Powermatic 66 Advice

[John K Jordan]

I bought a new made in the USA PM66 long before I built my shop. I kept it in the crate in storage and set it in the shop after the roof was up and before I built the walls. (Easy job with the fork lift!) I don't use the table saw much since I primarily do woodturning, but when I do need it I love using it. I added a Robland sliding table attachment.

PM66_2012-11-29_18-01-16_549_small.jpg

(With the new rules today some people may not be able to see the picture. It's just the shop under construction with the uncrated PM66 in it's permanent position, building the shop around it.)

JKJ

Ahhh...A PM 66, not mentioned here very often any more, only a few left I guess. It's the last truly American made TS with it's polished top and castings made here, quite a gem
I bought one new when they were making their final run down the Assembly line
Love it, I can actually stand a dime on he table and turn it on and off without the dime tipping over, also cuts with in a few thousands too, lol
One of these days I will post my home made slider for it, another truly amazing pc, He He

David

[Allan Speers]

Relatively few hobbyists are in a position to run the 3 phase--so resale gets a little tougher. I'd love to have a PM 66, but when i look at 3 ph machines i have to factor the cost/learning curve of adding a VFD. So...my knee jerk reaction (without seeing either) would be to sell the 1 phase.
earl

VFD's shouldn't scare anyone. They can be complicated if you want to get into vari-speed with a remote speed knob, dynamic braking, rotation reversal, and othe rsuch things, but if you just set one up for basic 3-ph "conversion" they are pretty simple.

And as far as cost goes, realize that a VFD can take the place of a mag starter, since they include overload protection & they don't auto-start after a power outage. (I think this is true of ALL VFD's, but maybe check with really cheap ones.)

[andy bessette]

Avoid 3-phase. Get a single-phase.

[Stephen Bandirola]

3 phase runs smoother and quieter.

[Chris Hachet]

If you have the VFD, keep the 3 phase one. More power, fence you like, etc. Seems like an easy call. Keep the accessories too, as they can get expensive. Sell the other 66 and you’ll likely come out ahead.

Got any pics?

This. Keep the three phase machine.

[Harold Weaver]

Just my 2 cents worth, keep the original single phase 66 and swap the fence out and sell the 3 phase saw. I am just not a fan of the VFDs, though others swear by them. Much easier resale on the single phase unit should it come to that down the road. You will be really happy with the 66.

[William Hodge]

Keep the $200 saw as an outfeed table that also cuts dados.

[Charles Lent]

If you have the room, I would keep both of them. Put a DADO blade on one of them and keep a good regular blade on the other. A friend of mine has 2 Unisaws back to back in his shop set up with the DADO blade in one of them. When he is using either one of them, the other serves as his out feed table. I very much like his setup, but if it was my shop I would likely put them side by side and build a long out feed table for both, maybe with just one fence to slide anywhere across both saws.

Charley