Powermatic 209HH Pro's/Con's

[Ray Scheller]

I have a chance to pick up a crated Powermatic 209HH planer with the Byrd helical head from a gentleman here in town. I've had my eye on one of these for a long time and I've researched them for months but I need some feedback (pro's/con's) from actual owners. I've read about some quality issues (bolt heads not lining up, infeed/outfeed table alignment issues etc) with these planers but I want actual owners to voice their opinions of things to look for before I buy it. Owner feedback will go along way to my decision. Thanks.

[Christof Grohs]

Ray

I'm pretty happy with my 209hh overall. The switch, and all plastic parts are a joke, I can't believe they put such parts on a machine costing this much but it is 2008 and everyone seems to cut corners here or there...something I'm having trouble coming to terms with. The infeed and outfeed tables on my unit were not dead flat but it does a great job with wood. Customer service already replaced my switches, no questions asked which made me feel pretty good. I plan to contact them about the tables soon.

As a side note, I was at Berlands in Chicago yesterday and saw the Shop Fox version of the 209. I'm not a big person on imports, if I could do float it, all my equipment would come from Canada, but right away I noticed a much improved switch and flat in/out tables on their floor model. The plastic parts were bigger and better. This is saying nothing of how it handles wood but If I were doing it all over I might look around a little more. Chances are I would still end up with the PM;)

[Ray Scheller]

Chris thanks for the information.

[Jim Eller]

I have the 209HH and am very happy with it's performance. I agree with Christof on the switch thing. Redesigning the casters would be an improvement but I really do not have any problem moving mine around on a concrete floor and I'm 65.

I have had some dealings with PM service in the past and I put them at or near the top of the list for customer service.

Jim

[Ray Scheller]

Jim thanks for your comments. I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on this.