PM 2000 and 1000 Component Differences

[brianb]

Hi All, I have an odd question so please try to follow me before jumping in.

I am about 95% certain I’m going to purchase a PowerMatic 2000 but am unable to find a store in my area that has a display model. Based on reviews I’m confident I won’t find anything lacking (compared to my current contractor Ridgid) but before spending this much to order one I really want to get my hands on it and make sure it’s gunna work in my space.

The stores around me carry the 1000 and I’m wondering what differences (other than the motor) there is between the two saws? Are they basically the same, completely different cabinets or combination of the two. Does anyone with experience on both models think the PM1000 will be similar enough in components to give reasonable feedback.

[knotscott]

The PM1000 is really built more like one of the better hybrid saws….a little beefier, but more along the lines of the Jet Proshop and Laguna Fusion. It does have cabinet mounted trunnions, but they mount to the center strut of the cabinet as opposed to the corners, and are much smaller and lighter duty than those on the PM2000. Same fence, and is still a nice saw, but not as robust overall. There’s about 194# difference between the PM1000 and PM2000. The PM2000 is also 3" deeper.  It’s good to clarify what you get and what you don’t get because they look so similar from a glance.

The best way to grasp the difference is to pull the tops of both and take a look under the hood. Since that’s not feasible for most of us, a pic is the next best thing. Unfortunately, it’s proven difficult to find a good pic of the guts of the PM1000, so the third option is to look at the parts diagram of the trunnion assembly and compare the two…the scale is skewed, but will give you some idea.

PM1000:

PM2000:

With all that said, I'm wondering if you've consider the Saw Stop PCS3hp with the T-Glide fence upgrade?  It's a very high quality saw with robustness somewhere between the PM1000 and PM2000, and it won't bite.

[Llama]

I have also done a fair amount of research, and the Saw Stop ICS has more in common to the PM 2000 than the PM 1000. If I were to purchase "my last saw", and it not be a slider it would be the SS ICS or the PM 2000.

[brianb]

1 hour ago, Llama said:

I have also done a fair amount of research, and the Saw Stop ICS has more in common to the PM 2000 than the PM 1000. If I were to purchase "my last saw", and it not be a slider it would be the SS ICS or the PM 2000.

Thanks for the info. I guess my biggest thing isn't necessarily getting a feel for the fit and finish or how it operates, but more how it's gunna fill the space. I've measured and it fits, but it's always hard to tell how something is going to impact a room until you actually have it there. 

For example I have a hole drilled in the floor for a sump pump. They've since leveled the lot and the basement no longer floods, but hole's still there. The hole is about 3x2 and my hope is to hang the short extension table over the hole (right now it's unusable space) and place the cabinet about 6 inches to the left of the hole. I know it will fit as I've measured it based on dimensions of the saw, but I'm curious how things like accessing the tilt wheel will be once it's in place.

I'm realizing now that I'm talking about a hole in my basement (which isn't even interesting to me) and I think I just need to suck it up and measure what I can and then adjust my shop around it as needed.

Unless anyone on here in the Boston area has a PM2000 I can borrow for a test fit  

 

3 hours ago, knotscott said:

The PM1000 is really built more like one of the better hybrid saws….a little beefier, but more along the lines of the Jet Proshop and Laguna Fusion. It does have cabinet mounted trunnions, but they mount to the center strut of the cabinet as opposed to the corners, and are much smaller and lighter duty than those on the PM2000. Same fence, and is still a nice saw, but not as robust overall. There’s about 194# difference between the PM1000 and PM2000. The PM2000 is also 3" deeper.  It’s good to clarify what you get and what you don’t get because they look so similar from a glance.

The best way to grasp the difference is to pull the tops of both and take a look under the hood. Since that’s not feasible for most of us, a pic is the next best thing. Unfortunately, it’s proven difficult to find a good pic of the guts of the PM1000, so the third option is to look at the parts diagram of the trunnion assembly and compare the two…the scale is skewed, but will give you some idea.

PM1000:

PM2000:

With all that said, I'm wondering if you've consider the Saw Stop PCS3hp with the T-Glide fence upgrade?  It's a very high quality saw with robustness somewhere between the PM1000 and PM2000, and it won't bite.

Hey Scott, thank you for the info. One thing I'm confused by is that I've occasionally seen the longest dimension of a saw (perpendicular to the blade generally) being referred to as the "width", which I think makes the short distance (parallel to the blade) the depth. This seems odd to me, but you mentioned that the 2k is "3 in deeper" than the 1k. I'm curious if depth is generally the perpendicular or parallel measurement of the table, and more importantly what you dimension you meant there.

Sorry for the long winded question, I just needed something to do while waiting for my current table-saw to come up to speed  

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, brianb said:

 

Hey Scott, thank you for the info. One thing I'm confused by is that I've occasionally seen the longest dimension of a saw (perpendicular to the blade generally) being referred to as the "width", which I think makes the short distance (parallel to the blade) the depth. This seems odd to me, but you mentioned that the 2k is "3 in deeper" than the 1k. I'm curious if depth is generally the perpendicular or parallel measurement of the table, and more importantly what you dimension you meant there.

Sorry for the long winded question, I just needed something to do while waiting for my current table-saw to come up to speed  

Depth is the front to back measurement, or as you put it, parallel to the blade.  3" is a big deal, most consumer oriented saws have almost no infeed support, which is a problem when ripping lumber or even cross cutting wide boards.  

 

[brianb]

1 hour ago, Mike. said:

Depth is the front to back measurement, or as you put it, parallel to the blade.  3" is a big deal, most consumer oriented saws have almost no infeed support, which is a problem when ripping lumber or even cross cutting wide boards.  

 

That's what I had assumed, but I got confused by the spec dimensions listed on Amazon (they're in different order for the PM2000 vs PM1000th)

Thanks again for all the insights here though.

[knotscott]

For a better visual comparison, I did stumble into a pic of the PM1000 sans top:

 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, knotscott said:

For a better visual comparison, I did stumble into a pic of the PM1000 sans top:

 

 

It would be cool to see the sawstop PCS and ICS with the same view.  The difference between the PM1000 and PM2000 is obvious with the top removed.  

[knotscott]

Here are some SS pics - Saw Stop PCS:

 

Saw Stop ICS: