Powermatic 8-Inch Parallelogram Jointer, Helical Cutterhead, 2 HP, 1Ph 230V (PJ-882HH)

Package arrived in good shape. Unit finish, with one exception, is flawless. One rust spot with some pitting about the size of a quarter on the rabbit ledge. Called and they immediately sent replacement. Very little assembly / setup required. Operationally, a little more vibration than one would expect from a 700 lb behemoth. I replaced their standard belt with a v-link belt and it's smooth as silk now. What attracted me (mostly) to this unit was how the fence operates and sets up, as well as table length. (I've not had good success with the standard fence locking/setting design generally used on jointers) First cuts were smooth and according to Starrett, right at 90 deg. I've not run massive liner feet thru this yet but test cuts with wide white oak were clean and the 2 hp seemed more than sufficient. This unit sits a little lower than my previous jointer, which for me is helpful for control. Amazon lists this as 2hp but for whatever reason Tool King was preparing to ship 3hp. Call the real seller to ensure you're getting what you expect.

First, shipping was top notch. 5 stars there!Now on to the Jointer. I was trying to decide between the 8" Helical head Grizzly or this Powermatic jointer for double the price. I chose the latter, with expectations that I'd be getting a machine that would require less setup from the factory and premium customer service.I get the Jointer and start going through setup. First step. The outfeed table was .025" too low even all the way maxed out on the adjustment knob and set screws back all the way out. I call customer service thinking maybe I am missing something. Now I understand they have tons of products but the customer service rep took 2 hours to reach. I gave them my model on this jointer and he clearly had no idea what machine I was talking about. This machine has been production for decades. It's the Cadillac of jointers. How can you not know that as a customer service rep working for Powermatic?I digress.We speak on the phone and he was very friendly. He said I did everything correctly and that he would send out a rep and that someone would be calling me. Very good news indeed! Except no one called me. Then when I call back, it was as it I never called. No one knew anything about my case.So instead, I spent 2 days adjusting the cams on the outfeed and that finally corrected the issue. So, from first hand experience, you're not getting top quality setup from factory, you're not getting quality customer service, you are getting the exact same thing you would at half the price from any other one of these now Chinese based companies. In fact, Grizzly has been nothing but excellent when it comes to customer service so I'd even argue your getting a worse experience with Powermatic.As for the jointer itself, its a beautiful tool that performs beautifully once you burn two shop days setting it up. Unfortunately, they're way past their prime days as a company. I can't say I believe the premium price is worth it anymore over other offerings in the market.

This is a very good machine. The reason for the 4 stars rather than 5 is because of the difficulty in alignment of the decks.I am unable to remove one of the wheels from the front to access the adjustment bolt. It came aligned close, but getting it to perfect has been a challenge. Finally got to within in .025 on one and .030 on another point. Hindered because of the inability to remove the wheel. Also, bolts on the front are behind the guard support of the deck and I do not have a offset metric wrench and it is impossible to loosen without one.Another thing is how quiet it operates and gives a near perfect finish on the wood. Deck is high quality cast iron that is milled to a very good finish.This machine is what you expect to get when you spend $3K on a Jointer.

I purchased this jointer 8mo ago. It worked great for 6mo. The last 2mo I have been fighting with powermatic about repairing it.....mind you it is still under warrenty for 4mo. The tables are bowing when I tighten the table with the locking handles. Powermatic said that's impossible,can't be.The company I bought it off of made me load this jointer up and take it there for adjustment....how convenient. I was called after 2 WEEKS to come and pick it up. I was so excited to have this back because I build furniture for a living. When the jointer goes down, the shop shuts down. I explained to powermatic why I stepped up to their machines for dependability and the importance of me getting back to work...they could care less.I have had customers canceling orders because I couldn't make their deadlines and had to lay off an employee . Their customer service is awful. I finally get the machine back to the shop, plug it in run a board and it cuts worse than it did when it left.Then the owner of the business that I bought my jointer from came to my shop to see this himself 3 days later.I have been waiting two weeks since they told me they were going to exchange it. I just called today because it was to arrive . I was told it will not be in for another week.This jointer has been a headach.The tables are not ground as well as my old grizzy jointer, and have to be waxed very often.The cam adjustemts for the tables are extremely difficult to use. I had a machinest who sets up woodworking equip around the country say this was designed terrible from the locking handles to the cam adjustments.I do like the helical head....very nice. Do not buy this jointer unless you like crooked boards,poor customer service,waxing the tables constantly,diging out the poor dust collection shoot,and extreme down time in the shop.I will never buy Powermatic again!!