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In September of 2002 I upgraded my table saw from a Craftsman 10-inch to the Powermatic 64A table saw. The new Powermatic is a significant
upgrade from the Craftsman model (both in quality and in price!). I assembled the unit in about 10 hours of work (spread over about a week and a
half). It is rather like building a model railroad kit. The workmanship of the unit and the instruction manuals that come with the tool are both
excellent. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. There are plenty of photos and detailed drawings. At a few points in the assembly you
will need a second person to help you, but most of the assembly can be done by one individual. Some amount of tools knowledge is necessary to
assemble the unit. The table saw comes with two hollow set screw wrenches, but they are fairly useless. You need to have your own tools to
assemble it.
The first photo shows the individual boxes that come with the unit I ordered. In addition to the table saw itself (which includes the stand), I
also ordered the 50-inch rails, the matching extension table, and a matching mobile base. We have a typical garage wherein the table saw will
reside, so we need to be able to move this thing around. The long box on the floor are the rails to the Powermatic 66 model, and we had to return
those in exchange for the correct rails for the model 64A. This was a minor oops on the store's side.
The next photo shows the table saw itself (I couldn't get it all in on one picture). The inset is of the motor. The table saw is upside down and
comes shipped that way. We lifted it out of the back of our truck directly onto a Black & Decker Workmate bench. It is heavy, but the bench
seemed to be able to hold it. Most of the individual parts weren't all that heavy. I broke the cardboard box apart for the table saw itself
before moving items out of the truck. That box comes with the motor and both of the table's cast iron extension wings, so the box is heavy. The
total shipping weight is supposed to be around 610 lbs.
Finally, the system has been assembled. You are looking at the rear of the unit. I will take a photo of the front of the unit once I have it
turned around in the garage. All that is left to do is to fine-tune the settings, install the blade guard, and I am ready for a test run.
To match the top-dollar tool I decided to go with a top-dollar blade as well, the Forrest Woodworker II Thin Kerf. I was quite shocked at the
price of these blades but people seem to be very impressed with their performance. Since I am still building the table saw, I have yet to form
an opinion of my own.
The next photo shows the blade safety guards up. The guard cannot be easily removed, other than by loosening screws in the back. This may also
affect its alignment with the blade, so I won't be doing that too often. Also in this photo is Powermatic Accu-Fence. It is a very effective
fence. I am quite pleased with it.
This is the front view of the table saw, without the fence installed.
To help safeguard this investment I also bought the Breathable Tool Saver Machine Cover by HTC Products, Inc. It is the "jumbo size" 72" x 112"
cover. Also, to aid in preventing rust attacks on the cast iron table saw surface, I purchased "Slipit Sil-free Sliding Compound", a
silicone-free lubricator.
This completes all the photos I wanted to show of the table saw. So far I am quite pleased with the investment. The machine and the blade work
wonderfully. I am able to make accurate cuts. The machine is almost infinitely adjustable, so you can make your cuts as accurate as you want them
to be. I would highly recommend this machine.
Update: In the photos above you might have noticed that I had to put about 3 inches of wood under the legs of the extension table. At
first I thought this was a mistake on the manufacturer's side, but I have since then discovered that it was my own mistake. The two halves that
make up the mobile base were flipped. One half was upside-down. Here is a photo of what I had to do to temporarily support the heavy table saw to
allow me to flip half of the mobile base. I had taken the motor off the unit to make it a bit lighter.
One other note. I was missing one of the parts of the miter gauge (the long bar). It turns out that it was wedged between the table saw top and
the arbor assembly. I was finally able to get it out by lowering the blade and then tilting the arbor assembly. The bar then fell out. It must
have gotten in there during shipment.
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