Old Powermatic 66 on Radar

[Floyd Hall]

Hi all,

i've posted about my contractors saw woes. While, with the help of Mike Davis, the saw is now working much better, a[FONT=&amp]n old Powermatic 66 has popped up, one of the green ones, circa 1973. Apparently it sat in a barn for many years and somebody is trying to unload it. The seller says it was a working saw until recently with a new 3 hp Leeson motor, but he took it apart and it's now in pieces. He also thinks it might have been dropped at some point because something is a little out of alignment. From what I can see from the photos, there is little or no rust on it.
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The price, however, is very low -- he's down to $250 and wants to close this quickly. My question is whether a bent frame (if it is bent) can be easily corrected and how hard it would be to find any replacement parts? Also, is there anyone local here who works on these type of machines in case there is a major problem.

So you know I'm not in a hurry on refurbishing this. I have a functional contractors saw and can take my time.

Thoughts?

Floyd

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[Danagawa]

I have a 66 and love it but sounds like this one may be more trouble than it is worth. If you keep an eye out, you can usually get a decent one for $500 or a unisaw for similar money. I would wait and get something that is not in pieces with possible drop issues. There are pieces out there but I won’t want to replace the bones of the saw. It could get expensive fast.

 

[Floyd Hall]

I have a 66 and love it but sounds like this one may be more trouble than it is worth. If you keep an eye out, you can usually get a decent one for $500 or a unisaw for similar money. I would wait and get something that is not in pieces with possible drop issues. There are pieces out there but I won’t want to replace the bones of the saw. It could get expensive fast.

Well, you were right. I drive four hours to look at this saw and as I put all the pieces up on a table to look at them for cracks an what not, I find one heavy cast iron piece—the so-called bearing arm, the second largest cast iron piece in the internal assembly—was snapped in two. I said, “This piece is broken.” He said, no, that’s the way it’s supposed to be and I said, “No, it’s not.” Then I went back and found the other half of the piece. “No way to fix that,” I said. This is after the guy insisted a half dozen times that all I had to do was just put the pieces back together and it would run great.
Four hours up, four hours back.
Smh,
Floyd

 

[Danagawa]

That is a rough story and it sounds like something that would happen to me. Keep looking. Good saws come up a good bit

 

[Mike Davis]

That is why I would not say “buy it”, you can’t tell till you put eyes on it. No matter what the seller says.

 

[TENdriver]

Why do people do this?

I once called on a CL ad for a Powermatic mortiser. Owner told me all about it. Sounded good, so like you I drove for hours to see the machine. It wasn’t A Powermatic. Pointed that out and the guy says “well it was made by Powermatic but this was one they didn’t put their name on” What???

Called a local dealer, ordered a brand new one. Dealer gave me a fair price and added in a stand and some excellent Japanese mortiser bits.

Turns out I’d rather chop mortises by hand! I do use it whenever I have to work quietly...which is too often.

 

[Jeff]

Geez, you sure got a run-around and lousy answers for your road trip.

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/bearing-arm-assembly-p-866365.html

the guy insisted a half dozen times that

all I had to do was just put the pieces back together and it would run great.

Cast iron, super glue, epoxy, and duct tape would've made it almost brand new. :eusa_doh:

 

[Floyd Hall]

Geez, you sure got a run-around and lousy answers for your road trip.

https://www.ereplacementparts.com/bearing-arm-assembly-p-866365.html



Cast iron, super glue, epoxy, and duct tape would've made it almost brand new. :eusa_doh:

That not the exact piece, but it's very similar. It was snapped off in the upper left corner. I'm just sort of shocked he didn't think I would notice this. But he seemed to have some issues. He wasn't making a lot of sense some of the time.

Floyd

 

[smallboat]

a few years back there was discussion on here about a craftsman who would duplicate castings at a reasonable price.
not sure but I seem to remember he was either Mennonite or Amish and may have been up in PA.
regardless IIRC someone here had sent him a cracked part and he duplicated it. (w/o the crack)

does this ring a bell for anyone?

 

[Floyd Hall]

a few years back there was discussion on here about a craftsman who would duplicate castings at a reasonable price.
not sure but I seem to remember he was either Mennonite or Amish and may have been up in PA.
regardless IIRC someone here had sent him a cracked part and he duplicated it. (w/o the crack)

does this ring a bell for anyone?

There seem to be several of them. Redmond is the one mentioned most often.

Floyd

 

[Jim M.]

Sorry for your wasted trip. After being duped too many time by CL ads with old picture, misleading statements or downright fraudulent information, I adpoted a local only rule and a 1hour travel time if I'm really interested and haven't found one elsewhere.

 

[Floyd Hall]

Sorry for your wasted trip. After being duped too many time by CL ads with old picture, misleading statements or downright fraudulent information, I adpoted a local only rule and a 1hour travel time if I'm really interested and haven't found one elsewhere.

I think I'm going to adopt a similar rule. This one was tempting, though. At some point I'm going to need a cabinet saw. It's just a matter of when. I thought this was going to be my one and only.

Floyd

 

[POPpop214]

you know where the saw that you want is. and the price is right

 

[Floyd Hall]

you know where the saw that you want is. and the price is right

Ha. The saw's great and the price is right. I just don't think I get it past the girlfriend right now.

 

[Jeff]

Ha. The saw's great and the price is right. I just don't think I get it past the girlfriend right now.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than approval up front!

 

[Floyd Hall]

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than approval up front!

Both are painful. In this case, it's much, much better to ask for approval upfront.

 

[Floyd Hall]

Both are painful. In this case, it's much, much better to ask for approval upfront.

Otherwise, death would be too good for me.