Just Unwrapped PM2000...

[Derek Arita]

and I was surprised to find two things.
First, there was no final adjustment check out sheet as with Jet machines and PM machines that I have purchased in the past. I was truly disappointed that they did not check and record all of the adjustments and include that in the package. For some reason, that sheet gives me the feeling that the assemblers take pride in the job they do, enough to let me know how good a job they did.
Secondly I was disappointed to find that the table top was way out of flat. The center of the table was much higher than the edges by greater than .02". Come to find that when I loosened all of the bolts holding the top on, the table flattened out. Something was touching the table in the center of the underside, therefore when the bolts were tightened, the edges came down, but the center stayed up. With temporary shims in all four corners, the table top trued out to less than .001 out of flat with a Starret straight edge and feeler gauges.
The movement of the blade adjustments is smooth, but heavy enough to make you feel like you've got some real muscle under the hood.
Once I get the PM2000 up and running, I'll report more, if your interested.
I would like to know if others have found these same issues with their PM2000?

[Donald Van Slambrook]

I haven't used a straight edge on the top of my PM 2000, but I did have a few other issues during set up. One I posted about earlier was about using too-long bolts to attach the rear rail according to the instructions. I broke the top. GRRR. Anyway, Powermatic sent me a new one....awesome customer service. The extension table had some issues too, one, the bracing on the underside was split where the assembler didn't predrill screw holes. And the legs didn't get shipped with the original order. Timberline fixed those problems...more good customer service. The final problem I ran into was attaching the motor switch...had to drill and tap a hole in the front rail. Not a big deal to me, but you'd think that for the price of this critter, they'd have all these minor details ironed out. I hope you enjoy your saw. I love mine. It is soooo much better than the crapsman CS I had before.

[Scott Fernald]

I had none of those problems - tabletop is flat as can be, no missing holes, etc.

My only problem was that the bushing that tied the 2 shafts of the mobile base system together cracked when I tried to use it the first time. PM sent me a new bushing and I worked with a field tech to swap it out - kind of a complicated process but now I know how it all fits together! ;)

Mine turned out to be a factory assembly issue: the top shaft was barely seated into the bushing at all (the set screw just caught the very end of the shaft) causing the whole load on engagement to carry on the very tip of the bushing where it failed. We installed the new bushing, properly centered on the 2 shafts, with the shaft ends deeply buried into the "meat" of the bushing. Works like a champ now!

The field tech (who has been doing this full time for 20 years - was a professional woodworker before that) commented that everything inside the PM2000 was very well machined and operated quite smoothly - much better in his opinion than some other brands that he services that have "cheapened their materials down to junk" on the guts of their cabinet saws. As he does alot of support for commercial shops (and that was his background) he didn't care much for the integrated mobile base ("Who needs that?!? Just put it where it should be and never move it again!) I pointed out that I "need" that (as we were standing in my garage shop) because I like to park my car inside for the winter!:rolleyes:

He also stated that it was very common for even the $25-30k massive, commercial woodworking machines to come missing parts, needing holes drilled, and other more major problems. So he was pretty philosophical about this minor repair...

I was a little annoyed at first - but I'm loving the saw now!:D

[Derek Arita]

Haven't gotten to full assembly yet, but I have one more issue at this point. They forgot to ship the rail and rail mounts. I suppose I'll need those at some point. I'm sure PM will oblige me asap.

[Donald Van Slambrook]

I put a new Ridge 40T blade on my PM2000 today. OMG, what a difference! I've been so used to running crummy equipment for all these years, I didn't know a saw could cut this smoothly. It really makes me want to get out in the shop and cut wood just to cut it. So if you haven't done so already, I recommend a new blade to go with your new Powermatic.