Required Photos of New Old Powermatic 66

[Steve H Graham]

I have been informed that it is crucial to post photos of new acquisitions, so here is the used Powermatic 66 table saw I bought. I started a thread to get advice on moving it, and I got a lot of good info.

I am wiped out; the saw is still in the Explorer.

I'm a little concerned, because I was under the impression that the top was not shimmed, but 6 shims flopped out when I lifted it. Those will be fun to replace.

The rails are insanely long. I am thinking I'll have to cut them with a dry cut saw, once I figure out how long a saw I can reasonably keep in my garage.

I got a dozen blades with it. I don't know much about them. The seller told me they were for Corian, but that they will work really well on wood. He said they were "triple chipped" carbide, and that wood would take forever to wear them out.

The top is smooth and nearly flawless, but it's dark. I don't know if I should do anything with it. I haven't checked the flatness.

Don't ask what I paid unless you want to hate me.

Man, I am pooped. Thanks again.

[Steve H Graham]

Forgot the shot with the motor removed. I apparently lost the photo of the saw inside the Explorer. It would do Jed Clampett proud.

[glenn bradley]

Boy are you lucky; the "gotta post pics or the saw disappears" timer was just about to run out ;-) Congrats on the saw. Just curious, what gave you the idea there would be no shims? There has to be some formal method of shimming the top or they would never get these things together fast enough in the first place ;-) PM support or some of the helpful folks here can probably lend a hand with that. Congrats again!

[Steve H Graham]

I think I saw a post where someone said Powermatic told him to leave his trunnion alone, but that it was okay to take the top off, because aligning it was no big deal. I must have inferred from that that there would be no shims.

The irritating thing is, when they fell, they dispersed themselves in such a way that it was impossible to tell which fell from which side. I suspect each front bolt had 3.

[Ted Shrader]

Steve -

Congratulations in getting the saw home. Looks like a good find. Heavy bugger, huh? Guaranteed to last your lifetime.

The Triple Chip is a grind on the teeth of the saw blade. 1 right, 1 left, 1R, 1L then a "flat top".

Congratulations,
Ted

[Dewey Torres]

Don't cut the rails!

If they are too big, buy smaller and sell the ones you have. That looks to be a 52" setup.

[Steve H Graham]

Thanks, Ted. As for heavy, I would say the part I shoved up the ramp was at least 200 pounds, because it was not easy to get onto a handtruck. After taking all the cast iron off, I figured it would be lighter, but I was wrong.

I hope you're right about it lasting. The motor looks really good, and I would hope that at 5 HP, it didn't work too hard all these years. I guess I'm lucky to be a freak who happens to have 220 sockets ready to go.

At the same time, I'm really a beginner with tools. I have to start finding more uses for these things.

[Steve H Graham]

I am going to continue exposing my ignorance. I just measured the longest part of the rail system, which is the tube, and it comes out to 98". I don't know what that means. I would like to have a setup about 6 feet long, on wheels, with a router insert.

[Ted Shrader]

Steve -

The critical portion of the shim installation is when the blade is tilted at a bevel, the front and back of the blade must be at the same height. That way when the wood is fed through, the blade will not burn the wood because it is not aligned in the kerf.

Regards,
Ted

[Dewey Torres]

You want the shorter fence that cuts about 25 or 27" to the right of the blade. The 98" length is a 52" fence measured by how much rip capacity it has not the overall length.

[glenn bradley]

I think I saw a post where someone said Powermatic told him to leave his trunnion alone, but that it was okay to take the top off, because aligning it was no big deal. I must have inferred from that that there would be no shims.

The irritating thing is, when they fell, they dispersed themselves in such a way that it was impossible to tell which fell from which side. I suspect each front bolt had 3.

Arrrgh. I am sorry.

[Steve H Graham]

I should shut up about the rails. I am looking around on the web, and it looks like the shorter rails are either very expensive (new) or not available (used), so from my perspective, slicing a couple of feet off the existing rails makes the most sense. And I know I'll get a torrent of horrified comments from people who want those rails.

It's hard to argue with FREE.

[Jon Grider]

Please don't cut the rails, I have the same saw, same rail size with the same space considerations also. The extra length on those rails is invaluable for cutting sheet stock. You may be sorry. My 66 is on HTC castors, I push it around when I need to get it out of the way.

[Steve H Graham]

Hey, tell me about those casters. I've read that the Powermatic trolley thing is pretty bad, and I was considering getting the one Grizzly makes.

[Jon Grider]

The HTC's are pretty solid, the cabinet fits into a square base that has low profile castors so the added height is negligible. There is an adjustable extension rail that connects the base part to an L shaped rail that has a couple more castors. This extension supports the legs for the extension table. All in all, it works pretty well for moving a 500 lb. saw around.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I should shut up about the rails. I am looking around on the web, and it looks like the shorter rails are either very expensive (new) or not available (used), so from my perspective, slicing a couple of feet off the existing rails makes the most sense. And I know I'll get a torrent of horrified comments from people who want those rails.

It's hard to argue with FREE.

Is that your price!!!??

You move quick BTW, want to move some more machinery?;) Don't cut the rails! Jon's advice on the mobile bases is good, and it will completely fix your space problem. I kind of like Delta's bases, you might want to look at them as well as HTC.

[Jason White]

Since nobody has said it yet, please let me be the first to say...

YOU SUCK!!!
:D



I have been informed that it is crucial to post photos of new acquisitions, so here is the used Powermatic 66 table saw I bought. I started a thread to get advice on moving it, and I got a lot of good info.

I am wiped out; the saw is still in the Explorer.

I'm a little concerned, because I was under the impression that the top was not shimmed, but 6 shims flopped out when I lifted it. Those will be fun to replace.

The rails are insanely long. I am thinking I'll have to cut them with a dry cut saw, once I figure out how long a saw I can reasonably keep in my garage.

I got a dozen blades with it. I don't know much about them. The seller told me they were for Corian, but that they will work really well on wood. He said they were "triple chipped" carbide, and that wood would take forever to wear them out.

The top is smooth and nearly flawless, but it's dark. I don't know if I should do anything with it. I haven't checked the flatness.

Don't ask what I paid unless you want to hate me.

Man, I am pooped. Thanks again.

[Steve H Graham]

That makes me feel better.

[Karl Brogger]

That makes me feel better.

If you got that saw for free..........


I was going to say, "I hope you develope an in-operable tumor at the base of your spine". But thought that was a bit too mean, when it was meant to be funny.

[Steve H Graham]

I don't know for sure that it was a great deal, but it looks that way from the comments I got when I first mentioned it to other people. It was $495, which is only $200 more than my current saw, a Ridgid TS2400. I'm happy about it. There isn't much good used equipment available down here, and I was amazed when I saw the ad. Usually, the ad will say something like, "10" Table Saw $400," and then you find out it's a Ryobi someone left out in the rain for ten years.

[Steve H Graham]

Thanks. They look better than the other options.

Of course, if I were a real man, I'd weld something together.

[Dewey Torres]

Steve,
Once you get this baby tuned a ready to rock you are going to LOVE IT!

I have a UNI...arguably the same saw in quality and other aspects. I am and, you will never go back to contractor saws again. I equate it to going from antenna ears to HD dual tuner TIVO.

[Karl Brogger]

Yeah, $500 is a steal. If I were to come across that deal, even though I have zero room for another tablesaw, I would slide it on a shelf somewhere.


BTW- Don't cut down the rails. You will question your decision why you decided to do so many times over. Rarely is their a borderline unanimous agreement on this website, the general consensus is make it work with the longer rails.

[Mike Wilkins]

Great find and you will love that machine. Don't worry about the shims; most saws require some method for alignment of the wings.
As for some blade education; there are several books on the market dealing with the tablesaw, with great info no matter how long you have been using them. There is a new one on the market by Paul Anthony, and one of the well-known experts on the tablesaw, Kelly Mehler has a couple.
Have fun and watch those fingers.

[Steve H Graham]

I have a Kelly Mehler video, and I really enjoyed it.

[Steve H Graham]

Can't resist putting up a photo of the reassembled saw.

Now, all I have to do is get a million things adjusted, change the plug so it fits my receptacle, get casters, add a router insert, learn how to use my tools...