The author looked at 13 popular 3-hp, 220v 10-in. cabinet saws. In addition to evaluating the saws for power and safety, he also tested for tabletop flatness, for runout at the arbor shaft and arbor flange, and for parallelism of the blade to the miter slot. He found that all the saws offered plenty of power, solid rip fences, smooth controls, and flat tabletops. But the Powermatic PM2000 goes even further. It has an easy-to-change riving knife and a good blade guard. The shut-off switch is especially easy to reach with the knee, and the tabletop is the second largest in the test group. Furthermore, it’s the only saw that includes retractable casters (although lowering them required a lot of effort, a problem that is being corrected on newer models). An extension table and legs are included. The Powermatic PM2000 tied with the SawStop for author’s choice of best overall.

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