Powermatic 1791310 PM701 3/4 Horsepower Bench Mortiser

I can not rave enough about Amazon's service or the Powermatic 701 Mortising Machine.
I ordered this machine on March 15 and the web site reflected a new product that was on backorder.
Amazon's web site also told me the machine would be shipped and delivered between April 20 and May 8th. It arrived on the 14th of April in excellent condition.
The price with one of Amazon's special sale days, the supersavor shipping, and no sales tax made this machine very very competitive with the $200-$300 priced machines.
Six stars for Amazon.com!!!

This is one massive bench top machine. I use to own a Jet, which was a nice servicable little machine for the price, but it was very basic with a very basic table made of MDF.

I debated between the higher end Delta, the General Tilting Table Mortiser, and the Powermatic 701. I went with the Powermatic as I do not make slat back chairs and therefore did not need to have the tilting feature...Read more

I ordered the PM701 after reading several tool reviews. I was starting a project that requires a lot of mortising and I didn't look forward to digging them out by hand, so I decided to invest in a benchtop mortiser and based on the reviews I decided to spend the extra dollars for the Powermatic. I was not disappointed! The machine arrived on time and setup was easy because the directions were straight forward. I had a set of chisels/bits from a Delta mortising jig (for use on a drill press) and I also had the 3mm and 10mm hex head wrenches that are required for setup. I knew that I needed them from reading other evals on Amazon.com. I set off on my mortising adventure and upon completion of all that drilling I was apprehensive if the tenons were going to fit. I couldn't have been more pleased. Every one of the 12 mortises accepted the tenons with a snug, but not too tight fit. There were single row 1/2 inch wide mortises and double row 1/2 inch wide mortises(used to make 1 inch wide...Read more

First, although an occasional Amazon customer, I avoided all potential problems with shipping, backorder, and freight damage by the simple expedient of buying locally. I was able to look at Delta, Jet, Shopfox, and Steel City side by side for comparison. Oddly, I bought the one machine they did not have set up on display - the Powermatic PM701 - based on past experience with Powermatic machines, and the reviews on this site.

The Powermatic was $100 more than the others, give or take. This got me a solid cast iron table and fence, adjustible roller guides for holding the stock against the fence, right or left hand operation, a large access door for the chuck, a 3/4 hp motor, an included diamond hone, and (a serious consideration) a brand that would be easy to resell if I decided I didn't like or need it.

Surprises:
1. Virturally no assembly. You take it out of the box, install the handle, adjust the three jib bolts (and yes,as noted by others, an...Read more