runout so that tells me that the blade itself is only .0005! Test cuts are the smoothest I've ever seen, almost a polished look to them. I mean I cannot see, nor feel, any saw marks! I am a remodeling contractor and have always bought good blades for any/all of my saws but this thing is truly awesome! I can tell you right now that I'll be looking into the Chopmaster series for my SCMS now. Arbor & saw get a definite 10/10.
I also purchased the tenon jig but haven't put that together yet so will review later. Also ordered the Freud SD508 Dado but haven't received it yet so can't comment there either.
Just remembered..the saw was dead on right out of the box! I have a set of PALS that I never had to install! I think I'll write that off as like one of those lost tools that you replace and then find the lost one 2 days later. 10/10 on this too!
Am I pleased? Guess who's sitting here with one BIG grin!

I purchased the saw from Amazon.com and the service has been great. After I unpacked it, I noticed that the blade guard was completely bent and the belt cover also was damaged. The blade guard was so bent that it was unuseable but the belt cover was installed, until it can be replaced. I called Amazon.com and they are sending out the replacement parts. This was my first tablesaw purchase and I didn't think the assembly was too bad. If you can put together a barbeque you should have no problems. I was able to get the saw up and running in about 4-5 hours. Everything went together well and I did not need to add any parts or make modifications. The saw is very sturdy and the finish is great. The saw did not pass the nickel test out of the box so I ordered a Power Twist V-Belt that will hopefully absorb some of the vibration. The blade that comes with the saw was never installed because it is pathetic. I will probably give it to someone as a white elephant gift. All and all I am happy with the purchase. Once I receive the blade guard, belt cover, and V-belt I will complete my review. I also ordered the HTC mobile base for the saw but it has not yet arrived. The one complaint I have is that Powermatic put the blade tilt gauge/ sticker on crooked.

I've waited a while before finally writing this review because I wanted to deliver a fair opinion of the product. Please keep in mind that this is my first table saw. I researched this purchase a long time and I went with the saw that I thought I wouldn't outgrow.

First, I thought the manual did a good job of describing how to set up the saw. I took my time and worked through the whole set up with very little problem. Fault: I think it could have been more descriptive on the fence and rail set up (one example: there is nothing in the book about the glider that screws under the far end of the fence). Also, the schematics at the back need to be updated.

Second, the saw was fairly square right out of the box. Minor adjustments were expected and necessary, but they were easy to accomplish. Nothing to fault here.

Third, the extension table was a pain. I had to call customer service and order a new one because the one that came out of the box was damaged. They sent me a new one immediately, but it too was damaged. On the fourth try, I managed to get one that had all of the laminate intact on the surface. I'm not sure if this was due to the durability of the product or the method of shipping, but this caused me a lot of heartache... Maybe, I expect too much out of a [item price] saw. Next, there was no hardware to mount the extension table to the rails! I had read that other reviewers had this problem too, so I wasn't really surprised. A trip to Lowe's remedied this problem.

I did the 220 conversion in no time at all. Powermatic pretty much makes this part of the set up idiot proof. It was definitely simple and a much needed addition to the saw. The cord that comes with the saw is pretty short. So I changed out the cord and plug at the same time. Basically, I cut the cord right where it enters the saw. Then I pulled the black wire grommet out of the side of the table. After I'd spliced the new cord onto the old one, I placed the grommet around the new cord and stuffed it back into the side of the table. This allowed the splice to be hidden from view inside the table of the saw. The saw starts easily and there is NO dimming of the lights. Plus, there is plenty of cord to move the saw around the shop (when I finally get a mobile base).

Customer Service...Well, I am extremely happy with these guys. They happily sent me the new extension tables, no questions asked. Both Amazon and Powermatic/Jet customer service bent over backwards to keep me happy.

Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. The small problems that I've outlined here are not enough to make me want to lower my rating to four stars. One suggestion to anyone who might be thinking about buying: read all of the reviews, because they provide solutions to problems that might be encountered while setting up the saw (like the belt cover screws).

Delivery:
The saw was shipped quickly Amazon / Tool Crip and delivered by Fed Ex. The boxes (5 of them) were on a pallet. The driver lowered the pallet from the truck on an elevator, and wheeled the saw into my garage on a pallet jack (couldn't have been easier for me).

The extension table had a scratch from shipping. When I called Tool Crib, they were extremely nice and handled the issue very quickly. I've been very happy with Amazon and Tool Crib.

Assembly:
No question that assembly takes some time, but it's not difficult. If you've put together a BBQ grill it won't be a problem.

I had to ...to pick up some nuts, bolts, and washers that were missing, but 10 minutes and $4 later I was back in business.

...pick up some Mineral Spirits ($4). You'll need it to clean the greese off the saw table and wings.

The main part of the saw is HEAVY. I lifited it out of the box myself, and I'll never walk the same again (get some help).

Getting the blade gaurd aligned is probably the biggest pain because it's difficult to reach the alignment bolts.

Alignment / Vibration / Noise:
Getting the saw blade and fence aligned is very simple. Follow the directions in the manual and you'll have perfect alignment in 20 minutes. The fence is extremely solid. Kick out the end of the fence about 1/32 inches. It'll help prevent the wood from binding betweed the fence and the blade / gaurd. The miter gauge is a little flimsy (I'll replace it soon).

Many of the reviews recommended upgrading the belt, but my saw passed the nickel test on the first try. Although the Power Twist belt isn't that expensive, I don't think it's required.

The saw is really quiet. I can make cuts in our attaced garage and not wake out 6 month old baby from her nap whose bed room is right above the garage. When she's naping is about the only time I can make cuts!

Saw Blade:
The blade the saw comes with has been fine for MDF and rough work, but it splinters the back side of plywood and solid wood really bad. Upgrade the blade.

Others: The 50 inch cut is great for plywood. The cast iron wing are really nice and very heavy.

The last thing I would recommend buying or building is an extension table. It's tough to control 4x8 sheets of plywood after it goes though the saw without one.

Summary:
This is a really nice table saw that should last forever. Upgrade the blade and the miter gauge.

My Powermatic 64 arrived the other day, shipping weight of 405 lbs. The delivery service (which cost me a total of $9.99) conveniently wheeled a single pallet (five boxes) into my garage, and although I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get it down into the basement by myself, it turned out to be no problem. I just opened the heavy box, the one with the trunnion, motor and primary cast iron table, and carried the components, piece by piece, downstairs.

Assembly was uneventful, with the exception of the following design flaw in the pulley cover: the motor pulley is backed by a base plate that accepts a pulley cover. The purpose is primarily safety; the assembly shrouds that part of the belt that hangs out from under the table. The cover attaches to the base plate by two carriage bolts that run through the back of the base plate (both bolts are placed inside the loop created by the drive belt), dropping a metal spacer over each bolt to maintain separation between the cover and the base plate, attaching the cover (which is molded to fit nicely over the base plate) and securing the cover to the base plate with wing nuts. So far so good, as long as the saw blade was in the fully elevated position. Believe it or not, however, as I lowered the blade, changing the position of the arbor pulley relative to the stationary motor pulley, the top portion of the drive belt loop lowered right onto one of the two bolts that held the pulley cover onto the baseplate. Unbelievable. So I called PM tech support to ask what I was missing. (And yes, I will stop at a gas station from time to time and ask for directions, but only if my wife is in the car.) The tech guy obviously knew about the problem because he identified it even before I could get all the words out of my mouth. He told me to remove the one bolt, and that neither function nor safety would suffer, since the cover remains attached by the second bolt. So I did that, and he was right, except that I also had to adjust the pulley cover down to prevent the belt from rubbing against it, so it no longer fits nicely molded over the baseplate. No impact on function here, just a bit of a surprise, considering all the good stuff on this saw.

So now to that good stuff. This is a high quality machine, in my view. The guy who complained that the gears quickly became clogged with sawdust probably forgot to clean off the sticky packing grease and replace it with a dry lubricant. He also beefed about the Accu-fence, which I find to be dead-on.

I switched the stock belt for a Powertwist Plus "3L." (Fennerdrives.com.) Smooth as silk. I can't speak to the original belt because I didn't bother to install it.

Using a dial indicator, I measured ZERO runout at the arbor. Then, I installed a new Forrest Woodworker II blade and measured the runout near the outer edge of the blade, where any runout would be magnified by the distance from the arbor and by potential wobble in the blade itself. Incredibly, I measured almost indiscernible runout of less than 0.00025" just inside the teeth. Wow! A good saw AND a good blade!

Wanted to post a review of this saw for everyone b/c reading these reviews helped me make up my decision and I'm glad I purchased this one from this company.

I bought locally. Don't like to buy large tools via mail. Looked at this saw side by side next to all the others jet / delta / powermatic / Ridgid ( at HOME DEPOT ). I chose the powermatic because of the fence and their reputation. Having an older craftsman I was quite frustrated with the fence mechanism locking out of parallel. This saw does not tout bells and whistles but is very well built.

Was my first saw built from scratch and it was a little more difficult than I had expected. I got stumped aligning motor, and adjusting the trunions. Also the 50 inch rails were slightly bent when I received them. I called powermatic 4 times while I was building the saw. They were very quick to get me to a tech ( less than 2 minutes on hold each call ). He gave me advice I needed, sent out new rails received within 4 days. ***** Actually glad I got a bent one. I can probably bend that piece back and I have a full set of rails to replace if I want to cut a shorter one in the future for space reason.. LOL ****** No questions asked. He also sent out a can of industrial PM yellow spray paint b/c I scratched the paint a little when assembling base. All FREE.

Pros
Powermatic service -- Best of 3 tool companies I own
Quality -- I have my saw within .001 tolerance aligned to mitre slots and fence. Also the wings and top are FLAT!!!!! I was worried bout this after reading a review or 2. Exceeded my expectations
Quiet -- the motor is very quiet
Smooth -- Passes nickel test starting and stopping.
Packaging -- all the bags were labeled as to what part they were for. I used suggestion in manual to put all the hardware in a bowl. Great idea.

Cons
Bent front mounting rail -- which they replaced with straight ones.
Packaging of one cast iron wing -- Read instructions before you take 2nd wing out of box. instruction manual tells you how to get it out. I ripped my mine out.. =)
Manual -- Was useful but had to think through a couple things. I have read all manuals have this flaw so I'm not gonna stink about it.

I was researching the tolerances for error on different tools at my local dealer. Apparently Delta allows twice the error amount as acceptable compared to Powermatic contractor saws. As a result my table and wings are so flat you can't see a speck of light under my straight edge. Quite happy

Read alot of bad press about their mitre guage. Mine is fine. Used it today and cut square and accurate. No slop.

I would recommend getting a dial indicator to set up the fence & get the blade parallel to the mitre slots. Mine were off slightly when it came out of the box but were easy to adjust. PM helped me with the trunions. Only took about 15 minutes.

STRONGLY recommend the 50 inch rails. I almost bought the 30 but let the dealer convince me I would use the longer rails if I had the space. Well, I couldn't think of what I would need it for but got them anyway. First week, used it to rip a 2 foot by 48 inch board in half to make me a tool storage unit. Very nice to have.