Powermatic 60C 8-inch Jointer

The Powermatic 60C jointer is the most affordable of Powermatic’s four 8-inch jointer models. It is nearly identical to the Powermatic 60HH, which has helical head cutters instead of standard blades.

Comparison with the smaller 54A

It is the larger brother (8 vs 6 inches) of the Powermatic 54A, with a few upgrades. The fence has a handwheel for setting the angle, which makes it very precise and easier to use. The infeed table has a lever and a knob, which allows for quick changing and fine tuning of the table height.

The 60C lacks the quick-set knives found on the 54A, which makes the upgrade to the Helical Head model even more attractive. Helical head cutters are quieter, last longer, and are easier to replace.

Dovetail base

The body of the machine is mounted on a classic wedge-bed dovetail base on which both the infeed and outfeed table slide up and down. Powermatic also offers two 8-inch jointers with a parallelogram design. Parallelogram jointers are better if you regularly change the height of the infeed and outfeed tables.

Rabbeting ledge

The Powermatic 60C also has a rabbeting ledge, which does not work with the 60HH. So if you plan to make rabbets on your jointer, you’ll have to stick with this model of the helical head one.

Replacement Blades: Because this machine uses standard blades, you can choose to use either authentic Powermatic blades, which can be found on Amazon or eBay, or blades from other makers, which are quite a bit cheaper. For example, these blades from Xcalibur on Amazon.