Powermatic PM2820EVS and Nova Voyager
- Thread starter karellm
- Start date
Can't say much about the Powermatic except I hate the color.
The NOVA is dream to use, though it took some getting used to waiting for it to boot up once turned on. This annoys the impatient side of me when I want to drill one hole for instance. Which , is why I haven't got rid of an antique Atlas bench top.
The NOVA is dream to use, though it took some getting used to waiting for it to boot up once turned on. This annoys the impatient side of me when I want to drill one hole for instance. Which , is why I haven't got rid of an antique Atlas bench top.
clark_fork
Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2015
- Messages
- 306
Powermatic announced recently they will issue an "Anniversary" version in the fall. Perhaps you can find out pricing from a local dealer before making a choice. These anniversary versions often come with add-ons. The dust collector I just purchased came with a chip cyclone.
My closest Powermatic Dealer is 4 hours away and did not stock the anniversary products so I
I had to pay shipping which was set at a flat rate of $150.00 and took two weeks.
High tech is influencing drill press manufacturing and the field seems to be in flux and may not have settled down. If I considered, I would wait a bit to see about the current state of innovation. (gear drives, computer displays and such)
My closest Powermatic Dealer is 4 hours away and did not stock the anniversary products so I
I had to pay shipping which was set at a flat rate of $150.00 and took two weeks.
High tech is influencing drill press manufacturing and the field seems to be in flux and may not have settled down. If I considered, I would wait a bit to see about the current state of innovation. (gear drives, computer displays and such)
I'm a happy owner of the Voyager. No real complaints about it except for the usual "replace the chuck" that most owners do. There's nothing wrong with the original chuck in terms of manufacturing quality; it's just a keyed chuck and I preferred a Llambrich keyless. For woodworking, I would also recommend attaching an auxiliary table and fence; I went with the Woodpeckers table but if you search the forum you'll find some other owners who have done some great custom work.
I will emphasize that this is a drill press, not a mill, and is not built to mill tolerances: mine has about 0.003" (0.076mm) runout at the chuck after the best tuning I could do. Teknatool's official published documentation states that anything below 0.007" (0.178mm) runout is within expected tolerances and not a defect.
I will emphasize that this is a drill press, not a mill, and is not built to mill tolerances: mine has about 0.003" (0.076mm) runout at the chuck after the best tuning I could do. Teknatool's official published documentation states that anything below 0.007" (0.178mm) runout is within expected tolerances and not a defect.
Mike Goetzke
Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,133
If you choose Nova be prepared to wait.
I have not been able to find out if it's a supplier or manufacture issue but I went through this decision process and decided on the Nova Voyager. Ordered it early January knowing it had a 60 day lead time. Watched the days tick down to 15 only to get my order cancelled since stock was not expected until late August.
Was all excited to get the Voyager and I even purchased a Wixey laser and Albrecht keyless chuck for it. But this experience/delay has me thinking maybe my old Ridgid is still good enough.
Found this on another forum about the PM: "The tilt table with removable insert is nice BUT the hex bolt and locking handle below the table do not lock it at a perfect 90 to the bit. No matter how tight you make them they don’t hold the table and I’m seeing reports of users getting up to two degrees of unwanted tilt. In my case it’s about one degree. JN Woodworks on YouTube created a video showing how he fixed the issue so perhaps I’ll give that a try. Sad that a company like Powermatic would make such a bad design choice.
Other than that critical flaw, I’m happy with it."
I have not been able to find out if it's a supplier or manufacture issue but I went through this decision process and decided on the Nova Voyager. Ordered it early January knowing it had a 60 day lead time. Watched the days tick down to 15 only to get my order cancelled since stock was not expected until late August.
Was all excited to get the Voyager and I even purchased a Wixey laser and Albrecht keyless chuck for it. But this experience/delay has me thinking maybe my old Ridgid is still good enough.
Found this on another forum about the PM: "The tilt table with removable insert is nice BUT the hex bolt and locking handle below the table do not lock it at a perfect 90 to the bit. No matter how tight you make them they don’t hold the table and I’m seeing reports of users getting up to two degrees of unwanted tilt. In my case it’s about one degree. JN Woodworks on YouTube created a video showing how he fixed the issue so perhaps I’ll give that a try. Sad that a company like Powermatic would make such a bad design choice.
Other than that critical flaw, I’m happy with it."
Bertotti
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 384
The guys at my local equipment company talk up the Powermatic. I have my name in for the black anniversary model which will be released in August. I never loved the yellow color but I didn't hate either. These black anniversary models look very classy, and the anniversary model, I think has a 20" swing.
One thing worth noting is that the Powermatic, despite being more expensive, is a much less powerful drill. It has a 1HP motor, half the power of the one in the Voyager (when hooked to 230V; it’s 1.75HP on 115V). It also has a considerably narrower speed range, 150-3600 RPM vs 50-5500 RPM.
For typical woodworking applications, this probably won’t matter unless you’re using giant Forstner bits, but it’s a pretty significant difference if you intend to drill metal.
For typical woodworking applications, this probably won’t matter unless you’re using giant Forstner bits, but it’s a pretty significant difference if you intend to drill metal.
Thanks everyone for your feedback.
I own multiple Powermatic tools and love them but for this I'm leaning toward the Nova Voyager. The depth stop on the new Powermatic seem quite counter intuitive to me. Plus my dealer has the Voyager in stock and I could get in 2 days.
I own multiple Powermatic tools and love them but for this I'm leaning toward the Nova Voyager. The depth stop on the new Powermatic seem quite counter intuitive to me. Plus my dealer has the Voyager in stock and I could get in 2 days.
