Powermatic PM72

[Patrick Kane]

Giving strong consideration to selling my unisaw i rebuilt a year or two ago, and picking up a project 72 to work on. When its all said and done, i imagine it will be a wash financially, but the PM72 will probably be a better fit for me. A few questions, one is there any reason to not step up to a 12/14" saw? I have an 80" stroke KF700, so my unisaw is used 98% for ripping and dadoing. The other 2% is the oddball time i make a tenon using a dado stack etc. This is all to say im not primarily doing delicate and finicky operations on my unisaw. Ive read David and others state how much more robust the Delta and Powermatic 12-14" saws are compared to the 10" counterparts. Looks like the collective opinion says the PM68 wasnt the best and later model 72s and 72a's werent spectacular either. This one im looking at is probably from the 60s, because it doesnt have the inset base and is the machine green PM used before the forest green and racing stripes. I havent painted a machine before, but ive stripped down a handful of unisaws before, so this could be a mildly rewarding project alongside a meaningful machine upgrade. I will be a little bummed about losing the "Pittsburgh, PA" tagline on the machine plate though.

Next question pertains to weight. I can not find an accurate, agreed upon weight for the machine without the monster CI wing. This particular saw has the standard two extension wing configuration. Does it weigh 700, 800, 900, or 1000 pounds? Ive seen all the above, along with a bunch of weights inbetween. I am asking, because it affects how i transport it. This thing is about an hour or hour and a half away from me, but im headed that way on business. Would be convenient if i could strip it down and then tip the chasis into my hatchback on my way home. Everything should fit well enough with the seats folded flat, but there is a question of payload with a small car. Im 190lbs, and my hatchback is stated at 900-950lbs. I would be right on the line if the machine weighs 700-800lbs. Weight will dictate if I look to rent another vehicle, but it also determines if i move it myself or not. If it weighs 1000lbs(i find this unlikely) then i really dont care to move it on anything other than a trailer. If it is 700lbs, then i am comfortable with breaking it down into manageable parts and moving in the hatchback. I assume the table and wings are 2-300lbs, motor is 80, and the chassis is the remainder. Now, as everyone is laughing to themselves at this point, i will interject with a short story of the first time i tried to purchase a PM72. It was a great looking single phase machine with the racing stripes for $400-500. I called the seller about 2-3 hours after he listed it, and he told me i was the second to contact him and the other guy was coming to look at it. Of course the first guy bought it. A week later i show up at another guy's house to buy an excalibur overarm blade guard. There is a great looking green PM72 in pieces in his 1 car garage. Turns out this is the freaking first caller from the week before! I then proceeded to laugh at him after he pointed to his small Scion hatchback and saying he moved it in the car with the hatch open. This was a 72 with the 4' extension wing too. Anyways, this all leads me to believe a lot of the weights i see on forums are over-inflated, and this saw does not weigh 900-1000 pounds. Much like the posts of some people saying their 8" jointer weighs "close to 1000 lbs".

[David Kumm]

I'm seeing 800 lbs for the 1960s vintage with a 38x48" table. A little more for a later version. The build is much heavier, the only downside is the distance from the front of the table to the blade due to the larger table. My first choice would be a trailer ( drop deck from home Depot or others would be the easiest. A come a long and pipe would also work on a tilt bed. Even a pickup would be better than a hatchback. Dave

[Patrick Kane]

hmm, 800lbs is pushing the limit on my car. Not to mention i dont know if im up to the thrills of tipping a 400lb chassis into the trunk and then removing said chassis afterwards with my wife. Getting it in is probably the easy part. Alright, moving on to paying someone to move it for me. That is my preferred method of tool transportation anyways.

Yeah, so the distance to the front of the blade is the only downside i read about. Is it uncomfortable to push stock through the blade when its 10" farther away? Seems like the added benefit of a longer runway would only help, but i admit to never operating the saw before. Im 5'-10", so this was kinda why i asked. Maybe ill mock up where the blade would be on my unisaw tonight and go through the motions to see if this would be annoying or not.

[Martin Wasner]

The build is much heavier, the only downside is the distance from the front of the table to the blade due to the larger table.

Oddly far into the field of the table. I very much dislike the 72/74 for that reason. It's bad enough on the old saws, but it's over the top on that model powermatic. It's fine with a powerfeed, awkward by hand.

[Bill Adamsen]

Logistics aside in terms of moving the TS in a hatchback - I'm sure it can be done. For dadoes, rabbets, tenons and box joints (especially anything crosscut) the Unisaw is probably a better fit (than the 72) because of what Dave and Martin mention. But they both have a 5/8" arbor for the dado heads. I love the Powermatic milling and machining ... for me that is the reason to have the PM.

[Patrick Kane]

You all are making me rethink the distance to the blade thing. I just drew it out on my desk with a 12" blade and it seems like a bit of a reach, but not too bad with a push stick in my hand. Ill play around with it when i go to look at it this week and buy it. I definitely want more power than the 3hp i have, and more mass and blade capacity are all pluses too,but id like to avoid turning a really comfortable tool into an awkward and dangerous one.

Bill, pretty sure the 72 has a 1" arbor. I will have my forrest dado king rebored, but probably sell the rest of my forrest blades with 5/8" bore. I really only need the dado set and a 12" ripping blade for this saw if i get it.

[David Kumm]

I liked the extra distance on my Rockwell 12 when I ripped 12-16' boards as I got more reference against the fence before actually cutting but didn't like the reach with my grrippers for the short stuff. The miter gauge will be much heavier but the slot will also be an odd size. Do you need the additional DOC? Dave

[Bill Adamsen]

Bill, pretty sure the 72 has a 1" arbor. I will have my forrest dado king rebored, but probably sell the rest of my forrest blades with 5/8" bore. I really only need the dado set and a 12" ripping blade for this saw if i get it.

You are correct ... my bad.
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/655/1281.pdf
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/655/2817.pdf

[Patrick Kane]

Thanks for linking the manual scans, i havent seen that one before. Dave is right on, the net uncrated weight is 792lb. Thats close to 350lbs more than my unisaw, which is a little surprising. Seeing both in person didnt leave me thinking the PM was twice the saw.

No, i dont need the extra depth of cut too often. I did recently have to cut 3" thick stock at a 45°, and i remember that being just about the max on the felder's 350mm blade(just shy of 14"). This upgrade would be more about power(kind of regret the 3 instead of 5 decision at the time of rehabbing the unisaw), size, weight, and last but not least, something new to work on. I work with a lot of 8/4 making countertops and other surfaces, which leaves the uni feeling a little undersized most times. This is also a pretty inexpensive buy. I was looking at the shell without a motor for $150.

[Chuck Saunders]

Pull the top and you will see where the extra weight is. And I don't mean the weight of the top. The frame work is a lot heavier cross sections

[Patrick Kane]

Ended up renting a pickup for $80 to pick up the saw. I had other stuff I needed to move that day, and im
glad I rented the truck. There’s some work to be done on the saw, but for The money it should be a worthy cause. Having it in person next to the unisaw, the difference is substantial. The damn middle section of the top is incredibly heavy. I look forward to getting it put together and running to test out the increased size. Role playing with it assembled, it doesn’t seem like pushing stock through the blade is overly out of reach. I will maybe join OWWM and start a thread, because I do plan on repainting this and bringing it back to like new condition.