Customer Reviews

JET 708775K JWSS-10PF Supersaw 10-Inch Left Tilt 1-3/4-Horsepower Intermediate Saw with 30-Inch Xacta Fence, and 2 Cast Iron Extension Wings, 115/230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My wife bought this saw for me as a gift which I recieved sometime about February 2003. I was so excited when I uncrated the saw, set it up, and cut my first piece of wood. It looked and worked great for about 3 weeks. Then abruptly the blade would not raise or lower any more, a broken timing belt. I contacted Amazon who informed me that the part was on backorder for several weeks. About 3 weeks later I recieved the part. I contacted a Jet service representative who assured me that I could replace it myself with a minimum amount of time and effort. About 2 hours later, after dissasembling the entire timing gear/shaft assembly, I realized the drive gear is cracked. Again I contacted Amazon who referred me to Jet. I waited an infinite amount of time on hold with Jet, who four calls later, referred me to a repair facility in my area. The repair facility ordered parts and one month later my timing gear assembly was repaired. I reinstalled it on my saw and it would bind and jerk when it is turned. I contacted the facility who then told me to contact Jet. Jet said they would send a technician to my shop. A half dozen phone calls and three weeks later my saw was repaired again. Next the sliding miter fence would not pivot and the screws that held the face plate on vanished ( they were remove during the previous repairs). Again I contacted the repair facility who in turn contacted Jet. Jet assured the parts would directly be sent to me. Well, it has now been almost a month and I STILL don't have any parts. In the six months I have been in "POSSESION" of this saw it has worked without flaw for about four weeks.If you would like to spend hours on the phone (mostly on hold), get any number of empty promises, wait countless weeks for parts that never come, and truly desire to do business with someone who genuinely could care less if your problem gets resolve or not, Amazon and Jet are the right people for you. What is really sad is that if I was ready to purchase another saw I would recieve lightning fast attention and service and a new one would be at my doorstep in 2-3 days. But when I really need help, I wait endlessly on the phone, get referred back and forth, and still have a broken product who's warranty is not worth the paper it was printed on. Thanks for nothing to Amazon and Jet, world class zeros in Customer Satisfaction. Just a thought, but maybe someone should start dissasembling some of those saws you are selling so the little guys that DEPEND ON THEM TO MAKE A LIVING can get them fixed when they break.

It seems I was one of the "lucky" ones to get this saw before the west coast longshoreman's strike, so here's my opinion.

It seems that this saw may have an achilles heel. Jet uses what they call a timing belt to connect the control wheel to the trunnion assembly that raises and lowers the blade. This belt failed two weeks after receiving the saw. Repeated attempts to get a new one have fallen on deaf ears. While I realize the effects of the strike are still being felt, I was promised one would be delivered via air freight in early November; didn't happen. After several calls and inquiries I was told I would get a call back; didn't happen. Today I was promised one on Dec 26; we'll see.

Assembly was really easy, came on a pallet, installing the tables was easy, alignment was near perfect right out of the box, I made no changes. However, upon use it became clear that the miter gauge was out of square. Amazon has promised to replace it, but I fear that it is victim to the strike also.

The saw seems to have plenty of power, but I have nothing to compare to. I've ripped 3" cherry with no issues.

The fence is not what I had hoped. It's not as stiff as a Beismeyer or Unifence, which is what I was using as a benchmark, considering you can get these fences on a Delta Contractors saw. However, my reason for buying the Jet was space and the left tilt. So I guess there's always a trade-off. The Micro Adjust is a marketing gimmick. Once there's a little sawdust in the groove, it's useless. The measuring gauge is also problematic. There's a bubble in the window which magnifies the tape. I believe all this does is increase the parallax error. Also, the tape only measures down to 1/16", I think most of us would like to be more accurate than this.

The blade guard works adequately, but it is what it is. Removing it is not too difficult, but alignment with a thin-kerf blade is a bit challenging.

All this being said, I plan to keep this saw for a long time, I may change the fence someday, but for now, it stays. I'm sure the delivery issues will someday improve, but I believe that the timing belt issue is a major one that Jet must address.

I have owned my SuperSaw for 8 weeks and I feel it is necessary to give some feed back on it. I will first begin by stating that I researched my purchase quite extensively. Initially I was looking at open-base contractor saws mainly for their price and availability. When I first saw the Supersaw I was inpressed with the quality (fit and finish) of the cabinet and table assembly. The arbor and motor trunnion are very heavy duty. It looks to me like JET took some parts from the Powermatic 64A when they designed this saw. For certain the hardware is more robust than that found on other JET contractor saws. ...

The SuperSaw is not a cabinet saw and should not be compared to one as I have seen others do. It is a contractor's saw with an enclosed base. The table on mine is dead flat, period. The large cast iron surface serves as a setup table in my small garage workshop. The miter slot on the left side is slightly (.001) narrower at the rear than at the front. This causes a slight drag from the miter guage when it is adjusted snug at the center of the slot. Since the left miter slot is cut into the left side wing there is a potential for the slot to be out of parallel with the right side slot. My miter slots are parallel. The legs are fairly stout but they will flex (more like twist) a small amount near the feet when the saw is moved without a mobile base. They do not flex at all when the saw is operating and had I not attempted to move the saw by myself I never would have caused them to flex. Vibration is non existant with this saw. I placed 5 nickels at strategic locations on the table and turned the saw on and off without knocking any over.

The rip fence seems to be the biggest gripe most people have with the SuperSaw. I could have designed the locking method better than JET engineers did. But that does not mean that the fence is useless. It is just not as good as the fence on the DeWalt DW746 which is the saw JET compares directly with the SuperSaw. When assembled and adjusted correctly, the fence will flex about 1/32 at the rear edge when pushed laterally. It looks worse than it is because flex across from the blade is nearly imperceptable. JET has great a product in the XACTA fence and they should have used that instead. I have cut large sheet goods and small panels without any errors caused by the fence, nontheless the fence design should be better on a saw in this price range and I am sure it will cost JET some sales.

I have my saw hooked up to a shop-vac and dust collection is mediocre at best. It is truly designed to work with a dust collector. Most of the time I simply open the cabinet and vacuum out the dust wich collects nicely inside.

If JET were to improve the fence they would sell this saw hand over fist. Would I buy one again? Absolutely. Do I recommend it now with the current fence? Yes.

This is my first table saw. It was actually delivered before I expected it. Delivery was great. Set up was easy enough, even for a rookie. I set mine on a heavy duty Jet mobile base and love it. I've used my saw for about six month without any problems other than finding enough time and wood. I'm very impressed with the smoothness and power of the saw. Then the "timing belt" issue, that others have mentioned, came to call.

The timing belt itself is not the issue. Jet has promised a replacement free of charge under warranty (the good news, so to speak). However, Jet doesn't even expect to have the belt in stock for two and one-half months (the bad news). I found out the availability date from my local tools shop and confirmed it with Jet. Apparently, Jet doesn't have a problem with my fairly expensive saw being idle for two plus months after only six months of use. From the other reviews, this doesn't appear to be a new or unknown problem. I've visited my local bearing shop and ordered a temporary replacement belt of similar size and configuration at a cost of five dollars for the belt and five dollars for shipping. We will see how well it works. A friend suggested that you might also be able to pick up a serviceable replacement belt at a sewing machine shop.

If Jet seemed at all concerned about the problem, that would be something. If they even suggested some alternatives, that would help. If I can get a replacement from the local bearing shop in less than a week and it takes them months, their service is pathetic. If they offered to reimburse me the [money amount]for my bearing-shop replacement, I would sing their praises. The fact that they don't even seem to care is unacceptable.

As most woodworkers, the first table saw you buy is a craftsman, then over the years you yearn for a real table saw. Cabinet saws cost too much, are to heavy ,and require 220 volts so what choice is left. Home Depot carries the Rigid brand,(a big mistake),they should have stayed with pipe wrenches. Lowes carries econo brands with their high end being DeWalt. Saws aren't cheap so I took my time reading all the reviews I could find for 6 months. Settled on the Jet Supersaw. Went together perfectly. Very little adjustments were necessary. Your previous reviews were very helpful and accurate. I knew beforehand that the fence was going to be a problem, so I tried it in the store. How could they make such a nice product and then cheapen it by giving you a "new and improved fence, NOT"? To further complicate things, If you want to upgrade to a better fence, you can't because the fence rails are attached in such a way that other fence rails will not fit this saw. Jet has such a nice product here that I am going to assume that the engineers will come up with a fence that really is an improvement over this one. The Xacta fence they use on their other products is great. Blows my mind why they did't stick with it.
I bought the saw anyway in good faith knowing that Jet engineers really do care about their products. They certainly know that the fence is the most important part of any table saw, both for accuracy and safety. I would have gladly paid more for the supersaw with a good fence.
Aside from the fence, this saw is a hummer. Solid table, wings, motor, swithes etc. This is one smooth running saw. Very glad I bought it and waiting for the improved fence,(at a discount for all the previous supersaw owners who knew you could do it). To be continued.

Ordered the Supersaw in early December and it finally arrived in mid-January. The Fed-X guy came with a lift gate truck and a pallet jack. Delivered it to my garage in 2 minutes. There it sat!! The mobile base was on back order so I left it on the pallet. Couldn't wait to use it so I added the wings and fence and ripped a 2X6 pine just about as fast as I could feed it. Have a WW2 blade and the edges were smooth. Crosscut was right on the 90 degree mark. Easy to assemble and no adjustment needed. Got the mobile base about 3 weeks after the saw arrived.

Fit & finish is good. The wings have a few finish problems, but nothing other than cosmetic.

Dust collection is great even with just using a shop vac. My new Jet 1100CK dust collector is also on back-order. But, that's another story.

Now about the foreign car part. I suspect parts may be hard to get for a while. Sorry to hear there may be a problem with the timing belt. I have confidence the engineers will correct this since this machine seems to be very well engineered. Caution, everything except the scale on the rip fence and the table slots are metric. The T slots on the fence are tiny. Won't accept the standard 1/4" nuts. Had to use 10x24 nuts to attach the router fence to the rip fence.

If you're thinking about installing a router table in place of the right table wing, think hard. I did it, but it wasn't easy. Had to make sure the router table wasn't too thick because there is a ledge on the front rail of the rip fence that makes it so you don't have 27" of clearance all the way between front and rear rails. Also had a devil of time getting M-10x30 allen head cap screws to use when attaching the router table. Hardware stores don't carry anything larger than M-8.

I hope to get a lifetime of enjoyment(or at least 20 years) from this set-up. Love the way it sounds when it starts up. The capacitors on the motor cause it to purr like a Lexus entering an expressway. And the lights don't dim!

I really like the design of the saw but the quality control and customer service leaves a lot to be desired. The sliding table box was missing the hardware kit, the little bag of nuts & bolts to attach it. I called Jet 3 weeks ago and they promised to send a replacement, but today they say the parts are back-ordered and it will be *another* 4 weeks. And the fence locking handle broke right off under normal hand pressure! Not only are fence handles back-ordered for at least 4 weeks, but the ones that are due in are all spoken for already. Apparently they've been breaking a lot of them and I'm not expecting the replacement to be any more durable. It's going to be at least 2 months from the time I bought the saw until it's actually usable! This seems like a great design and that's why I've given it 3 stars but I'm really disappointed in Jet's low quality and poor service.

Like many out there it was time for me to upgrade my tablesaw so I spent many hours reviewing the various models. Because I did not want to install a 220v outlet the 3hp saws were out. A standard contractor saw was a nightmare when it came to dust collection so when I reviewed the Jet and Dewalt Hybrid models the choice was clear.
In person when I viewed both saws the answer became clear. The DeWalt, although seems to be a quality product, was far more flimsy that the Jet. The big turn off was the stamped steel wings and the dust collection. The fence was more superior but the miter gauge would need as upgrade.
The Jet on the other hand had cast iron wings, a decent miter gauge, and a 4 inch dust collection duct. At the start the fence seemed a bit sub-par.
Assembly was pretty easy but putting it on the mobile base was trying. Aligning the wings took some patience but was not unexpected. The only set back when I started cutting was the fence. Yes, I could have kept it and done just fine, but it was not up to par. My solution was installing a biesmeyer fence and after about an hour, some minor adjustments and a few holes drilled, I had a pretty powerful machine. I did lose the ability to slide my power switch and did need to construct a jig to mount it but that was of little consequence.
Thankfully, I have had not experienced any belt issues and occasionally the cabinet needs to be vacuumed but that is it.
Now with my after market fence, solid wings and a high quality blade (which is a must), sawing is a breeze.
Like many woodworkers I was impressed with the blade guard but somehow it never was installed. My tenoning jig needs a sub-plate, but again that is just a ten minute fix.
To sum up for $850.00 this is a great value. If you want to make it really something then some brainpower will be needed. Now this is not a 3hp cabinet saw but I have no complaints.

Anyone who has read any of my other tool reviews probably knows that I own the Dewalt 746. I'm writing this review for my neighbor(sitting next to me) who is too lazy to write his own. He got this saw a couple months ago.
This is his first table saw, and while he has used my Dewalt several times, he couldn't find one locally and on my recommendation he bought a Supersaw at our local wood worker store.
I helped him haul it home and set it up in his basement shop. Should have had more help (younger help) getting it into the basement, but we cheated a bit and got it down there with no injury's.
Took abour 4 hours to get set up and on the mobile base. That included "tuning" the saw.
First impressions..Nice looking unit..powder coat finish is flawless, the fit is very nice and the saw is very solid. The mobile base isn't all that great..but will do. He doesn't move it much except to clean.
I like the movable switch..he had to play with it a bit to decide exactly where he wanted it. I'm so use to my "knee" switch on my Dewalt, that this switch had me fumbling around till I got use to it, but I like the movable part.
We put a linkbelt on the saw when we were assembling it, I have these on most of my tools and he is adding them to his also. The saw comes up to speed nicely and sounds very good. Vibration is minimal, won't do the nickel test, but I think that is because of the mobile base. Still very minimal.
The table top, including the cast iron wings, has a very polished look about it and is very flat across the surface. We did take some extra time making sure the wings were level to the main table.
Dust collection seems very good, hooked to a 4" jet system, not much escapes out the top. He has installed a Tru-Cut insert. The factory one is ok, but with thin kerf blades it is only adequate.
The blade guard, splitter and dogs are, like most factory one's, just adequate to the job. We had to grind the splitter so it would work with the Freud thin kerf blades we both use. The split blade gaurd is kind of a pain, with certain widths of material it tends to push the outboard guard to the side instead of up. Knowing his lack of patience, the guard will probably end up in a drawer, never to see the light of day again.
The miter gauge is junk....at least in my opinion, he thinks it will serve his purpose's ok. He doesn't do a lot of miter work presently, so maybe he is correct. He does like my Osbourne EB-3 miter gauge, so if he wants to upgrade he know's which one to get.
We found the fence to be adequate. It's an improvement over the Dewalt one. At least this one is designed to accept T-trac type add ons. But like the Dewalt fence, it seems a little flimsy and took some fussin to get straight and level. Haven't noticed any flex at the wrong time, or place, and the cursor, once adjusted seems pretty accurate.
Overall this is a nice saw. Should serve him for many years. As to which of the two is better, I think it's like Chevy and Ford, just a matter of personal preference. We both like both saws and would recommend either one to anyone.

I bought this saw in August, 2004. Purchased from local machinery dealer. I knew about the belt issue for the blade height adjustment and hoped it was cleared up in mfg process. I got by and made some nice products and a little money with this fine piece of machinery until October, 2005. I did not break the belt, but spun the mechanism that holds it. You see, the lower shaft that connects to the external handle began feeling sticky months earlier. At times, I would need two hands to move the thing. Occasionally, I would experiment with another type of lubricant to wash out the dust and get it moving again. Upon disassembling, I found that the shaft and the bushing it rides in had severe wear and metal burrs - pitted like an automotive axle looks after a bearing locks up. I ruined the belt in the process, of course. I cleaned up the shaft with emery cloth, although still pitted, I figured I'd use a heavy lube and get by - if that little belt cost $10.00, I shuddered at the thought of what some new steel would cost! The local dealer who sold me the saw said $50.00 minimum parts order required, and he had no open P.O.'s for Jet equipment. Suggested I go to local industrial supplier.

Gates rubber company offers a dead ringer for this belt for $5, so I asked for two. It's now almost April, and I've had to get by using a pliers to spin the upper gear for blade height adjustment. Multiple visits to belt store produced nothing more than lots of head scratching behind the counter.They finally called Gates, who told my industrial supplier that they offered this new belt in their catalog, but someone forgot to key that item into their production computer at the factory - March 2006 before producing any. (Such joy I never imagined when embarking on this second career!).

I'd just about had it until reading that another equally frustrated owner bought a belt on line direct from WMH Tool Group. Yes, a $20 s/h fee stinks, but when ordering all the parts I needed, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a new shaft, sleeve and all parts I feared would be ruined during removal/replacement only cost $40 including the fees. I give up. I've ordered all related parts and hope they ship quick.

Hard to get upset with Jet service when it appears everybody else is just as haphazard in operation these days. I don't mean to excuse low service quality - maybe this will get better when we start producing goods in this country again.

Why 4 stars? accuracy and iron. It's smooth running, so easy to convert to 220 it is often mistaken as difficult to do. Plenty of power, reasonably quiet. Fence accuracy is just fine. If Jet had not offered this for the money, I'd have a basic contractor saw with a silly little motor hanging off the front for me to bump into each time I walked by. I'm going to deal with it. I hope anyone who reads this understands that I relied heavily on these reviews when I was about to spend serious cash, and still read reviews before any major purchase. One must realize that a significant amount of wrenching, adjusting and re-adjusting is required to keep up machinery like this, and sometimes, it takes more than we all like.

Meanwhile, I hope Jet is also paying attention to unbiased forums and taking the hint to address these issues.