Tipped my Powermatic jointer....BAD DAY

[Ethan Spronk]

So i had a bad day in the shop a few nights ago. My shop is still in the process of being set up in more permanent flow and since i was in a very small shop previously several tools are on wheels. Long story short I was planning boards through my 735 and the cart it was on rotated pushing a board into the fence adjustment handle of my 1982 powermatic 60 jointer promptly tipping the jointer and busting the dove tail on the cast iron base on the in-feed side, and the rabbit bracket for the knife guard along with bending the table height adjustment screw.
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I took it to a welding shop and they didn't feel great about trying to get the dovetail welding solid without throwing off the height of the tables. The second thought i had was see if a newer model jointers base would fit my tables. When I called powermatic they said a base from a powermatic 60B would work. I wanted to double check if anyone else thinks this is true or if the raising and lowering mechanisms changed from 82 till present. I dont have the budget to buy a new jointer and I looked for 5 years before I found a single PM 8 inch within 250 miles of where I live, so I am willing to deal with the colors not matching and it not being a show room jointer. Open to any and all suggestions on this.

Thank you

[Bill Dufour]

Looks like it may be wide enough to drill and tap for a row of #10 SHCS. You might use super glue to glue it in place for the drilling of at least two holes. Drill the tap holes through both pieces first. then the clearance hole, then tap.
Cast iron is probably the easiest to tap of any metal.
You could even use a few taper pins for alignment but you would have to buy a reamer for the correct pin size.
Silver soldering is supposed to be a good way to repair cast iron. but real 50% silver needs almost red heat.
Bill D.

[Bill Dufour]

Forgot to say add a piece of thick strap as a long washer under the screws to spread the load. I would put a screw every inch or so.
Bill D.

[Bill Orbine]

I'm more of in the boat anchor for sale cheap camp. I think you'll just have more trouble for what it is worth. You could have more problems than the obvious.

[andy bessette]

It is now a parts machine or paperweight.

[Van Huskey]

My first thought is to call Redmond Machinery in Palmetto GA and talk to Scott Redmond. They probably have the largest stock of used PM parts in the US, they also carry a big inventory of new ones as well. They may have exactly what you need. Don't expect it to be dirt cheap though.

Another option is to check eBay, there are always people parting out smaller PM machines and you might get lucky.

A WTB on the OWWM forum could result in the part as well.

[Frederick Skelly]

My first thought is to call Redmond Machinery in Palmetto GA and talk to Scott Redmond. They probably have the largest stock of used PM parts in the US, they also carry a big inventory of new ones as well. They may have exactly what you need. Don't expect it to be dirt cheap though.

Another option is to check eBay, there are always people parting out smaller PM machines and you might get lucky.

A WTB on the OWWM forum could result in the part as well.

This is what I like so much about The Creek. All of you guys who try to help the rest of us with less experience. Van, Bill - Good on ya!
Fred

[Mike Kees]

Ethan, man that sucks. Sorry for your loss. Two thoughts ,one part it out and sell on Ebay. Or hopefully repair it from other parts.I have a Delta 37-315 for sale but I live in Alberta. I would call the outfit Van suggested for parts first. Mike.

[Ben Grefe]

I’m in the ‘toss it’ camp, atleast the center section. Heck, I bet you can even find a used center section and rebuild it. Upgrade the cutter head at the same time!

Second choice, good opportunity for a new jointer.

I think you’ll forever have alignment issues with that thing if you try to weld it. Welding cast iron is already problematic; toss in some possible warpage due to the heat of welding (they’ll have to bake the part to pre treat and post treat the weld) and there’s 0 chance that thing joints straight against.

[Ethan Spronk]

So what is everyone's opinions on parallelogram jointer vs the older dovetail style? Are they worth the extra money? Jet is on sale currently, is the powermatic worth the extra money? I know there are alot of posts on this and I will be reading alot of those. If you guys have good links or suggestions it would be much appreciated.

Thank you everyone for your opinions

[andy bessette]

I'd get the Powermatic.

[Mike Kees]

Assuming the tables are machined dead flat,they are much easier to adjust the tables to be in the same plane. If you get a well made dovetail jointer they are just fine. If they are out of line though then you have way more work to correct things,think shimming etc. So parallelogram beds would be preferable in my opinion.I do not have any experience with jointers other than Delta (DJ-20,and 37-315) so others will have to give advice on the other brands. Good luck,Mike.

[Geoff Crimmins]

The first thing I would do is post on owwm.org, and see what the consensus is there. I know someone who had damage like that on a PM60 welded. It seems to be structurally sound enough, but I think either the height adjustment is limited or the tables are misaligned. If the table isn't damaged then there's a reasonable chance you could find a new base on owwm or from Redmonds. Powermatic might even still have the part, but if they do it is probably expensive. I don't know whether or not there would be any alignment concerns with replacing the base, but it's sure worth exploring. It's sure a nice jointer if it can be fixed at a reasonable cost.

[Joe Jensen]

For a dovetail way jointer, the machining of the ways is THE CRITICAL determining factor of how well it can be aligned. I suspect a professional welder would be expensive, several hundred dollars, and they would give you a 50/50 chance of success at best, maybe 1 out of 3 or worse. Personally I'd find a difference one and sell the parts on EBAY. Unless you find a used base right away you will be without a jointer until a part can be found. You can try calling Timber Woodworking Machinery in Mesa Arizona. A relative of the owner of Timber owned a company in Phoenix on Grand Avenue that had a huge warehouse full of old PM and Delta machines and they were parting many out on ebay. I looked for the company on google and couldn't find it. They may have parts, but when I was there the parts were expensive.

[Rick Potter]

I love the parallelogram setup on my DJ20, and good used ones are fairly common. That's the way I would go.

[Patrick Walsh]

Great excuse for a new toy!

[Paul McGaha]

Personally, I think I'd replace it.

PHM

[Chris Fournier]

If every broken piece of cast iron meant a scrapped machine this would be a pretty sad situation. Cast iron tends to have a very toothy break which indexes the pieces beautifully for repair. Braze or silver solder this piece for a perfect no fuss repair. I've done so on many machines for myself and others. I am not a professional welder or brazing man but capable and reasonably well read on the subject. Where has the Yankee spirit gone these days? It seems to have been off shored too... Fix it!

[Mark Wooden]

The trouble with that break is that the dovetail piece is small and the base is big- there will be a lot of movement when welding or brazing, so getting it so it's accurate would be a long shot IMO. But, I'd bet theres more than a few PM60's out there with trashed beds so getting the base casting may well be possible, that would be the direction I'd look into. Shame, damn good jointers, better than you can buy today.

[Joe Jensen]

This site shows a base in stock for $214.

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/powermatic-60b-1610077k-834-3hp-3ph-460v-magnetic-switch-jointer-parts-c-32549_32560_32565.html

[andy bessette]

JJ--great find!

[julian abram]

Sorry for your loss on this, I know it was very "troubling" to say the least. Looks like a replacement might be the best solution to the dilemma. I was lifting a new 8" jointer last week with a strap under each table and visions of something like this happening. I set the jointer back on the ground and placed and extra strap under each table, just in case. Amazing how heavy and robust you think of these tools but yet very fragile when dropped or knocked over. A good learning experience for all of us.

[Chris Fournier]

The trouble with that break is that the dovetail piece is small and the base is big- there will be a lot of movement when welding or brazing, so getting it so it's accurate would be a long shot IMO. But, I'd bet theres more than a few PM60's out there with trashed beds so getting the base casting may well be possible, that would be the direction I'd look into. Shame, damn good jointers, better than you can buy today.

Proper brazing would mean little to no movement as you add a minimum of material, control of the casting temp on pre and post braze/weld is critical. I don't disagree that there may well be spares out there. Just where out there!

[Geoff Crimmins]

This site shows a base in stock for $214.

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/powermatic-60b-1610077k-834-3hp-3ph-460v-magnetic-switch-jointer-parts-c-32549_32560_32565.html


And you can get it direct from Powermatic for $187, though you'd have to compare shipping prices.

[Bob Bouis]

Tool parts direct has it for ~$166 with $8 shipping? Sounds too good to be true, but who knows.

https://www.toolpartsdirect.com/wmh_60b-215_mdl_60b_.html

[Andrew Hughes]

That jointer is done.
Even if new parts were found the whole thing would have to be ground flat.
For coplaner tables.
Ethan your time is better spent looking for a another machine.

[David Kumm]

Jointers with the half wedge cast into the table are usually assembled and ground after assembly. The industrial wedgebed jointers had the tables bolted to the wedges and they can be repaired and shimmed. These not so much. i'm with Andrew on this. Dave

[Steve Wilde]

Ethan, I'm not sure where you're located but heres a great deal on a Delta DJ20 and a Delta Unisaw for $1500 for the pair, looks to be in good shape too. Located in Preston Idaho, probably a 2 hour drive north of Salt Lake City...
https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/52931505