Thanks Don. Now I can sleep tonight.
I found your original thread by doing a search for 209HH.
I'll try to keep this short, but my reason was as follows:
I originally ordered a Powermatic 15HH from Joe at Osolnik Machinery & Supplies. I had a three month wait and when it arrived it was also packed in a solid wooden crate which was impressing.
Anyway, I had what I called an unacceptable snipe problem which I spent hours and hours trying to correct. I then decided I had paid a good penny for this thing and it should come from the factory in good working order. If my new auto didn't run right I would take it back to the dealer. So I called Powermatic service in LaVergne, TN. They were extremely helpful and suggested they send their local service rep out to take a look at it. And that they did.
After he corrected the problem he said he wanted to do a full width cut to check the snipe across the full width. To our surprise, the machine died(motor overload kicked out) after 4" into the cut. Anyway, he could not get the thing to take more than 1/64" and keep it running at a full width cut. The Powermatic specs say it will do 1/8".
(No need to get into a big discussion on how much wood should be taken with each pass.) They sent a new motor and the results were the same. The field tech said the machine was underpowered or had another problem and told Powermatic that. They sent a carrier to pick it up and Joe returned my money.
I want to say, I purchased the machine from Joe Osolnik at
http://www.osolnikmachinery.com/index.asp. Joe monitor my situation from start to finish and kept pressure on Powermatic all the time. I would trust Joe with my wallet.
Now I'm considering the 209HH. The Byrd head did a fantastic job so that's why I'm looking at the 209HH.
So Don, tell me what you think of the 209HH.
If anyone else has any feedback on this machine, please give your feedback.
Thanks,
Jim
Kodak, TN