Request for Powermatic 14" Bandsaw Feedback

[Kyle Iwamoto]

The steel vs cast designs is pretty moot. They both have strong points. My 2 cents is the steel is indeed stronger. But, what you got is what you got. The cast can be modified, and many do add that riser. Maybe you need the depth and not the height of cut. The advantage is the compactness. The steel frame is a big machine. Maybe that's what you want. Me, I need the space. Everything in my garage is on wheels. Less footprint translates to more equipment. I do have a tiny Rikon 10" steel frame. It is solid. No flex in the frame. But then it's a small saw and small blade. I can see that the PM 14" flexes when I release the blade tension. But it's really not a problem. But it does have a tension release..... Great to have. I know people who leave the tension on the steel frames. Maybe it doesn't hurt, but I'm sure it can't be good to leave tension on for weeks when the unit is idle.

If I were to buy another saw, it would be on the top of my list again, and some other saw would have to be significantly better & cheaper to take it's place.

[Eric DeSilva]

Interesting... thanks.

I guess the only thing I wonder about is that when I see cast iron, it is typically a lot thicker than the steel I see, even if the steel is square tube or something. But, I haven't dissected the spine of my 14" PM, much less a larger steel bandsaw.

My entire experience with steel is using using angle iron, square stock, and steel tube to weld up various things. I typically use 11ga wall stock, and I'm always a bit shocked at how much it deflects.

[Lance Norris]

Eric, have you ever drilled cast iron? Its very soft. I drilled the upper arm of my cast iron frame bandsaw to install the Carter Quick Tensioner. Drills like butter. Have you ever drilled steel? Much harder to drill. When I assembled my Griz G0457 I looked up into the spine and if I remember correctly, its 2 square channels of steel. Steel framed saws can tension a blade to a much higher level, which is needed for better resaw results. Have you ever seen wheels for a car made from cast iron? How about bearings? Clamps? Any time higher strength is needed, steel is used instead of cast iron.

[Bill Keehn]

Ned, I bought a Powermatic 14" with riser block in late 2006. It had the riser block problem and it was pretty severe. The blade would pop off a LOT. I tired a lot of things but couldn't fix it. Also the starter cap in the motor burned out. They wound up sending me a whole new motor. Took a couple months to get it though. When Woodcraft offered to take the machine back and let me trade up to the Jet 18", I jumped at the chance. I've been very happy with the Jet.

My new Powermatic (or Problematic) is a variable speed drill press. Wow, that thing is loud. Louder than my air compressor. WMH is supposed to be sending me new pulleys, but I don't know how long I'm supposed to wait. I hope it's not months. I'm getting anxious. I should have read the feedback before I purchased.

So far I'm not having much luck with Powermatic. To be fair, my mortiser seems OK, but I haven't used it much yet so I can't say for sure.

[larry fredric]

If you are still considering a 14" consider looking at the Delta. I took a PM back to Woodcraft. Needed the ability to move saw around so stayed with 14". ALL the problems listed previously, the PM seemed to be plagued with. Consider all the "bandaids" applied in this thread to the PM. I buy local and preemt all the shipping problems and missing parts. The Delta is quiet and the blade changes the easiest of all I've encountered. I have the 28-475x with a riser and it fit, first try.
Larry