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.
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Rockler Dust Right 650 CFM
While all five of the smaller units will collect chips efficiently when deployed properly, the 3/4-hp Rockler was just a bit more powerful in our suction test.
The gauge has a quick and easy method for fitting the guide bar precisely to your tablesaw’s miter slot. This means the gauge can be recalibrated if necessary for continued accuracy. The face of the protractor head can be adjusted square to the table and also square to the guide bar. This ensures accurate cuts, and it, too, can be readjusted if the need arises. The protractor head has stainless-steel knobs and fittings and high-contrast, easy-to-read white numbers and increments.
Regardless of the board’s grain, this jointer produced excellent results. Its fence was totally flat, worked smoothly, and locked well, staying in place even after jointing multiple edges. Getting the fence to 90° was very easy, but the 90° stop was a little tricky to set and the fence did not go back to square when using it. For those who would use it, there is also a digital depth-of-cut scale.
With its graceful curves, cabriole legs, and ornamental back splat, a Queen Anne side chair is a bucket list build for many woodworkers. Dan Faia had a very specific Queen…
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Jun 01, 2006
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