Assembly of a PM2000 Table Saw

Video - January 16, 2017

I have been running a PM2000 in my shop for nearly 10 years and the move to Colorado afforded me the opportunity to sell the old one and replace it with a newer version that features a 50″ fence and the heavier duty workbench extension. And I thought it would be a good time to show you how to assemble a Powermatic PM2000.

My Old Flame

For those wondering what happened to the old saw, it’s actually a cool story. We needed the cash to help with the move so we offered the saw up for sale. This was around the time we were running our Woodworkers Fighting Cancer charity auctions and our buddy Joseph Muench generously stepped up and bought the saw. But he didn’t actually want it for himself. Instead, he donated it to the charity auctions. The winner of the auction was Guild member Socheat Sou and the proceeds went to the 2016 WFC charity drive. So a big thank you to Joseph for his generosity and to Socheat for giving my saw a great new home.

The New Hotness

So let’s talk about the new saw. The PM2000 comes in several configurations and variations including 3HP, 5HP, 30″ fence, 50″ fence, a router table extension, and a workbench extension. The model I have is the 3HP 50″ Workbench model.

This video is more or less an instruction manual for the assembly of a PM2000 table saw. As many times as I’ve assembled tools, I always find it easier to follow a video over a traditional manual so I thought this might be of use to new PM2000 owners. Even if you don’t have a PM2000, you might be interested in seeing the assembly process.

Discussion

Bryan Phelps January 16, 2017 12:53 pm

Great video. Funny, I just put together a Powermatic PM1000 just this past Monday. Watching this video showed me that both saws are very similar in certain areas of the assembly, but also have some differences as well. Did your fence rail tube already have the measurement tape installed or did you have to line things up and place it on the rail like I did with the PM1000?

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 16, 2017 12:57 pm
  
  It’s already on the rail. Just had to bolt it in place and go.
  
  Reply
Doug Hartling January 16, 2017 1:26 pm

So glad to see this. The timing’s perfect as I’m just about to put together my PM2000. Thanks.

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Jonathan Sidhu January 16, 2017 1:34 pm

Mark, Did you consider a Sawstop after the move? My friend just got 5 stitches today on his. His experience has me wondering if I should sell my Delta Unisaw for a Sawstop myself.

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Robert Sinder January 17, 2017 11:06 am

Yes, Jonathan, you should sell your Unisaw for a Sawstop. Table saws without blade brakes are outdated. At some point the value of brake-less saws is going to plummet. No one knows when, but it is a matter of time.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 17, 2017 12:00 pm
  
  It’s been 12 years Robert and somehow “outdated” table saws without brakes are still selling. I don’t know what the future holds for braking technology and non-braking table saws, but we’re not talking about smartphones here. Even brake-less saws are still capable of safely performing their intended functions. That’s far from being able to call is “outdated.” If and when this technology becomes available on all saws, THEN we can call it outdated and will likely see brake-less saws disappear from the market. But right now, it’s just one company with a proprietary safety feature at a higher price point vs everyone else. So until we have industry wide adoption of the technology, I suspect non-braking saws will continue to survive. The only caveat would be if somehow SawStop can hit a price point that’s LESS expensive than the competition, instead of more expensive as it is today.
  
  Reply
  - Greg January 20, 2017 7:36 am
    
    This is the crux of the problem with Saw Stop. It is an excellent feature, but only available to those who have either the cabbage to get it or the near miss miss moment that made it a priority. The rest of us will just have to use good ‘ol shop safety.
    
    Reply
Robert Sinder January 18, 2017 12:54 am

Mark, you are right, brake-less saws are still selling, as are many other products that lack features available on comparable yet more modern items. And you are also right that brakes are not universally available and that saws with them are costly. But I do not think these points speak to the matter of brake-less saws being outdated. They simply imply that the mechanism of outdatedness is expensive and not trivial to acquire.

The legal and regulatory morass aside, I would ask only that you consider the young people learning from your work, which is fantastic. For these people, you are an educator and your decisions should perhaps be considered in this light. Some people might think that you, as an educator, have an obligation to employ the most safety-conscious approaches in your work, and it is hard to fathom that installing a new, brake-less saw fits this approach. If it were the case that a saw with a brake were truly exorbitant compared to the saw you just installed, perhaps you would have an argument against the former. But I really doubt this is the case. You probably know the details better than I do, but I am confident that the cost of a new, large saw with a blade brake is simply not that much greater than the cost of the new, large saw that you just purchased.

When you retire and the Wood Whisperer II hits the internet, or whatever we call it then, we can all rest assured that the table saw used by this individual will have a blade brake. We will look back at the fiasco caused in large part by lawyers and the incentives inherent in the power tool business, and some people might even try to calculate how many fingers were amputated by table saws during the food fight between manufacturers with brakes and manufacturers without. It is sad that such a number will almost certainly be greater than zero, and let’s hope that your present endorsement of a brake-less saw does not contribute to this unfortunate situation.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 18, 2017 10:07 am
  
  What I’m teaching young folks is to use safe techniques in the shop at ALL times and with ALL tools. That includes the table saw, of course, but also the countless other tools that could cause major bleeding or sever a digit and do not come with a safety brake. I personally feel the irresponsible thing to do would be to teach kids that the only way to use a table saw safely is to buy this one particular brand which happens to be more expensive than all the others. Most kids are lucky to even have access to a table saw, let alone a Saw Stop. Should people just throw out their table saws until they can afford Saw Stops? Of course not. So let’s keep teaching kids and adults how to use and respect their tools. And sure, let’s integrate new safety features as they come into the market. But it feels way too early in this story to simply dismiss all tablesaws based on the presence of one brand with a brake. When the technology becomes widely adopted and easily attainable across multiple brands and multiple price points, then we’ll talk about it more.
  
  Reply
  - Jean-François Beaulieu January 18, 2017 1:47 pm
    
    I wonder if I should sell my grandfather’s handsaws. They don’t have blade brake technology… ;-)
    Seriously, I (as ALMOST always ;-) ) agree with Mark. Safer Tools are very nice, but the basic safety will always be cautiousness and good working habits. I once made myself a really bad cut with a chisel. It was too sharp…
    By the way, we will have (as a society) the same discussions soon with self-driven vehicles… You know that, despite the fact that commercial airplanes have autopilots for close to a century, one pilot is still required to be seated and buckled in his seat at all time? Technology is bound to fail; it’s only a matter of time.
    Personally I’d rather have the flames on the casing than a brake saw. But it’s a matter of taste and priorities.
    So now I have to leave you guys. I have to go sell my TV to buy a 3D model ;-)
    
    Reply
    - Marc Spagnuolo January 18, 2017 2:07 pm
      
      Make sure you get a curved one while you’re at it. ;)
  - Shane Hildebrand January 23, 2017 12:02 pm
    
    Excellent points, I had a desktop and hated it, after about the 6th or 7th blade and probably twice that many inserts I had enough. I learned on a hopped up old craftsmen without even a riving knife, it’s far more important to learn safe work practice then it is to teach someone to rely on technology. Let’s face the government has been trying to legislate intelligence for many years and so far it’s been a catastrophic failure.
    
    Reply
  - Joe G May 19, 2017 5:24 pm
    
    I agree with just about everything you say, Marc, except for the claim that Sawstop saws are more expensive than everyone else. A PM2000 with a 3HP motor and 50″ rails is $3069. A Sawstop PCS with the same specs is $2999. Certainly Sawstop saws are at the upper end of the market. Not unlike Powermatic.
    
    Reply
- Brian January 21, 2017 12:37 pm
  
  I’m with Marc on this. I’m sure SawStop is a fine product, but advocates of it imply that everyone will at some point have an incident in which they are going to lose some fingers. That’s simply not the case, and I’d cite that there are generations of woodworkers who have lived to their end with all of their fingers intact.
  
  Most of my woodworking machinery is vintage, and when I upgrade my 1961 Craftsman contractor saw it will be to a vintage cabinet saw, possibly even a vintage Powermatic. And I will still treat it with the upmost respect because I’m ultimately the one responsible for my safety in the shop. That’s what every woodworker should understand.
  
  Reply
Phil Harris January 20, 2017 7:51 am

I understand all of the safety issues and requirement for safe practices to be learned and understood. My father was a contractor and furniture builder and passed at 82 with all of his digits. I have been working with tools most of my life and I’m 68. But most recently health issues require me to take a blood thinner and I then purchased a SawStop PC3hp model Tablesaw
And am quite satisfied that I can continue building furniture hopefully more safely. I can say that being taught safe practices has saved me many times and I view this purchase just another safe practice. There is no right or wrong here nor judgmental viewing. It just works for me. Love your videos Marc and I continue to learn. Thank you for your involvement in woodworking and fighting cancer.

Reply
Neil Davis January 20, 2017 9:11 am

I noticed that you made the fence perfectly parallel to the blade. I did the same when setting up my saw with a Beisemeyer fence. I have dust collection but only from below and I was getting a lot of sawdust kicked out on the top front of the saw. I was talking with a guy at a local woodworking store and he said this was caused by the fence being parallel to the blade as it caused the blade to cut while coming up as well as going down. I adjusted mine out of parallel (wider) by a couple of thousands at the back and that solved the problem.

Reply
- Jay Bailey February 27, 2017 1:31 pm
  
  I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but is this post intended to be serious, or am I just not getting the joke?
  
  Reply
joepardo January 20, 2017 9:51 am

Marc I enjoyed the video and wish I had a Powermatic table saw, but the next time you shave stand closer to the razor.

Reply
Alan January 20, 2017 1:26 pm

While teaching a class about a year ago, I mentioned that the out of pocket expense, even with good insurance, when one cuts a finger off on a tablesaw, would probably pay for a SawStop. Turns out one of the students was a physician. He chimed in, make that 2 or 3 SawStops. An attorney, who is mostly unplugged, added that when you involve an attorney, you could have paid for 4 or 5 SawStops.

It would seem that buying a SawStop (or any other brand when they become available) could be like insurance. And, you get to keep your fingers.

Reply
Duke Graham January 21, 2017 2:40 am

Hay Mark, are you planning on using Super cool tools fence on this saw..

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 23, 2017 8:40 am
  
  Not sure yet. We’ll see how the stock fence performs.
  
  Reply
Danny H January 21, 2017 7:35 am

Marc, I owned and used a Powermatic 66 tablesaw for over 20 years and it performed very well for all of those years. In 2012 I won the newest version of the Delta Unisaw. Once I got it set up and under use I was so impressed that I sold my 66. IMO the newest Delta saw is the best cabinet grade saw on the market ! So many features on this saw that the others just don’t have. See my complete review on Amazon.com ! But then your association with Powermatic you probably got a killer deal on the upgrade !

Reply
Jackson January 21, 2017 6:32 pm

Hi mark I am a thirteen year old and I have just gotten into woodworking. I got my first table saw for Christmas and was wondering if it is safe to us a table saw without a guard when making small cuts or using a sled.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 23, 2017 8:38 am
  
  It depends on the situation Jackson. Generally, you want to use the guard whenever possible. When you’re using a sled, it’s not possible so that’s one of the times we generally won’t use a guard.
  
  Reply
Jackson January 23, 2017 4:08 pm

Thanks mark I am always septic all about that

Reply
R. Wares January 23, 2017 11:20 pm

Isn’t there some woodworkers mojo/bad luck, knock on woods, throw salt over one shoulder when it comes to discussing the non-voluntary disassociation with one’s digits? All that talk of losing a finger really kills the excitement of discussing finely machined tools.

Reply
Johannes January 24, 2017 10:31 am

Really nice saw Marc! Congratulations!

I work in a woodworking shop in Berlin, Germany (moebelhandwerk-berlin.de). Have you ever thought of using a sliding table saw? We use an “Altendorf F45”, which is a great saw.

Keep up your great work!
Johannes

Reply
Neil January 30, 2017 4:42 pm

Hey Mark I noticed, or think I noticed, a pretty novel dust collection solution that Powermatic incorporated into the saw design. It looks like there’s dust collection shroud that nearly encapsulates the blade (and moves/tilts with the blade). Are my eyes deceiving me? How well does this system work? It seems like it should be leaps and bounds better than a bottom mounted port which relies mostly on gravity for chip removal, and just creates a negative pressure in the cabinet. It seems like this, when connected to an appropriately powered DC, should suck the dust out of the gullets of the blade keeping it from being thrown back in your face above the table, eliminating the need for awkward above the table dust capture solutions. I told myself I’d get a saw stop next, but I think lungs trump fingers, so Powermatic it may be.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo January 31, 2017 7:26 am
  
  You are correct. The shroud is connected to a tube which then connects to the 4″ port at the back of the saw. It works pretty well. Unfortunately I have little basis for comparison though since I’ve been running a PM2000 for nearly 10 years. We might need to rely on other folks’ experiences on this one.
  
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  - Neil Brauer February 1, 2017 10:08 pm
    
    Thanks for the reply, Marc. Much appreciated. I was just askin’ because I know you’re a reasonable guy who takes dust collection and shop air quality seriously. I currently have a modified stock guard that I connected to a dust extractor that I use in addition to the standard dust collection port. From a dust collection standpoint my system works great (like I don’t hesitate to rip full sheets of MDF), but I would give just about anything to ditch the guard.
    
    Reply
Jason February 23, 2017 8:36 pm

Was there any need of adjusting the blade parallel with the miter slot? I have had my eye on a new table saw for years now and these gold models keep catching my eye

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo February 24, 2017 9:29 am
  
  Nope. Was pretty much dead on.
  
  Reply
Marc Spagnuolo May 14, 2017 7:01 am

I like Jet. They are made by the same parent company as Powermatic.

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Ryan Granado June 22, 2017 10:48 am

Hi Mark! Long time fan here! Well I just started at a commercial cabinet shop and on my lunch break I decided to check the pm2000 3hp for parallel alignment: blade to miter slots. It was off by 18000ths! It took me all day to get it under 10000ths. I can’t get it to get any closer. The whole saw is put together and there is no way I can take it apart and start from scratch. Any suggestions?, it seems like it just won’t come in enough on the corner it needs to. Thanks for all that you do for us woodworkers.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo June 22, 2017 10:54 am
  
  Thanks Ryan. On the PM2000, you should be able to loosen a few bolts between the cabinet and the top. Look underneath the top where it meets the cabinet. Loosen those bolts and the entire top should be able to move slightly. This is how you can get your blade and miter slots aligned properly.
  
  Reply
Joe Cauvin August 15, 2017 11:50 am

Marc, I restored a PM 66 and have loved it since I purchased it. What type of lube do you recommend on the worm gears to adjust the blade? I’ve tried a silicone spray, dry lubes and just plain old wax but they all collect dust and get gummed up. I don’t have a dust collection system hooked up (which isn’t helping matters) but I try to brush/clean off the dust after each use. Any suggestions?

Reply
Michael February 5, 2018 4:25 am

Marc,

Does your PM2000 Low Profile Riving Knife stick up higher than the top of a “10 inch blade”? (This necessitates removal of the knife for non-through cuts).

Mine does (with both Freud and Forrest blades).

There does not appear to be any adjustment on the PM2000 for setting the height of the riving knife. Any suggestions?

Reply
Peter Field March 27, 2019 1:46 pm

Good Day Marc
Thanks for the nice informative videos
I have purchased a Powermatic PM 1000
With the Incra fence system
Getting it next week
But didn’t see a video of setting up the Incra system
I see on one of the videos you also now have the Incra fence system
Regards Peter

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo March 29, 2019 6:57 am
  
  I had the Incra on my saw for a short time. It wasn’t a good choice for me at the time so I sold it and went back to the regular fence.
  
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Assembly of a PM2000 Table Saw

My Old Flame

The New Hotness

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