Miserable Experience With Powermatic

Wiley's Woodworks

Wiley
Corporate Member
The pride and joy of my hobby shop is a Powermatic 66 table saw with a 5 hp motor. There's nothing it can't handle, and I've got it tuned to .002". In the last couple of weeks the adjustment wheel lock, known as the shaft locking pin, has stopped locking the height adjustment crank wheel. I tighten it down beyond reason, and the crank still turns with minimum hand pressure. Extensive searching of the internet established that the shaft locking pin is a discontinued part and not available anywhere, except used which I don't trust.

Two weeks ago I contacted Powermatic customer support at JPW Industries. JPW stands for Jet, Powermatic, and Wilton plus they handle several other recognizable brands. I received an email with a case # and a statement that "your case will be addressed in the order received." It is now two weeks later and no one has contacted me. I sent 2 additional emails with my case # basically pleading with them to contact me because this problem has to be fixed. This is not customer service; it is customer abuse. I never expected a reputable brand like Powermatic to operate like this. I am steaming mad at them, and right now I strongly recommend every woodworker avoid every Powermatic tool. Can you imagine trying to set up a new tool and needing just a little help from customer support to set it up right?

Has anyone in NCWW experienced this same problem with their Powermatic 66? Please reply and tell me how you fixed it. The factory certainly isn't going to help. Thanks.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
The pin's tapered point pushes against a Woodruff key (1.25" dia x 3/16" thick). The key raises and contacts the inside of the casting it rides in and provides friction. The tip of the key could be worn or the Woodruff key could be worn. There could also be a sawdust buildup inside the casting. The shaft (3701032) needs to be removed for inspection to determine the problem.
That model saw has been voted out of production by people buying the lower priced Asian saws.
I've seen several variations of that pin over the years.
1     pins - 1.jpg
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Did you call them? thats what Ive done in the past and gotten right through to someone. But, if a part is discontinued, Im not sure what youre expecting them to do?. The model 66 went out of production many years ago, 14 according to an internet search. One thing to remember about WW tools is they are not as prominent as old cars that we are used to being able to get parts for. This low volume unfortunately cant support aftermarket companies to make and stock old parts. But, as Bob has pointed out here , it looks like a simple part to replicate, a threaded rod with a knob. Have you removed the knob? are the threads stripped out?.
 

PeteM

Pete
Corporate Member
I just had the same experience with a different machine. My wife's 4-year-old Dirt Devil vacuum. One of the bearings on the brush bar disintegrated. I went to their website and the part wasn't listed so I called them. The person gave me the part # but said it was NLA. Also, none to be found on the usual parts sites. The things only 4 years old and I can't get parts!
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
That shaft is pretty straight forward to make for someone that uses a metal lathe and mill. The Woodruff key, I think, is a #610. The shaft is simply 3/4" cold rolled shafting. I've had to make one or two over the decades where the flat on the end of the shaft was eaten up with loose set screws.

The hole for the locking pin is a blind hole so debris could have gotten in there. Its worth a shot to remove the pin and shoot a blast of air into the hole.

Here's an old drawing I made of that shaft. Its a pain to get to because the top has to come off and the motor disconnected. I don't remember the sequence but over at owwm.org there should be some photos of someone doing this. Its a very popular saw to rebuild and well worth the effort.

1     pins 1 - 1.jpg

Below is a shot of both shafts where you can see the tops of the woodruff keys. The assembly on the bottom is for the tilt and the shorter one on top is for the raise/lower.

1     pins 2 - 1.jpg
 

walnutjerry

Jerry
Senior User
The pride and joy of my hobby shop is a Powermatic 66 table saw with a 5 hp motor. There's nothing it can't handle, and I've got it tuned to .002". In the last couple of weeks the adjustment wheel lock, known as the shaft locking pin, has stopped locking the height adjustment crank wheel. I tighten it down beyond reason, and the crank still turns with minimum hand pressure. Extensive searching of the internet established that the shaft locking pin is a discontinued part and not available anywhere, except used which I don't trust.

Two weeks ago I contacted Powermatic customer support at JPW Industries. JPW stands for Jet, Powermatic, and Wilton plus they handle several other recognizable brands. I received an email with a case # and a statement that "your case will be addressed in the order received." It is now two weeks later and no one has contacted me. I sent 2 additional emails with my case # basically pleading with them to contact me because this problem has to be fixed. This is not customer service; it is customer abuse. I never expected a reputable brand like Powermatic to operate like this. I am steaming mad at them, and right now I strongly recommend every woodworker avoid every Powermatic tool. Can you imagine trying to set up a new tool and needing just a little help from customer support to set it up right?

Has anyone in NCWW experienced this same problem with their Powermatic 66? Please reply and tell me how you fixed it. The factory certainly isn't going to help. Thanks.
I had a similar experience with them on an issue I had with my lathe (the VFD a discontinued part). I was disappointed to say the least. However, I finally found a way around PM and got the part I needed for about 1/3 the cost.
 

Wiley's Woodworks

Wiley
Corporate Member
I'm off to a good start here. I now understand how the lock works: the pin point screws down against the curved belly of the woodruff key, pushing it out like a brake shoe against a smooth round "drum" around the crank shaft. It is possible the locking pin's threads are stripped at the top, but hard to tell. Removing the shaft is a real pain; last time I did it took 3 men to lift it and a lot of time to realign it. I want to avoid this if at all possible. I'm thinking flooding the shaft with penetrating lubricant, letting it soak, and then blasting it with high pressure air. I'll deal with the splatter inside the cabinet afterwards. Am I on the right track? Oh, there is no phone # on the website; I think that is telling in regards to their corporate customer service attitude. And why would they stop making a part prone to failure that fit every PM 66 saw they made for decades?
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
A blast of air and some proper fluid sounds like a good strategy to me. It is a blind hole other than the slot for the Woodruff key. I expect most of the fluid will come back at you and get all over your trouser legs. DAMHIKT
 

Wiley's Woodworks

Wiley
Corporate Member
A blast of air and some proper fluid sounds like a good strategy to me. It is a blind hole other than the slot for the Woodruff key. I expect most of the fluid will come back at you and get all over your trouser legs. DAMHIKT
Right about that. I'll have a grease spot underneath the crank for a year, and I didn't spray that much into the crank. I screwed the pin in and out about 5 times and it seems to be working properly now. I can lock the crank wheel with fingertip pressure, so it's fixed until it starts slipping again.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
The pin's tapered point pushes against a Woodruff key (1.25" dia x 3/16" thick). The key raises and contacts the inside of the casting it rides in and provides friction. The tip of the key could be worn or the Woodruff key could be worn. There could also be a sawdust buildup inside the casting. The shaft (3701032) needs to be removed for inspection to determine the problem.
That model saw has been voted out of production by people buying the lower priced Asian saws.
I've seen several variations of that pin over the years.
View attachment 210907
I believe the good old 66 did not have a riving knife, so it was replaced by the 2000B. Regulation not competition.

That does not excuse their poor support, but you could have an old Delta Unisaw. Zero support for pre-buyout, and from what I hear, zero support for brand new.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
I believe the good old 66 did not have a riving knife, so it was replaced by the 2000B. Regulation not competition.

That does not excuse their poor support, but you could have an old Delta Unisaw. Zero support for pre-buyout, and from what I hear, zero support for brand new.
Lack of a riving knife had little or nothing to do with why the 66 and all of the good USA-made Powermatic machines were discontinued. DeVlieg-Bullard went bankrupt in late 2008 and WMH (that owned Jet) bought Powermatic and several other companies from them at the auction. WMH subsequently shut down the factory and moved everything to Taiwan. WMH did the same thing to Jet when they bought them. They shut down the Japanese factory and moved things to Taiwan. The Japanese-made Jet machines were moderately good.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Based on my looking it up, It was 2008 where UL required a riving knife. Regardless of origin. EU required them by regulation in 2005.

Quality of the machine is dependent on the brand unit choice. The same OEM will produce HF level or world class, depending on what that brand name unit specifies based on where they want their price point. It is my understanding, which of about four OEMs make any given machine may move around based on semiannual bids. Most engineering is collaborative, the OEM base design and any changes the brand unit specifies. Inspection of parts diagrams can be very informative. A couple more firms focus more on the industrial side, and a handful on the job-site and smaller side. Geetech, Harvey, TTI, etc. Just about all motors are Ko Ting or GW, but again, quality is as specified.

JPW is owned by Gamut Capital Management, a NY based equity firm as of 2013.
 

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