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Outstanding saw - the top 14" choice under $1000
By Adam Stewart on 2010-02-26 09:28:46
This is an outstanding piece of woodworking machinery. Other than a few unclear illustrations, I had no assembly issues & was able to get it set up, rewired for 220V, and dialed-in by myself in a few hours. It's heavy, but it was not very hard getting the saw onto the stand alone. I also installed the riser block to increase resaw capacity which I highly recommend. The upper arm of the saw is heavy & hard to get a good place to get a grip, so it took a little muscling to get the riser block installed. "Goo-Off" (available in local home centers & hardware stores) worked well to remove the anti-rust shipping coating on the tables. As you might expect, the "included" blade is junk.
I seriously considered the Laguna 14SE but could not justify the additional $400-500. I admit that I probably over research before buying machines for my shop. Check out the Delta, Grizzly, Jet, Bridgewood, and others. On the Powermatic, the fit & finish is way above the competition. Power, weight of castings, weight/design of flywheels... the list goes on and the Powermatic gets the points - this is a top choice among 14" bandsaws.
Power is NOT an issue. The Baldor motor is a tank. It runs very quietly - the sound makes you realize that you're about to operate a real piece of equipment. Roller blade guides take a little setting up when you change blades, guard height, etc. but they work very well. Dust collection is also very good. Fence is dead on accurate and tables are machined to near perfection. Carter quick tension release is fantastic! Chip blower works as it should.
As mentioned by another reviewer, if you rewire the motor to 220V you will need a 220V bulb... Philips 50A RS 250V available at mscdirect.com
After having just pattern cut 10/4 white oak like it was 3/4" pine, a simple blade change/rentensioning for a Woodslicer resaw blade means it's time to go and make more 10" wide cherry into 1/32" veneer slices!
Go for the "gold standard." Buy it, you'll be happy you did.
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