Powermatic - PWBS-14CS 14" bandsaw (Rating: 3)

Alright so let me start off by saying that I got this saw for free hardly used so for me I couldn't be happier. If I were to pay the $1200 price tag, I might think twice. I have had this saw for about 2 years and have thrown everything at it including re-sawing 12" ash logs. The saw handled it fine. The bearing guides are nice along with the extended table and carter quick release. There are also multiple features that I do not like about this saw. One is the fence. The fence is very basic and not very strong. It is also not very adjustable. The fence and the fence rails flex a little too much for my liking. Another thing that I don't like is the tensioning system for the drive belt. It includes loosening the four mounting bolts on the motor and sliding the motor down and then re-tightening the bolts. This doesn't sound so hard except that then the motor pulley becomes misaligned with the other pulley and the bolts are in pretty much the toughest to reach spot possible. The last thing that I dont like is the "dust blower". It is such a gimmick. It just gets in the way of your cut and there is a slight wind from the blade that moves the dust anyway.

On the upsides, The motor is very powerful and the saw passed the DIME TEST (im not even sure how i got a dime to stand up on its side)

Overall, i think this is a great bandsaw but needs a much lower price tag and an upgraded fence and tensioning adjustment.