Well I walked into my local machine dealer today and right up front and
center sat a work of art. The new Powermatic 2000.
If you have not seen it yet is worth a look simply for the entertainment
value. It looks old school with all its bulges and curves. Fit and finish
was immaculate. The cool improvements over the 66 are numerous and I would
want every one of them IF I were in the market again for a cabinet saw.
This new model comes with a snap out riving knife, snap out kick back paws,
and snap out blade guard. No tools need to remove any of these pieces. For
those of you that struggle with tightening and loosening the arbor nut the
arbor shaft now has a lock pin so that 1 wrench is all that is needed. No
need for a block of wood or a second wrench. Surrounding the blade under
the table is a dust shield with a 3" hole in it with a flex hose that leads
down to the 4" collection outlet at the back of the saw. You can remove the
tube if you want the cabinet to catch the dust. I do not recall how the old
PM66 motor is mounted but the motor on the 2000 is attached on the end near
the pulley to a flat machined surface. Like the 66 this saw is also a left
tilt. The bevel gauge on the front of the saw is not painted or simply a
stamped piece of metal attached to the cabinet. It is a work of art. About
1/2" thick and all degree increments are molded into the metal piece. 2
adjustable angle indicators attached with dove tail shaped clamps ride along
the gauge for an easy reminder of where to set the bevel. They do not
however act as stops like those that stop at 45 and 0 degrees. The saw
weighs about 750 pounds. The miter gauge is a great improvement. It beats
the pants of the competitions stock miter gauges. It has a fence and IIRC
you turn a knob to adjust the angle. The switch now has a button to push
to start the motor surrounded by a protruding donut shaped ring. Pushing
the donut shaped ring turns the motor off. Above the switch is a magnet
button key. To lock the switch simply remove the magnetic key. Last that I
can remember and my personal favorite is there is no need for a separate
mobile base. The saw has built-in, inside the cabinet, a set of 4 casters.
You pull out on the bevel adjustment wheel and it and the shaft pull out
about 2 additional inches. The blade tilt disengages and the caster
adjustment engages. Crank the wheel and the saw lifts up off the floor.
Walk to the end of the right table extension and lift the support legs up
and push or pull the saw to where you want.

$2199 Made in Taiwan.