covers. The operators’ manual included with the POWERMATIC 15HH has a full set of
illustrated instructions for making these adjustments.
To enhance operator safety, we added a row of closely spaced anti kickback fingers. These steel
fingers are gravity operated and require no adjustment. They automatically engage the wood as it
enters the cutterhead and help prevent it from being kicked out.
While the POWERMATIC 15HH is capable of 3/16
”
-deep cuts on most stock widths, a limiter
plate at the center of the cutterhead limits full-width cuts to 1/8
”
or less. Controlling full-width
cut depth avoids applying excessive strain to the machine but also prevents damaging the wood.
Deep cuts are far more likely to produce chipping and tearout
because of the extraordinary stress applied to the wood fibers.
Dust Collection
The POWERMATIC 15HH generates large quantities of dust
and chips that must be evacuated to maintain performance at
the cutterhead. The efficiency of the POWERMATIC 15HH
doesn’t reduce that quantity though its cutting action does tend
to produce smaller particles than a long knife machine. We
recommend a 500-600CFM (cubic feet per minute minimum)
dust collector to handle the flow of chips properly.
An all-metal dust hood comes with the POWERMATIC 15HH
that creates a short, direct path for the debris directly from the
cutterhead. The hood terminates with a 4
”
-diameter port that is angled to the side so the dust
collector hose does not interfere with the stock as it exits.
The dust chute angles the 4”-diameter
port to the side so the hose does not hang
in the way of the wood as it exits from
under the cutterhead.
Table and Adjustment
The main and extension cast iron table
surfaces are precision ground for
precise planning. The main table
surface is 20
”
-long by 15
”
-wide and is
fully captured on four round, 2”-
diameter, precision ground steel posts.
Each corner of the table is locked onto a
lead screw within its post that controls
the up and down movement. The lead
screws are driven by a single chain
through a gear drive. A large 6
”
-
diameter cast iron handwheel with
spinner handle drives the height
adjustment mechanism. Each full
Table height is adjusted with a large (left) cast iron handwheel with a
spinner knob. A pair of locking knobs (right) one at each end of the
table locks it in position firmly. These locking knobs can be moved to
the opposite side of the 15HH if space is an issue.
