Powermatic bandsaw?

I bought one in December and couldn’t be happier with the performance of the saw. This saw is a little pricey when compared with other 14” band saws but it does come with a lot of upgrades that are missing on these saws. In my opinion it is well worth the money.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I own one bought it in June and love it…... honestly if you compare buying the less expensive delta and then adding the upgrades that come with the powermatic…. the powermatic is a better value and has some upgrades that are not easily found….. I would go with the gold :D

-- Hrolfr

the powermatic is a little pricey for the 14” saws. no doubt though that it will be a great saw that will serve you for years and years so i’d say go for it!

I own the Jet and after the fact have compared it to the Powermatic and the quality of the latter is evident. All of the stress bearing parts of the Powermatic are made a lot heavier than the Jet and even the Delta, for that matter. This is another classic case of getting what you pay for.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

I too own the 14” powermatic bandsaw. I have had this machine for about 3 years and have no problems with it. The adjustments for the bottom guides are a little cumbersome. I would like to add a riser, but have only heard horror stories about getting the wheels back into alignment. It is the typical level of quality you would expect from a powermatic. The bandsaw is a fairly simple machine and even a cheaper model will provide flawless results if properly tuned. At your price point, I would look at the 14” Rikon. It is a solid steel body with a 2 speed motor and has 13” of resaw. Everyone I have spoke with who owns this machine loves it. If this machine was available when I purchased my pm, I would have gone for the Rikon.

-- http://www.efcabineture.com/ "Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want"

I also have the Powermatic 14” and I added the 6” riser block for re sawing and I really like it. I have had no problems with it at all. It is a real workhorse.

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

rhet riser block issue has been fixed

teenage.. if you took the delta and added a light and a miter gage you wold have almost made up the differance in price between the powermatic and the delta but if you then throw in the rip fence and resaw guide then you are well over the price point of the powermatic also the deal I got woodcraft threw in the riser block for free….. so all and all the pwoermatic ended up the better buy and cheaper in the long run :D

-- Hrolfr

oooohhhh and I forgot you have to add aftermarket roller baring guide to the delta to really compare the delta and the powermatic

-- Hrolfr

All the manufactures’ offer something good for everyone’s budget and skill level. I still prefer my 3 year old Delta 14”. After a few upgrades (blades, tires, guide blocks, etc…) it has kept pace with my learning curve and has produced every time I needed it. There is a reason that all the other manufactures use it as the benchmark in the design of their saws, it’s a classic.

If Delta is good enough for Norm, it’s good enough for me…

Tom

-- Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsman can hide his mistakes.

Not sure if you were interested in the grizzly line but they make a pretty good bandsaw as well. I picked up the G0513×2 model and couldn’t be happier! Now that’s the 17” model but I beleive you you can get the 14” with all the same goodies.

-- http://rjoneswoodworks.com/

Thanks guys!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker