Hi All,
Questions about bandsaws have been surfacing here a lot lately, including my own! Well, after contemplating which bandsaw to get, I finally went with the Powermatic 14″ Deluxe model.

I’m offering my initial responses. Keep in mind that all of this refers to the set up procedures, the testing of the saw integrity, and only a couple of days of actual use. But still, these early impressions are useful, and I wanted to get them down before I move on and forget about them!

Quick Impressions
I previously owned a Jet 14″ (circa 2002). I saw a lot of similarities here. The basic body design looks pretty much like the Jet 14″. But the Powermatic is heavier-duty. One way I knew this is when I picked up the upper body of the saw. It is a lot heavier than the Jet 14″! The power switch is the same one used in the Jet 14″, which is good since I always liked it. The blade guard, which I also liked very much, is also the same. The fence, which I liked a great deal, is exactly the same, except it is now gold instead of white. Funny thing is, the package for the Powermatic fence still has “Jet” stamped on it!

The base is larger and more substantial. The new saw has a Carter tension lever. It has a set of bandrollers, a built-in work lamp, and a dust blower. It also has a table extension. I’ll say up front that, except for the Carter tension lever, these upgrades were not that important to me.

Deeper Impressions — Mostly Positive
Putting the saw together starts to reveal several important details about its design and integrity. One thing I noticed right away was that the new saw has much heavier wheels, with more spokes. There is a brush on the lower wheel — a nice addition that I often considered adding to my old bandsaw. The knobs on the doors and other areas are rubberized. The door catches open and close more smoothly, another welcome improvement.

The cast-iron table is 15×15, an inch bigger all around than the old Jet 14″. It was flat, tested with a straightedge in all directions. I detected a fine sliver of light beneath the straightedge on the outer part of the table, but not even enough to slip a piece of paper through. The table pin is a new design, with a handle, making it easy to put in and out, a nice little touch. The table is covered with a protective substance, which I took off with Paslode spray. The surface was a bit rougher than my Jet 14″, with some visible machining. I burnished the table with #0000 steel wool, and then coated it twice with Topcoat. Now it is nice and smooth.

The trunnion on the new saw is made of cast iron. I’m happy about this. Not that I had a big problem with the Jet 14″ steel trunnion, but it did feel light. The Powermatic trunnion is quite heavy.

It is very easy to set the table to square. Just loosen the knobs under the table and tilt it until the indicator reads 0 degrees, then lock the knobs again. The reading is accurate. The knobs are rubber coated for comfort.

All steel parts appear well made. Inspecting the inside of the housing, I could see that the solderings are clean, and the paint covers all areas. I saw no rust or dents anywhere on the machine.

The fence went together nicely, and it locks down securely. I always liked the Jet bandsaw fence, and I am happy WMH continues to use this design in the new saw. It also has a terrific and easy system to adjust for squareness.

The miter gauge is light duty and will remain on a shelf. The saw comes with hooks that hold the miter gauge, but I chose not to install these, since I will not be using the miter gauge.

There is no dust port on this saw. While this at first seems like a bad idea, the dust port on my old saw was so useless, they might as well have left it out.

Terrible Instructions
I was quite frustrated with the instructions. After five years, I figured WMH would have improved the manual, but it is actually WORSE than it was when I bought my Jet 14″. The instructions leave out steps, they assume certain things are already done, and they refer to the wrong parts several times. For example, they refer to screws using the wrong terminology and the wrong sizes. The pictures in the manual are often of the wrong machine, showing the old Jet 14″ model at times. Someone needs to spend a couple of hours and fix this. As it is now, if you have any experience with bandsaws, I would almost say you are better off using your intuition to put things together.

Missing Parts
I bought a Jet contractor’s table saw in 2000, right around the time the company was acquired by WMH, and I was infuriated by major parts missing, wrong hardware, and damaged parts packaged with the saw. After returning the saw three times and having the same thing occur again and again, I gave up on Jet for a while. Well, things weren’t quite that bad with the Powermatic bandsaw, but there were some issues. The package was missing several screws that were needed at various points, and some of the screws were the wrong size. For example, the pan-head screws included for the power-cord plate were too large. I’ll have to go to a hardware store to get the right ones.

Is the Table Extension Worth It?
Powermatic includes a 5×15 table extension with this saw, which brings the total table surface to 20×15. It’s kind of difficult to describe, but the way you have to install it is quite inconvenient. You must get a set of screws up through the cast-iron housing, working around the wheel spokes. These screws set into the extension. At the same time, you need to install a steel plate under the extension that also screws into the cast-iron housing (the instructions don’t explain anything about the steel plate). The only way to install the extension easily is to remove the lower wheel. But I just had to ask myself, “Do I really need the extension?” The answer is “no.” So I did not install it. I may come back and add this later on.

Dust Blower — Really?
After installing the dust blower tube as the instructions explain, I tested it and felt that the amount of air blown through it is too insignificant to be of any value. My test cut proved this to be true. I may work with the blower to see if I’ve done something wrong, but my guess is that this is not a high-value addition. It pretty much just gets in the way. Like I said earlier, this was not part of my decision to get this saw anyway.

Useful Work Light
The work light is a good idea. It has a long neck, allowing for good adjustments. It swivels out of the way when necessary. It is mounted intelligently to the cast-iron frame. I like this idea, and will certainly use it.

Bandrollers
Most woodworkers consider these an obvious upgrade. I know that for years people have been purchasing bandrollers to add to their 14″ saws, often spending $125 or more. Well, I was used to Cool Blocks in my old Jet 14″, and I always liked them. My first use of the bandrollers was rather awkward. I found it a pain to get the rollers set just right, so they are 1/64″ from the blade. It is an extra step to loosen the set screws then adjust the rollers with an Alan wrench. With Cool Blocks, it is easier — you just press them lightly up against the blade and tighten a thumb screw. But I’ll withhold judgement until I get a chance to use the rollers a little more. My main concern is how well the rollers will work with narrow blades. Also, I’m sure blade changes with this system will be much more time-consuming and more difficult.

Carter Tension Lever
Now here’s an upgrade that is worth it! I can tell already that I will love having this in my saw. The whole tension assembly is better. You just tension the lever, then turn the indicator to the right tension level. After that, you just move the lever up or down to tension and de-tension the blade. The Carter system works smoothly, with a nice big knob to grab while making the adjustment. It locks securely into place. It has three positions: fully tensioned, lightly tensioned, and fully de-tensioned. I also like that the tension rod rests on a steel plate, not on the cast-iron frame. Nice system!

Tracking
The tracking system is essentially the same as the Jet 14″. Loosen a wing nut. Then, while spinning the upper wheel with your hand, turn the tracking knob one way or the other until you see the blade staying in the center of the wheel. This is intuitive and easy to use. The knob on the new Powermatic is smaller, which is necessary so it doesn’t conflict with the Carter tension lever.

My First Cuts with the Deluxe Powermatic
After getting the saw together, tensioning and tracking the blade, and setting the rollers, I was ready to see how this machine works.

The Carter tension lever brought the blade to 3/8″ tension very nicely. I adjusted the work light and turned it on. The blade guard went into place easily. The fence moved into position and locked down perfectly. Pressing the “Start” button, I got an immediate sense that this machine has a more powerful motor. There is a short pause, then the motor kicks into high RPMs. It runs very smoothly. I sensed absolutely no vibration — it passed the nickle test. After letting it run for a few seconds, I picked up my test piece, which was

scrap 36″ length of 2×4 poplar. For the test, I ripped the wood down the middle using the junky 3/8″ stock blade.

Throughout the cut, the rollers held the blade nice and steady. When I was done, I tested the cut, and it was perfect at 90 degrees. The blower, as predicted, didn&

#39;t do much. I had the same amount of dust on the cut line as I ever did with the Jet 14″.

Conclusions
As I have said, these are my first impressions. The Powermatic Deluxe 14″ seems like a well-made saw. The instructions are useless, and a couple of the upgrades (blower, table extension, and bandrollers) are questionable. But it has a few wonderful upgrades, including a cast-iron trunnion, heavier wheels, a Carter tension lever, generally heavier-duty body, and a built-in worklight. It runs very smoothly.

I will check back in after more extensive use.