Old Powermatic Saw Questions

[alex grams]

There is an old saw listed locally that is a powermatic. I am going to take a look at it over the weekend if I can. I have been keeping my eye open to get an old unisaw or powermatic and rebuilding it. What are some of the common things to look for that will give me a good idea of how much investment a rebuild will take?

Here is a link.

http://houston.craigslist.org/tls/792741014.html

If the motor is indeed in good condition, and barring any glaring issues on a sight inspection, the price is very tempting....

[Greg Cole]

Hey Alex,
The usual suspects are bearings, journal areas on shafts and gears on the adjustments for height n tilt of the blade everything else is pretty easy to see from the outside per say. If the adjustments are pretty tight and the motor spins much of it is elbow grease and aesthetics.... the bearings won't be much.
Looks like it's been used recently and not a pile of rusted CI that's been abandoned. I'd definately take a look... looks to be a Biese fence (or a clone which I had on my General which was on par with the Biese IMO) which is a plus.

Cheers.
Greg

[Neal Clayton]

my current table saw is almost 30 years old, last one was over 30.

even if it does need some parts replaced, it'll wind up being better than anything new for twice the price, imo. wise choice to go with an older saw on your part.

[Pete Bradley]

When I see one of these "Should I buy this craigslist machine?" questions, my first answer is: if the price is even close to matching the machine, it's already gone. Still,
take a look at my advice on buying an old Unisaw in this thread:
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=89137#4

The PM66 is a great machine, on that one you should expect to need new bearings, belts, and new motor bearings for starters.

Pete