Powermatic 65 or Jet JTAS-10XL

[Gayan De Silva]

I'm in St. Louis, MO. I believe that Grizzly has a showroom in Springfield, MO (about 3.5 hour drive) from me.

[David Kumm]

Jet has always been imported. They bought Powermatic and slowly closed down any US manufacturing and moved it to Taiwan. The Jet was a decent hobby saw of the time. Both are priced a little high but any new saw of lesser build is in the 2500-3000 range now so still a savings. Age is irrelevant, condition is everything. Now if either were a PM 72 at those prices, life would be good. Dave

[Dan Hall]

A horse and a half repulsion induction motor will have quite a bit more starting torque than a cap start motor. Once either one is up to speed it's close to a draw. The RI motors make a bit more noise than a cap start. Still, you'll need a new fence on that 65. I would still rather have it than the jet though.

<edit>. That fence on the PM looks like a hokey setup to me. Buy the Jet.

[J. Greg Jones]

I’ve had the same Jet for 12 years now-it’s a very nice saw. Imported as others have mentioned. It looks like it also comes with a HTC roller out feed table? I have that as well and that’s $400 new today. The folks at Shark Guard offer a nice manual adjust riving knife for that saw if you don’t like the stock blade guard and splitter.

[Jim Becker]

I had the Jet prior to buying my slider. It was a great cabinet saw. Unless the PM comes down in price a bit, of the two, I'd opt for the newer Jet despite the field trip required to pick it up. But even that can be made to be "fun" with a little pre-planning.

[Gayan De Silva]

Thanks for all the advice - decided not to pursue either saw.

There is a 7.5HP Unisaw beast for 1600 that is pretty close to me, but it's 3 PH - looking up whether or not a VFD or static phase convertor would be worth it. It's in immaculate condition

[Cary Falk]

Thanks for all the advice - decided not to pursue either saw.

There is a 7.5HP Unisaw beast for 1600 that is pretty close to me, but it's 3 PH - looking up whether or not a VFD or static phase convertor would be worth it. It's in immaculate condition

That's odd(7.5hp Uni), are you sure it is not a Delta 12/14? I just look at your CL. There is a Uni for $250 and a PM66 for $400. I didn't see any saws you were talking about.

[Gayan De Silva]

All of the saws I was referring to were on Facebook Marketplace, which I have found to be a little richer in inventory than Craigslist. Here is the saw I am referring to:

Screen Shot 2019-04-12 at 12.20.45 PM.jpg

[Chris Hachet]

Thanks for all the advice - decided not to pursue either saw.

There is a 7.5HP Unisaw beast for 1600 that is pretty close to me, but it's 3 PH - looking up whether or not a VFD or static phase convertor would be worth it. It's in immaculate condition

You would need a big VFD or Rotary phase converter for that. My friend bought a 7.5 HP VFD for about 750 or so....

[Chris Hachet]

I have an opportunity to purchase either saw. The gentleman with the Powermatic 65 has taken impeccable care of it and recently replaced all the belts. I do worry about the age of the saw, but I have to believe that it will probably outlive me as long as I continue to take care of it. He's asking $1,000 which seems a little high based on various threads I've seen.

The other option is the Jet ($1,100)- also in impeccable condition. Both single phase, 240V. Both with mobile bases, but the Jet has the long extension table.

Seems like a no brainer to me based on age of the saw and the extension table, but Powermatic is local and the Jet is about 160 mile drive one way.

Thanks for your advice - it is always appreciated.

Best,
G. De Silva

Either saw is cheaper than the 2-3000 a similar saw would cost new....but both are probably more like 700-800 real world resale value at best.

Griz 1023 if you could afford it would be new and 3 HP.

[Matt Day]

I don’t believe there’s ever been a 7.5hp motor in a Unisaw. The motors have unique tabs that attach to the arbor bracket, so not like someone could just pop any old motor on (without a modifying plate). That’s likely a typo.

How about this Poitras?
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/tls/d...835733632.html

[Ray Frederick]

I have a Powermatic 65 and use it everyday in my shop (small 3 man shop). We had the motor repairedby the local Mennonite motor shop for about $100 when it wore out(bearings replaced and armature cleaned up). Belts were cheap and it is easy to work on and use. Mine was missing the motor cover but I have never got around to finding one. The cast iron extension tables for it if you can find them are great. Was going to replace the fence with a Biesemeyer but honestly the tube jet lock fence it came with has been fine.

Replacement motors were easy to locate and not much online.

Ours is a 2hp 230v single phase motor , it is just fine for all solid wood we throw at it and sheet goods. Might prefer a bit more power for long Corian rips but a lot of that is blade dependent.

[Ben Zara]

If it doesn't have a riving knife I would leave it alone and buy a new grizzly if you are on a budget.

[andy bessette]

I would not hesitate to buy the Powermatic. Way better than jet. Unless you have 3 phase power, avoid 3 phase.

[Derek Arita]

I've had 3 66s and a Jet. I had issues with all 3 66s, but the Jet was dead on once adjusted and stayed that way. I wouldn't hesitate on the Jet. With the PM, I'd go over with a fine tooth comb...check all tolerances and make sure everything holds true as the trunion raises the blade.