Customer Reviews

JET 708663DXK JTAS-10XL Xacta 10-Inch Left Tilt 3 Horsepower Cabinet Saw with 50-Inch Xacta II Fence, Router Lift, Table, and Legs, 230-Volt 1 Phase

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wanted to upgrade my Craftsman contractor saw with a good quality cabinet saw. I read all of the owner reviews and tool comparison articles that I could get my hands on. I especially enjoyed reading the Amazon.com reviews. Everyone seemed to be pleased with their Jet saws,and seemed to have less negative remarks than many of the other brands. Now that I own one, I can see why. It is a great cabinet saw!! If you have any reservations, let me assure you that you won't regret trying a Jet. I recently had the opportunity to compare the Jet JTAS 10XL to the Delta unisaw and the Powermatic at a woodworking show. I had always wanted a Delta (maybe too many New Yankee workshop shows, who knows?!) but upon review of the various options, especially the fit, and finish, I became convinced that the Jet was much better. I really liked the mirrow like finish on the Jet, almost as good as the Powermatic. I am not kicking the others because I know that you would be happy with Delta or Powermatic, but for my money I liked the Jet package the best. The saw came in five boxes, with each well identified as to their contents. A note on the cabinet: Cutting the metal bands allows you to remove the box by simply lifting the box - it sits over the saw, no bottom (this is not apprent when looking at the package) Also, Note: there are mounting bolts which attach the cabinet to the pallet. You will need help moving it onto the floor or mobile base, it is very heavy!
The instructions are excellent and have sufficient pictures to aid in assembly. By the way, You can download a copy of the owners manual from the Jet web page - which is WMHtoolgroup.com. I downloaded a copy while I was waiting for my saw to be delivered - when it arrived I was ready. By the way, I had no damage, even the outer boxes were in good shape- Thanks.
Everything aligns easily. I had no problems getting parts flush and in line. If you follow the instructions, you will be led to open each box in a sequential order: cabinet saw which includes the motor cover and extension wings; accessory packages;mounting rails,extension table, fence, router, router lift. The router and routerlift have their own instructions. Note: be sure to see the xacta lift "special instruction sheet supplement" -which tells you NOT to drill mounting holes for the Bosch router- it is already drilled along with holes for many other types of routers. I found one for my Hitachi M12V and my Porter Cable as well.
I also found it interesting that Jet includes a copy of the Inspection Record for the saw. I borrowed a friends micrometer calibration tool and found the data to be very accurate as recorded on the sheet. For example, my parallelism between the blade and the mitre slot was .0024" against Jets allowed tolerance of .0118", I was well satisfied. One final note. Jet includes a folder called the Tool Doctor which aids the consumer in cases where you may have a problem in assembly, instructions, or damaged parts. By the way, Jet has excellent response on problems, parts or warrenty. Note on Tensioning the motor: Be sure to loosen BOTH motor mount bolts (there is one on the back of the motor support bracket), this allows the motors weight to tension the belts, then lock both bolts. Also, after running the saw a few days, you may want to check and repeat this step in order to get the best setting. I found that it was necessary on mine . Boy, this saw has cutting power! I ripped and cross cut 8/4 red and white oak with ease. There was no blade wobble or kerf marks in the wood. The new xacta fence is excellent. It is the best on the market in my opinion. Very rigid when locked, and does not slip. I exerted some extra force and it did not budge. The fence faces are removable, which is a plus if you like to have special fences for special purpose cutting which I have found very usefull. They are also easy to take on and off. One final note, I liked the Delta mobile base better than any of the others that were available. The Delta model 50-289 (also available from Amazon) fits the saw perfectly, the only problem is the auxiliary table will not fit inside of the extension. However, I added a 24" piece of "L" angle to the end of the extension, using two 1/4" machine bolts. The legs of the table sit on the angle - works perfect. This mobile base has excellent rubber leveling pads and an easy to use single position footlever swivel caster when you want to move the saw. One push of the footlever and the whole saw and extension table are lifted for easy moving.
I have had this saw about a month and like it better each time I use it. Everything works and works like it is supposed to and the 3 HP motor has power to spare. I've used a CMT "General" and a Woodworker II full kerf blade and can not believe at how smooth this saw cuts. Its powerfull and extremely smooth and vibration free. I can't wait to get out there and make some sawdust. Happy woodworking!!

Originally I had ordered the Delta Unisaw. After learning that it was on back order, I searched the Amazon.com site for something in stock. What I found was a great deal on the Jet Xacta Saw that included a free upgraded Micro Adjust Xacta Fence, a Bosch router, and free shipping. A week later the saw arrived in seven boxes, and was placed in my shop by the truck driver for no extra charge. I unpacked the boxes and checked for shipping damages. Every piece was in perfect condition, no scratches or dents.
This saw is a very nice piece of equipment. The machining and fit of parts are of high quality, and the cabinet body is made from heavy-duty steel. All of the adjustments are dead on. The Exacta Micro Adjust Fence is also very heavy duty, and as solid as a rock. It can easily be adjusted with the micro adjustment as much as 1/4 inch in both directions. A feature no saw fence should be without. The Exacta Lift is made by Jessem Tool Company (nice color), and it was very easy to put together. The lift is well made and definitely worth the money. Be sure you follow the updated insert directions on how to mount the router without drilling. I am also very pleased with the Bosch router. It is my first choice in a fixed router.
On the negative side of things, Jet could do a better job of making the extended table and router cut-out. The table is not bad with its two laminated sides and oak framing, but needs more screws. The real cheesy part is the router cut-out. It needs better material for supporting the router lift. Also, some of the oak framing was warped. These are small problems and can easily be fixed. Now, the most negative complaint that I have about this saw is the plastic micro adjust lock lever on the fence. This is realy a bullet proof fence and a plastic lever just dose not measure up.
Over all I am very pleased with my Jet saw. This is the best deal if you are in the market for a high quality saw with a router lift and great router. You don't want to pass on this deal.

I have had this saw now for about 2 months and it has more than impressed me. I was worried about delivery since the fine print says that it will be driven to the curb and the driver would not assist in unloading. I was worried about forklifts, or hiring another truck and pallet jack to get it from the dock, but all was not needed as the guys (ABF here) that delivered brought it on a lift truck and rolled it right into my garage. Setup was *easy* and logical. I had just wired in a length of romex 220 for my planer, so plugging in was not a problem. I had my 30 amp breaker and locking plugs all ready to go, as they are NOT included. I did not choose the cabinet and roller stand as that was[considerably more money]. Instead I made my own from a 3/4" sheet of plywood I ripped in two with my new saw. It went through it like balsa wood with a new GP blade. The whole rig with casters was $60 and some left over melamine thrown in, and is much much stronger than the store bought version. The exacta fence is just that. You can really use the installed tape for measured cuts, and when you set it on 4 15/16ths, by golly that is what you get. It was a snap to square up, and I have made no adjustments to the saw itself (only table and fence) and it will shave a consistent piece off a stud that is transparent if you just want to show off for your friends.

The router took longer to set up than the saw did, but once you figure out the bolt pattern is off by one circle on the crazy 10 million circle diagram, you have the hardest part solved. The fence goes together in about 10 minutes and you are complete. Be careful when you are rocking the 540 lbs into position, as it is easier to do than you think. It moves easily on the rollers as well. This is a SOLID tool, and one that will last many lifetimes if cared for, as they should.

Use care in tightening bolts. The only reason I have not snapped a head off of a JET tool bolt, is because I know so many guys here, and read about here, that have. It is easy to do. Throw a cover on your saw and then a 3/4" sheet of plywood on top and you have a rolling workbench too. Awesome.

My saw was back ordered and arrived about one month after I ordered it. I was so excited to finally have it. It was in great shape - no scratches, no dings, all parts were there. I put it together with no difficulty at all. Their instructions were terrific. The only gripes I have are:
1) The dust hood was bent so far in that it was about 1/32 of an inch to the blade, but that was easy to fix - just bent it out.
2)The router lift did not fit flush in the opening, so I had to sand it down. Also the opening was a little bit too big as well, but that is okay, since the weight of my router keeps it were it needs to be.
3) The magnetic switch failed, and I am getting a new one from via Tool Crib's warranty support, which is great.

The only other negative thing to say is that the extension table really isn't supported well enough to not bow with a router in it - so I added some straight graines white oak battens to the underside, which seems to have minimized the problem. But, I do not think that this problem would be avoided with any extension table if you dropped a router in it. I just think that Jet should design a little bit better extension table for the kits that include the xacta lift.

Otherwise (and those were all minor complaints), the saw is great. It cuts amazingly accurately, there is very little runout at the arbor, it's got sufficient power (and then some), and it sure is pretty. Also, I have a small shop and the convenience of being able to add my router table into the saws footprint is very helpful.

The fence is very nice and the micro adjust feature works well, although I must admit that I don't use it much as of yet. The Bosch router is a great router. I use out of the table only, and it just feels right in my hands.

I had been looking to upgrade my 10 year old Grizzly contractor saw for awhile. At first I thought of upgrading that saw, but when I realized that the $ I'd be putting in it would still leave me with a saw that would bog down on 2" hardwood I decided to get a good cabinet saw.
After some consideration I found this Jet cabinet saw was on sale and was a great chioce for me because of the following:

1) Enough HP to rip 2-3" hardwood (with the right blade of course).
2) 50" Fence to handle plywood sheets
3) Left tilt which helps prevent kickback on miter cuts. It also puts the motor on the left side of the cabinet which frees some additional space under the extention table for the shelf.
4) I needed a router table and this setup saved me $. The router lift is great - it's the way to go.
5) The Bosch router is excellent. At 2.25 HP it will do a much better job on the table than my Porter Cable 690. Plus I can pretty much dedicate that router to stay on the table. A very nice bonus!

I aslo opted for the Cabinet and mobile base.

Setup is pretty straight forward except you need to be careful attaching the base so the router lift has enough clearance to fit into the cabinet. I learned that if you have the mobile base, don't attach the rubber end covers to the exention tube. That extra 1/4" will mess up your cabinet alignment with the router lift - I know this from experience! :^0

...If you need a good cabinet saw and router table, I'd highly recommend this package.

Great Saw. I am very happy with my purchase. I upgraded from a Ryobi BT3000, which was a nice starter saw, but required a lot of work to keep in alignment and was more limited in rip capacity, power, etc. After seeing how nicely this machine works, I really wish I had made the move sooner. Also, if you are torn between the Jet and the Delta, have no fear going with Jet. It is a high quality, solid product. A few notes:

Overall ? The fence is wonderful. Very easy to operate and the micro adjust feature is indispensable. No more tapping back and forth to get the right cut. The table and cast iron wings are solid, flat and offer no vibration. Plenty of quiet power. I?m really pleased at how much easier it is to use this vs. my old saw. Table size, fence capacity and length really make it easy. I can now easily handle a 4x8 sheet of cabinet ply provided I use an out-feed table. (I mounted my old out-feed table to the saw. Works great.) The saw comes without a plug, but putting one on and wiring a 230V circuit was easy. (Or hire an electrician if you feel under-qualified.) You can purchase 230V extension cords (intended for home air conditioners) at home improvement stores if you need extra length in your shop. ...

Assembly - Unlike one of the reviewers, I had no problems with the user?s manual. Assembly was straightforward. The only assistance I required was lifting the saw from the pallet to the mobile base. The table was dead on to the blade, and setting up the fence was easy. After initial test cuts, I had to readjust my splitter. Now I have no burns, clean cuts and plenty of power.

Base - After reading terrible reviews about the HTC mobile base, I took reviewer James Andrew?s suggestion and purchased the Delta mobile base. As he notes, the legs on the Jet?s extension table don?t fit the Delta base. Purchasing a 24? length of angle iron (Home Depot) and bolting on to the end of the Delta mobile base creates a perfect fit The Delta base is rock solid and easy to use. Thank you James, and I encourage anyone else needing a mobile base to consider this option.

Blade ? I went with Forrest?s Woodworker II thin kerf and a dampener. After getting my splitter aligned, it cuts beautifully.

Router lift ? While not difficult, this took some time. My first Bosch Router arrived in pieces. Amazon was great and cross-shipped a new one to me. To mount the router on the lift, I did have to run to a local hardware store to purchase four 4mm x 12 mm oval head screws, since those supplied with the router base had pan heads and did not fit in the lift. I purchased an external switch that I mounted on the edge of the table for easy and safer on-off operation.

As the other reviews indicate, this is a great saw and a very nice price. Well worth it.

I have worked on a few "popular" saws in the same category over the years and have checked out the direct competitors to the JTAS-10XL and I can say with certainty that this saw is as good as any within $600 of the Amazon price.

Here are the really important measures for this saw. The miter slots were within 2 thousandths of being parallel to the saw blade (I should add that I installed a 60-tooth combination blade from Systematic). The miter slots were within 2 thousandths of each other as well. The arbor is extremely accurate. By rotating the blade on the arbor I was able to get the blade to within 3 thousandths of being parallel from front of the blade to back. That means that he arbor was at most 3 thousandths out (but I don't think it was quite that far). Those are spectacular stats. Anything under 3 thousandths is excellent, under 4 is pretty good, over 5 is not very good at all.

The finish on the table is excellent. The extension table is as high quality as would be expected. The only thing I did not like about the extension table was that I had to drill holes to mount the fence rails. It was no big deal, but I get nervous after spending nearly $2k on something and immediately drilling holes in it.

The owner's manual, as stated in another review here on Amazon, was sub-par, but not nearly as bad as the other reviewer implied. I was able to set this saw set up and ready to be tuned in just over 3 hours. I was expecting a 2 day ordeal. It took a total of about 6-7 hours after all final touches.

The saw is extremely well made. I would say that the trunnions on the equivalent PowerMatic saw are beefier, but unless you are a daily, serious, heavy-duty woodworker, you will never know the difference. Also, the PowerMatic is about $2200...not worth it to me for sure.

The Bosch router is excellent. The Jess-Em router table insert is top-notch. The router has a soft start, which I did not have on my Porter-Cable. I would not buy a router without a soft start now.

Honestly, this is a great deal. If you are looking for a cabinet saw, trust me, take a look at this one. Look at the quality of components and fit. BTW, don't expect to see something perfectly assembled at your local dealer. Most dealer's just throw them together to get them on the floor. If they want to push one brand over another, they might spend some more time on their favorite brand. So overlook that if that is the case for you.

Oh, before I forget, there is one thing that I must tell you all. The magnifier over the fence tape has two lines on it (one on top and one on bottom) for a reason. If you look closely with one eye moving your head left to right you will see that the lines will intersect. That is key. You need to do that procedure each and every time you set the fence (and when you adjust the fence to the blade). This will ensure accurate cuts. It is not a design flaw or a manufacturing error. However, the two lines should be straight and parallel.

Good luck to you. Be sure to be safe using this incredibly powerful saw.

For the last 2 years I'd been using a contractors saw in a shop that a friend and me shared. After building my own shop I started looking to replace a few tools and a "cabinet" grade table saw was first on my list. For a month I researched magazines, Amazon reviews, questioned woodworkers, and so on. Finally, I decided on the Jet and MAN what table saw. I drove 2 hours to pick up my JTAS-10XL (Amazon was sold out) and paid an addition $100(Ouch). Brought it home and began to assemble, BY MY SELF (not a good idea, the cast iron top/motor is quite heavy). Some people see assembly as tedious labor; I view it more like a child standing in front of the tree on Christmas morning. Assembly took about 3 hours and plus an addition hour to dial it in. Everything went together smoothly as a matter of fact I don't recall opening the instruction book. Having used a contractor's saw for 2 years it was like trading in a Yugo for a Ferrari. This saw is solid, little or no vibration and accommodates all 13/16 of my dado blade stack. The biggest surprise to me was the quality of the router as well as the lift. Honestly, as with most "bonus" items I expected a so-so router and a lift that I would have to replace in a year or so. The Bosch router runs smoother than my DeWalt 618. The other saws I seriously considered were the Grizzly and the X5 but the router table pushed me over to the JTAS-10XL and boy did it pay off. If you must have a con I not real fond of the magnifying bubble on the fence. (There I said it) Seriously, this might be best purchase I've made to date. Solid, smooth and accurate you get you money's worth.

I have had this cabinet saw/router lift combo for about four years. The saw performs fantastic day-in and day-out. The Bosch router works great. The problems I have encountered are with the router lift. The top plate has bowed up across the extension table. I noticed that the plate is reinforced lengthwise with bars, but nothing sideways, which is the direction the plate bowed. It has bowed about 1/64". I have tried to adjust the rabbit and top plate, but I can't get it flat enough (or at least to a compromise position) that will allow good routing. After contacting Jessem I discovered that this top plate is not the same as their regular router lifts - it was contracted out to Jet who sub-contracted to a different supplier. The lift has obviously been "cheapened" to sell in the package deal through Jet. This has been a disappointment. I am also disappointed with the fact that I had to add the "Extreme Extender" in order to change router bits above the table. I am soon going to replace the extension table on my saw and buy a Bench Dog Prolift (best on the market).

I ordered this saw after exhaustive research. I had eliminated the 5hp models from JET, Delta and others due mostly to price. I knew (and I was right) the 3hp model would handle the oak and maple I like to work with. The fit and finish is first rate. Everything about this saw feels first class. I have no complaints at all

The saw arrived with no difficulty. I used the free shipping option, and contacted the carrier to ensure it was delivered on a lift gate truck (thank you to all of you who warrned me!). The whole shipment is 680 lbs. 580 of it is just the saw. I was able to slide it down my storm cellar entrance on my own (however, I don't recommend this as a 1 person job!!!), as the saw comes bolted to a wood skid.

I set the saw up in about 3 hours, with another 1 hour for the router base. Again, thanks to all of you who provided an order of assembly, and the note about the router plate holes being off by 1 mark.

In terms of cut quality, I'm very pleased. The best saw is worthless without a good blade. Again, I'm value-consious, so I've been using the Freud blades - I have about 6 of them between my radial arm saw, table saw and mitre saw. I've not been given a compelling reason to spend the extra money on Forrest blades. I've also added the Freud Super Dado set, and made some unreal dado cuts.

I would recommend a few extras: 1 - stabalizer. This has made good cuts excellent cuts. It really is a must, even with the quality Freud blades. 2- Zero clearance insert. In combo with a good rip blade, I've been ripping oak plywood without any tearout or splintering. 3 - Outfeed table. I've just ordered the Delta, and I'll be positing a review later in the week.

This saw has PLENTY of power for any cut. I've cut 3/4" x 3/4" dado's with out any bogging of the saw. I've rip-cut 3" solid maple stock without any hint of bogging down. This thing just GOES!!!

UPDATE:

I've installed the Delta outfeed table. It took drilling a few holes in the cabinet, and removing the splitter/ blade guard. It took about 3 hours to install, but it fits perfectly. This is an excellent addition to an already great saw. It really make the saw more useable, and more importantly, safer.