how good is a stock powermatic 66 fence

[mark kosse]

Howdy all,

I picked up a real nice 66 made in '77. I haven't got it hooked up yet and I was wondering while I'm waiting how good that fence is. Knowing what a pia the jet loc was on a unisaw and seeing how similar(but way better built) the 66's fence is, i wonder if it is worth setting back up. When I set it (again, not cutting) it seems to hold true but real truth will show in the cut.

Since I have a spare biesemeyer chances are it'll go on anyway because 26" just doesn't cut it many times. The stock 66 fence seems to be heads above a jet loc. Is it?

[Jonathan Freinkel]

I thought about the versupercooltools one against my current 66's fence.
I changed the faces to that plastic material and have no problems. I am very happy with the runout! I took paper and a dial indicator and worked though any issues and now I have a .002" over the distance which is by choice.

my 2 cents- save the money for something else.

[scott spencer]

There's a reason that the Biese gained so much popularity over that style of fence. If you've got the Biese, I'd pick that over the older stock PM fence in a heartbeat, unless you enjoy the nostalgia of it.

[Tom M King]

It's a really good fence. I'd take it over the Biesmeyer if it wasn't for the rear lock. The advantages are the rear lock makes it rock solid once locked down, and I really like the fine adjuster. The trouble is the rear lock. The rear lock won't let you build an outfeed table right up against the back of the saw top. If yours isn't exactly aligned with the slots, there are two bolts on top of the near end. I still use the stock one like that on my Powermatic 62 that I've had for 41 years, and have the Bies on a Unisaw. When I first got the Bies, I caught myself reaching for that fine adjuster many times at first.

[Mike Schuch]

When I had the stock fence on my Powermatic 65 I would measure the fence to make sure it was parallel on every adjustment to the fence. My PM65 now has a Vega fence. When my stock fence was locked it stayed put. Solid as a rock! Zero deflection like a Vega or Biesemeyer will if you push on them hard. I miss the rear lock on the stock fence. I made some simple metal brackets to mount my outfeed table behind the rear rail of the stock fence... this worked well.

I prefer the Vega fence that is on my PM65 currently.

[Jim Andrew]

I can't remember the model #, but when I was in college, got out 41 years ago, they had a Powermatic tablesaw, and a Oliver tablesaw in the cabinet making shop. Guys showed up early to get the Oliver, and you used the Powermatic if you had to. It had the old Jetlock style fence. The instructor had the tablesaw top replaced one summer, as he just could not get the saw to cut to his satisfaction. Did no good. It was the fence. A Biesemeyer fence would have done wonders for it. The old Oliver had a handwheel, with acme screws to adjust the width of the cut. It was always parallel with the blade.

[mark kosse]

Thanks for the replies folk. Being a vintage tool guy, getting a 38 year old saw in super nice condition and knowing the craftsman who owned it does leave me nostalgic and wanting originality. Wanting a good LT saw with more capacity leans me towards the biesemeyer. Judging by your answers it's more like a jet loc than I want. The bies will probably win when I get the power run.

[David Linnabary]

I've got a 1965 model 66 with original fence, I got 2 sets of rails (long & short), I've owned it for about 15 years, rock solid, never had the urge to upgrade and I've used other excellent fences, I had no problem fitting an out feed table to my setup, just needed to be a little creative.

David

[Edward Oleen]

...and to think I had the choice of a wife or a '66 saw.

Should have gone with the saw...