Customer Reviews

Powermatic 1791273 Model 25A 1/2, 3/4, and 1-Inch Interchangeable Spindle 3 Horsepower Shaper, 230-Volt 1 Phase

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First of all, I am preaching to the choir when I complain about how disappointing it is that nearly all the old American tool manufactures are no longer manufacturing tools in the US. It does not bode well for our future...but I digress. A case in point is the Powermatic 25A shaper, which is stamped 'made in Taiwan.' The main problem with this shaper is the fence, which would be okay if the manufacturing quality was not so poor. The hold down bolts appear to have been made out of round, and they move the fence around as you tighten them. The infeed and outfeed fences are made to be adjustable in and out from the shaper spindle, to accomadate shaper cutters of different diameters. However, they don't move in a smooth parallel path! Powermatic provided gib screws, but because the castings are so rough, a 1/2" adjustment of the infeed fence causes it to move out of parallel approximately 1/4" !! Moreover, the shaper does have a noticeable amount of vibration with intermittent rattles, even with no spindle or shaper cutter installed. Overall, the quality level is a joke, and Powermatic is apparently becoming equivalent to Central Machinery/Harbor Freight. With this poor level of build quality, the most galling part of my transaction is the premium price I paid for what amounts to a Taiwanese tool with yellow paint!! Powermatic, I am a professional, and I won't be back. I will still buy your old tools, however.