# Porter Cable PCB222TS - Addressing the odd throat insert plate



## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

In my quest to find an acceptable benchtop table saw that I can use for my outdoor shop, I seem to be scouring the big box stores for updates very frequently. Today, I saw that Lowes is listing the Porter Cable PCB222TS as the replacement for the older PCB220TS. Reviews of the PCB220TS tend to be very positive on LumberJocks, but I think the filtering lense for those reviews provide a lot of forgiveness for the saw.

Based on the manual, the new PCB222TS seems to be largely unchanged, sporting a smaller aluminum table and questionable fence. However the big change(s) appears to be:

The throat opening been revised so that there is clearance on both sides of the saw blade (to make ZCI?)
Rip capacity expanded to 30"

I'm curious what others think of this revised saw. The throat plate change does make me pause and rethink my plans to save up for a Dewalt or Bosch, for cabinet making, esp since I plan on getting a track saw, and the thought of spending close to a Grizzly hybrid saw for a benchtop saw doesn't really jive with me. In my context, I have access to a shop ~20-30 minutes away with a full cabinet saw, so any table saw I get would really be for projects when I opt to stay closer to home.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Knowing going in that Benchtop table saws have inherent lmitations, there are several good writeups on the subject including one from Popularmechanics… Take a look.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/power-tools/portable-table-saws-we-test-11-to-find-the-best#slide-1


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## MW_Woodworking (Oct 9, 2013)

I have had the 220 model for about a year and have mostly liked it. I bought it while on sale at lowes, price and the fold up features where the main attraction for me. I work out of my garage and have very little space so being able to store it away was key to me. That being said, it didn't take long to get really frustrated by the insert plate. It is very difficult to make a zero clearance insert, but I'm glad that they fixed the problem, probably after a lot of complaints. I noticed the new model the other day while at lowes, with a better insert size. I didn't remove it to see if it still has the funky tabs on the corners, I would guess not since it is now a wider insert. But I would check it out first to see how easy it would be to make your own insert. Also to note, the riving knife inserted fully down makes it near impossible to have a ZCI installed, as it sits against the back of the opening. Check to see if that would be a problem, if you plan to use the stock knife.
Overall I have thought it is a good saw, good enough for occasional home use and a great deal for the price. With the revised insert and increased rip width, it would be even better.


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## bbuck002 (Mar 25, 2014)

I bought the 220 in January and just returned it for the 222 because of the throat plate. It is now a rectangular shape and will be much, much easier to make a zci. The throat insert is also a smaller opening on the left side. The 220 had an almost 1/2in gap that wood easily fell into. It's much safer now. They changed several other things too. The trunions are different for blade adjustment. They are now attached to the top surface. They raised the 90 degree cut clearance to 3.5in from 3in. This also makes for a 2.5in clearance at 45 degrees of bevel. There is a little more space to get your hand in for blade changes and riving knife changes. The saw still only takes a 1/2in max dado set. They also redesigned the stand. I like this one better. It's much easier to setup and take down. They added a foot pedal to push to assist with lifting the saw. Overall, I'm happy that I switched them out. The main reason was the throat guard. The first iteration was terrible and slightly dangerous. Hope this helps. I don't think you can find a better saw at the price because of the stand. If you take your time to set it up right the first time, and make a cross cut sled, you get really nice cuts from the saw. 
One thing about the fence. It hasn't given me any problems. I have made it a habit when I set it to lock it and unlock it 2 or 3 times in quick succession and I get straight alignment each time.


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Thanks buck. Sounds like there were a lot of changes that makes it a more reasonable buy for someone looking for a saw in that price bracket. All in all, I think there are still sufficient hold-backs on Porter Cable's part, so as not to encroach on their market with the Dewalt table saw. It does sound like the 3/4" miter slots make the Kobalt saw the only real competitor to the PCB222TS.

I did end up getting a Dewalt DWE7491RS, and am very happy with just how much of an upgrade it is compared to the black friday cheapo special saw when compared to the saw it replaces.


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## BentheViking (May 19, 2011)

glad to hear they've upgraded the saw. I've had the 220 now for 2 years. As much as I like the folding table and portability I think I'd still have prefered the accuracy of the fence on the dewalt jobsite models


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## paxorion (Oct 19, 2012)

Ben - While I still prefer the heft of the biesemeyer-style fence, the rack-and-pinion fence on the Dewalt has been better than use than I had expected.


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## randman (Jul 30, 2014)

I just purchased the PCB222TS and I am wondering if there is a dado insert for this saw? Do I have to purchase it from Rexon? Some reviews I read stated that Porter Cable tried to recommend the PCB220TS dado insert, but some said it doesn't fit? Any advice?


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

I purchased one of the PCB222TS saws a few weeks ago. Sure there are a few things that could be upgraded, but for the price, it seems to be a pretty good saw. Of course, my last saw was a little China made job with the 5/8" slots too. One thing that I've noticed is that, even though the fence has some slop in it, if you wax the table top and fence slide areas, and apply a little pressure just under the lock on the fence when sliding the fence, it is actually very accurate and slides smoothly. My question is…..does anyone make an aftermarket ZCI or a better fence for this saw yet? If not, has anyone made a ZCI for it and how difficult was it, given the finger-style hold down in the rear of the blade opening?


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## Dontbestupid (Mar 13, 2015)

Are you people kidding me? I always make my own inserts! even on my $2000 dollar jet, with a biesemeyer fence. Just trace out the insert plate, then get a piece of 1/2" MDF or other. use your best judgment on size so you don't have to sand too much…cut it out, Drop it in, mark the side for depth, run it through the barrel sander or other, drop it back in the table top.. Note: keep sanding until the new plate is level with the top, turn the saw on and bring the blade up to cut blade slot. Now make another plate, throw on those old dado blades and do the same. Rub some butchers wax on the top and your ready to go.. Note: if you don't have a barrel sander use your common sense with the materials you have and make all appropriate notches so the guard and other apparatus's work! This Porter cable PCB222TS is a great saw for the price. All saws have there draw backs it all hinges on what you want to deal with. Have a great day..


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

> Are you people kidding me? ...
> - Dontbestupid


Yes…just practicing for April 1st! ;-)


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## Dontbestupid (Mar 13, 2015)

LMAO. GOOD STUFF!


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

Yep, Dontbestupid, they are pretty good, IMO, especially for the money. I did make my own ZCI and just set it under the factory insert to fill in the blade gap. I haven't attached it to the factory insert yet, but I may do that soon. The only drawback to having it as a "filler" instead of a replacement is that I do lose about 1/8" or so of blade height, which is no big deal until I want to rip something that's 3 1/2" thick. But, the way I have it just sitting under the factory insert, it only takes a few seconds to remove it for the rip. Any ideas on how to enclose the bottom of the saw for dust collection? I really haven't looked at it too closely, it can't be too hard. It already has a dust collection port for my shop vac, but it has a trough that cradles the blade too, and I think that thing almost aids the blade in slinging dust by the insert, instead of directing it towards the vacuum.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

Pfleming
I too have the Porter Cable PCB222TS and you can help reduce the sawdust spill by doing a couple of things. First HF(yes HF) sells a sawdust bag for around $6. I didn't use the supplied snap inserts that have to be drilled into the stand. Instead I used rare earth magnets to the back of the snaps on the bag and then placed it on the metal stand. The bag won't hang completely straight due to the stand design but it works. I also went to a craft store and bought some adhesive backed foam sheets. These are 8-1/2×11 size very thin and only a dollar. You can peel and stick these over the openings in the saw base to seal it up more. I also traced one to fit over the slot in the front that arm for blade height adjustments travels when changing the blade tilt. I cut a slot in this one so the arm could move freely. Together both of these really cut down on dust going everywhere. My only concern would be heat build up but since I am only using my saw for short periods of time and its in my garage I don't think it's a problem. On a hot day at a jobstite cutting one piece after another might be different


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

Well, now that we've had these saws for a little while, there are a few questions I have for other owners of the PCB222TS. First off, do they all sit at a little bit of an angle when the stand is set up? Mine has a lean to it, which makes it a little difficult to use an aid for ripping larger pieces of plywood and such. Second, when I use a dado blade for box joints, the blade will work itself lower and lower as I make my passes. Am I the only one with this issue, because I can't seem to find anything about it online anywhere. I can tighten the carriage clamp screws up and get it to hold, but then the blade is very hard to raise and lower, so I loosened the screws back up and just got a small bungee cord that I will hook on the handle and the bottom of the base when I need to use a dado blade. A handle lock of some kind would have been awesome to solve this problem. Lastly, has anyone found an aftermarket fence system that will work with these saws? The factory fence isn't too bad, after beefing it up with some side boards, but it will still pop out of the near track if I try to use a feather board that's nice and snug. The far end is in a groove, but the near end just sits in a slot and stays in place from pressure. Do I just need to put more pressure on it? Any ideas on any of these things would be helpful. Overall, I really do like this saw, and it does a great job, but I've had it long enough now that if I can find a few cures for these ills, it would be nice to implement them.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

I'm afraid I can't be of any help regarding the blade dropping on dado cuts. So far I've used mine mostly for building small toys for kids. I have ripped some plywood sheets on mine without issue. I used a extendable miter saw stand turned sideways to the table saw to help support the plywood before and after the cut. On rips with smaller pieces I use a Micro Jig Gripper to keep the workpiece against the fence. So far the stock fence has stayed in place. On cross cuts I use a home built sled.


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

I appreciate any and all input. I've been eyeballing the Grippers for a while now, and may just have to break down and get one. I've been able to get away with feather boards and push sticks so far, but for sheet goods, there's no real good way to do it without first using a circular saw to break it down a little. I did cut some wooden blocks, along with some longer bolts and nuts, to make the saw sit level. It looks like it was about 1 1/4" or so out of level with the stock feet on it. I've been making sure to raise the blade to the correct cutting height (as opposed to lowering the blade to the height I want), and I haven't noticed any unwanted drop in the blade height since starting this. Plus, it does feel like the motor/arbor chassis is tighter when raising vs lowering the blade, so there could have been a lot of truth in this simple fix. I haven't used a dado blade since starting this though, and that will be the real test. I tightened my fence up just a little bit, so it does take more force to "bump" it up on the latch side now. That problem is just one that is going to be a product of the design characteristics, but that did seem to help. I too use a crosscut sled and a miter sled, both shop made, as much as I can. I recently added a t-track and stop block to the crosscut sled. I used kitchen sink cut-outs from a local counter top company for the base of both sleds, as well as the top for my router table (2 pieces screwed together). It makes a great base, as it's slick on one side (for the wood to slide across) and the wood side will take JPW very well, and gets slick as you continue to use it.


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## TrimmedOut (Mar 29, 2016)

I used a PCB220TS for 3 years and recently went to the PCB222TS and found a few differences. The fences on both are somewhat of a challenge to align, but building an easy fence alignment tool eliminates any difficulty. The raising and lowering of the blades are different, the 220 uses a plastic bevel gear that later production of these gears used metal. Neither are a good design and the reason I switched to the 222 model that uses a worm drive that produces a smoother action. The 220 was a more solid saw and made ripping wood easy as the table was much more beefy and level to begin with. The 222 is not a level saw from the manufacture and there is no adjustment other that the leg adjustments that you cold customized. The stationary placement of the 222 is difficult because it is a lighter saw and the bench that it is mounted to has curved legs making it easy to slide.
If you have any problems with the the Port Cable help goes directly to REXON who manufactures the saw under a license from Stanley Black and Decker for Lowes. Don't bother using them as there are no support outlets for REXON. DeWalt will repair them but know nothing about the saw and orders parts like you would if doing it yourself. Although I have build many things with both saws, I would go with Bosch next time. I hope this will help anyone looking for a new site saw.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

Trimmed out

Do you have any pics or plans you could share for"building an easy fence alignment tool eliminates any difficulty."

I have mine adjusted to be square at both ends but I don't want to trust it like you can on some of the better saws. I take a steel 1/32" scale and check both ends each time I move the fence. If you could share how you built your alignment too lid really appreciate it.


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## TrimmedOut (Mar 29, 2016)

I used the following plans and then upgraded using a metal 2"x30"x1/8" metal rule and purple heart wood with nice metal screw down bolt. I will provide that picture in a few weeks when I available. Here is the URL for the plans used.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks I really appreciate it. Looks like I have my homework assignment for the weekend


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

I've gotten so used to having a metal yard stick by me, any time I cut something, that I wouldn't know how to act if I actually had a real tool to measure it with. I just measure from the blade tooth to the fence in front and rear of the blade and it's always come out ok. I really prefer to use my crosscut sled with a stop block if I can, that makes for some accurate cuts.


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## TrimmedOut (Mar 29, 2016)

You make a good point, there are different ways to do this. On my old PCB220TS I could use the rule or tape measure easier. On the new PCB222TS the fence wouldn't align without measuring several times. I decided to make the tool and use it for ripping measurements. Your response reminded me that I should have included how I use the tool, I am new to this process. I set the tool in the front of the saw fence and slightly tighten the fence and run the tool down the miter track to the back and lock it in place. This usually allows me to keep the same measurement each time.


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## Jessijay (Aug 18, 2016)

I have seen some great saws here and I hope this video has given you all the information that you need to make your table saw choice.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

Thanks for posting the videos. Lots of saws to look at. I found a way to get the Porter Cable saw PCB222TS fence to line up square and at the right distance from the blade. First I went back to the owners manual and followed the instructions to square up the fence. Did this a couple of times with it getting better each time. Then I found that if I moved the fence to the desired distance from the blade then applied firm pressure to the right side of the fence where the bracket mounts the fence to the table, it came out exactly where it said it was and was square. To check it I measured with a metal scale that has 1/64" markings and measured from the front of the blade to the fence then rotated the blade tooth to the rear and checked again. I check it a couple of times a week to be sure it hasn't stopped working. One disclaimer, I do all of my cutting in my garage shop. I've never moved the saw to a different job site so it's never been subject to a lot of bouncing around being transported somewhere else. Most of my work is smaller items so I leave my saw about a foot away from the wall. I have cut several 4×4ft sheet material on the saw and had to move the saw out further from the wall, then move back after I'm finished. This has been over 3 months with the saw being used several times each week and it's still working great. The real test for me is the workpieces measure correct after the cuts.


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## Golfstarter (Sep 19, 2016)

Pfleming, where did you get a dado insert or did you make your own. I ordered a dado insert that appeared when I searched for PCB222TS dado insert but what I got was the insert for the PCB220TS which does not fit.


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

Golfstarter, as much as I would have loved to just order one and be done with it, I couldn't find one that was known to actually fit the saw, so I ended up making a shop-made ZCI for the dado stack. I also made a ZCI for the regular blade. The saw only takes a 6" dado stack, so getting the blade low enough isn't a problem. I think I used 1/2" plywood and used a grinder to notch out where the top of the arbor carriage sits, under the insert. I do wish I had a piece of phenolic, but I used what I had and it seems to work fine.


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## oktams (Apr 19, 2016)

Boy this guy is a real jerk…


> Are you people kidding me? I always make my own inserts! even on my $2000 dollar jet, with a biesemeyer fence. Just trace out the insert plate, then get a piece of 1/2" MDF or other. use your best judgment on size so you don t have to sand too much…cut it out, Drop it in, mark the side for depth, run it through the barrel sander or other, drop it back in the table top.. Note: keep sanding until the new plate is level with the top, turn the saw on and bring the blade up to cut blade slot. Now make another plate, throw on those old dado blades and do the same. Rub some butchers wax on the top and your ready to go.. Note: if you don t have a barrel sander use your common sense with the materials you have and make all appropriate notches so the guard and other apparatus s work! This Porter cable PCB222TS is a great saw for the price. All saws have there draw backs it all hinges on what you want to deal with. Have a great day..
> 
> - Dontbestupid


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## doc92651 (Jul 27, 2018)

I bought a used PCB222TS. It's missing the throat plate. The throat area is pretty funky with a bunch of different elevations for a plate to sit on. Does anybody have a good plan for how to make a throat plate that fits in that space?


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## pfleming (Jan 28, 2015)

doc92651, you're dead on with that statement, they are a real pain to make an insert for. I sold mine about a year ago and upgraded to the Delta 36-725. The insert on the Delta is easier, but still thin in spots. I wish I knew someone who has a plasma cnc, so I could get them to just cut me one out of thin metal or aluminum. The PC was a good starter saw for me, but my needs surpassed what I felt comfortable doing on that saw. The Delta does take up more space, but to me, it's more than worth the trade off.


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## Gus01 (Jul 3, 2015)

Got to agree with all who say it's a pain to try and make inserts for the PC. I sold mine a year ago for a Ridgid 4512. The insert for the PC could be made from wood, but it's not practical at all. For saw like the Ridgid or Delta, making a insert is far easier but the insert for the PC would need to be so thin that I don't believe it would last very long before it breaks.


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