Customer Reviews

JET JWTS-10CW2-PF / 708304GK 10-Inch Saw with 30-Inch Fence, Blade, and Table Board (without Legs)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

(Long)After extensive research, this was the consensus winner in the Contractor Saw class. There are a few gotcha's on the assembly, though, and the Jet Tech Support line was awesome in getting past these.

I chose this saw over the other competitors based on the following criteria: 1) High quality fence - I spent the last two years fighting with an old saw that had a *bent* fence; never again. 2) Cast iron wings - I really wanted the extra mass and stability of a cabinet saw (without the $$). 3) Company reputation - Everything I could find on newsgroups and other discussion forums consistently gave Jetgood marks for tech support and no-squabble part replacement. 4) Friends recomendations(more experienced woodworkers than myself) with Jet, Powermatic and Delta contractor saws. All but one said they'd get this saw if they were buying today.

First impressions

- Heavy! Ships in 4 boxes totaling 340lbs (get help to unload the truck.)

- Fit and finish are excellent! All parts packed well, cast iron faces protected in oil. Heavy, hard paint job on base and other painted surfaces. Minimal plastic parts also heavy duty and clean.

-Assembly-

I found the assembly instructions for main body of saw quite good. Very logical progression from base to top. Good pictures at all the rights times. Various parts separated into separate packages based on specific step (motor mounting, bolts for base, etc) which, along with an actual-size parts diagram for nuts and bolts, avoided a lot of the "which bolt do I use here?" kind of questions. There are few things I'd change, though, see Tips below.

That said, I completely agree with all criticism I read of the Xacta fence instructions. This fence is sold as a stand alone item, and has it's own instruction sheet. It's terrible. Parts are listed, but hard to identify. Instructions like "Attach back rail to back of saw with xxx bolts", with no good pictures, no orientation (parts are not symmetrical), etc. You're *almost* better off following your intuition and throwing the instructions away. One good point - once you get the fence and rails mounted, the fence alignment and tuning steps are quite good.

-Operation- Powerful, smooth, precise. Not quite the Delta Unisaw I used back in shop class, but pretty darn close.

-Favorite features-

+ I love that big cast iron top!

+ Power cord coupling between power switch and motor allows "unplugging the saw" more easily when you know you should, but don't want to get down under the saw or can't easily get to the wall outlet.

+ Convertible 230/115V motor. Initial use at 115 (on same circuit as lights) seriously taxed available power. Moving to 230 (easy!), considerably helped the saw power though tougher cuts and faster feed rates. Having a dedicated circuit would probably have done wonders too.

+ Tech support: The guy I talked to was intimately familiar with the saw I had. He knew it inside out. Also gave some extra tips not listed anywhere with the saw (see below).

-Complaints-

- Fence instructions.

- The height adjustment wheel is too close to the table top. A bit of a knuckle buster.

-Tips-

1) Fence assembly:

- Call tech support almost as soon as you get started, they're great. Don't waste an hour like I did re-reading the same useless instructions over and over.

- Lay out the parts and *try* to identify each. The bolts and screws provided work, but do not match the parts list (1/4" bolts provided where 1/4" pan head screws are listed).

- Front rail is angle iron with unequal sides, back rail has equal length sides.

- Contrary to instructions, do not remove right side table wing. Table board attaches next to right wing, but only connects to fence rails, not the table wing itself.

- The back rail does NOTHING for the fence itself. It is only there to support and level the extension wings and table board.

2) Main saw assembly:

- Mounting the motor: The instructions tell you to hold the slotted belt guard on the motor mount, aligned with the holes, place the motor on top, then insert the bolts. Wisely, it recommends an extra person for this. By myself, I left the belt guard out of the process, mounted the motor directly on the mount leaving the bolts loose, then slid the guard under the motor. I don't know if there's a good reason not to do it this way, but it sure worked great for me.

- Aligning the table wings: Problem - one of the wings tailed down slightly. I thought cast iron was immobile after tightening, but Tech support informed me it actually flexes a bit. That said, the instructions tell you to pull up or down on the *stamped steel* wings (no separate instructions for cast wings), then tightened bolts on the fence rails to hold them level; this also applies to the cast wings. It takes more force to move the wings, but they do move.

- Blade guard alignment: The blade guard mounts in two places - from a rod sticking out of the back, and from a bolt inside the saw, under the blade insert. The back mount is loose and you align it before tightening. However the inside mount come pre-tightened to the rear trunnion. To get the splitter properly aligned, I had to loosen the bolts holding the inside mount to the trunnion and reposition slightly. This is not mentioned in the instructions.

3) Care of top: (From tech support)

- To clean up rust spots: use mild kitchen abrasive (Soft Scrub) and a sponge or soft cloth, never an abrasive pad. You'll probably never get the stain out, you're just trying to make the top smooth for non-stick use. IMMEDIATELY after scrubbing out the rust, use alcohol to dry water from the iron (FYI - cast iron has fairly open pores that will hold water below the surface if not dried with alcohol or heat). And, now that the iron surface is completely exposed to the air, immediately rub in some light machine oil.

- Ongoing care: For first 6 months, wipe top with light machine oil. After that, use a non-silicon wax to protect the top (apparently, silicon causes problems with wood finishes, not the saw itself). I had heard of the wax, but never the bit about using oil at the beginning of the saw's life.

-SUMMARY- Great saw! (once you get it put together) If I could, I'd take off a half point somewhere in the scoring for the combination fence instructions and blade adjuster location, but it's not worth a whole point loss. The assembly is just a tiny one-time issue. For the life of this saw, I will enjoy its use, and the pain of assembly will fade.

After much research, I ordered the JET 10" contractor saw with 2 cast iron wings and EXACTA fence system. I received the saw 3 days after I ordered it and started to put it together almost immediately. Instructions are lacking detailed information and you MUST make some deductions as you go along. That really wasn't a big deal until I came to putting together the rail/fence system. Only 1 hole in the rails matched the factory drilled holes on the saw. UNBELIEVABLE !!! So, I called JET Tech. support, they were hesitant to admit that there were production issues at first so they offered to ship out a new set of rails. (After the 3rd set of rails though, they did admit to me that there were production issues with the rail system).The new set arrived, same issues. Then they offered to send one out of Washington state (the first/second set were sent out of Memphis, TN.). The new set of rails arrived, same problems. 2 weeks had passed by, still no working saw, so I decided to try and modify the rails myself. I had to meausre the holes and drill them myself on the front and back rails. Ok, got that done. Tried to attach the guide bar (with the ruler on it) to the front rail, only 2 holes matched the factory holes there also. I attached the guide just using those 2 holes and tried to attached the EXACTA fence, wasn't enough clearance between the rail/guide to attach the fence. THAT'S WHEN I GAVE UP !!!!! I called Tool Crib and told them to pick this up, give me credit and I ordered the Powermatic 10" contractor saw after receiving assurance from the powermatic technical support that they are NOT having problems like I experienced with the JET. Note: JET Tech. support told me that new rails should be available in 4 to 6 months and assured me that the holes would match. UNTIL THEN, I WOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS SAW. IT'S NOT WORTH THE FRUSTRATION !!!! To JET' s credit, their technical support personnel DO try to be very helpful and would do whatever I wanted to make me happy and not view JET as a whole in a negative light. I do have other JET equipment (home shop) and have no issues with them.

This saw was an upgrade for me. The unit assembled easily and required very little adjustment when tuning it in. Fortunately, I had read a review from the 52" model and was able to catch the disconnect in the instructions when you upgrade to the Xacta fence. It took four hours to assemble and tune and I was making precise cuts that afternoon. Hats off to Jet.

The machine itself is great. No vibration, passes the nickle test. Very easy to true-in. Woulda been 5 stars except for the assembly. Switching between saw and fence instructions was a pain, but nothing common sense couldn't handle. Earlier issue with flat head screws covered in one page addendum to manual. Major problem...the three holes along the right side of the table, where you mount the cast iron wing, weren't tapped all the way through, 50% at best. Three 10mm holes through cast iron were a hassle to hand tap. Call to helpline reached a real person that transferred me to a technicain. I was on hold for less than 2 minutes. Tapping was irritating, but once set up...a great saw. Buy it.

I purchased the Jet 10" contractor saw with the 30" Xacta fence in late February. Since I didn't have the space available for set up ready I spent some time reading the instructions and perusing the on-line reviews concerning assembly. Once the assembly process started everything went pretty much as expected.

The saw itself went together without a hitch. The stand was solid and the wings went on with a minimum of difficulty. Shimming was necessary to get a flat surface with the main table but that was done easily. Next came the infamous fence.

I studied the instructions and the comments I printed off the review sites. When I started the assembly there weren't any problems. The holes had to be drilled out but that was in the instructions. Here's a tip - install the right wing first then attach the rails. It works much better that way. When I laid out all of the bolts and assorted other hardware it became pretty obvious where the parts were to go. All of the bolt holes lined up and the the rails fit together without a problem. The only issue I had was with the mounting of the extension table. That was a challenge. Here's another hint - if you can't get the extension table smooth with the extension wings drill the holes in the table 5/16" and give your self a little space before tightening up the bolts/screws. The other thing was that the scale on the guide rail was mounted too far to the right necessitating a call to Jet for a replacement. They were great about it.

I installed a Forrest WWII TK in place of the blade that came with the saw. The fence was virtually perfect right out of the box. No problems. The saw runout and miter slot parallelism to the blade were exact. Even the 90 deg and 45 deg settings were accurate. Needless to say I've been very impressed. It cuts smooth and accurate. By the way I also ditched the Jet miter gauge for an Incra 2000 miter gauge. The saw and miter gauge make a great combination. I would recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone looking for a reasonably priced, high quality saw.

This is my first table saw and I couldn't be happier. It took me about 4 hours to assemble and align the saw and fence. The alignment was nearly perfect right out of the box and the Xacta Fence is accurate and easy to use. If you plan to install a router in the extension table as I did, then I would recommend installing support legs. The saw can easily be tipped once additional weight is added under the table.

Delivery - was a major concern since I knew the weight was well over 120 lbs - but was delivered by FedEx with a lift truck and dropped in the garage. No hassles there. All for under $5.00

Packaging - Saw base is delivered on a pallet - the fence in packaged in a separate contaner. The fence package arrived damaged with missing parts. Fed Ex noted damage on the delivery ticket (a must) and Amazon was able to verify that this damage existed upon delivery (took them less than a minute). Jet sent me another complete fence in 3 days.

Assembly - I knew going in the instructions were on the light side - so I read all of the instructions 2 or 3 times before diving in. No real problems - again the fence instructions were poor but almost anyone should be able to figure out which screws to use where - you only have 3 different sizes.

Saw runs great - no vibration, quiet. Do get a separate circuit installed.

Got my JWTS10 last weekend. The saw runs great and the XACTA II fence system is extremely accurate and easy to use. I didn't have help, so unloading the saw from the back of my van involved tearing open the box and carrying all the pieces to my basement shop. Assembly took about 6 hours, and I am overjoyed with the quality of this saw.

One area that was lacking (at least for me since this is my first non-portable table saw) was the instructions on assembly of the rails and fence guide. They could have used better diagrams and part descriptions.

Overall an excellent saw for the money. I will probably trade out the accessory wood table for a router table.

Fantastic saw, great cuts and good fence. The only draw backwas in putting the saw together. The instructions are vague. Forexample the Instructions call for flat head screws to attach the guide rails, however there were no flat head screws included nor were the guide rails counter sunk for flat head screws, I used hex head bolts instead. Not thats a big deal, but when you spend this kind of money you want it to be right from the start.

I've had this saw for several months and believe it to be an outstanding choice. The fit/finish is excellent and the accuracy is exceptional. Out of the box, the blade was parallel to the slots by a thousanth of an inch. I also have the fence parallel to the blade within 2 thousanths'. The only weaknesses are the xacta fence installation instructions and the free blade. It would be nice if the guard/splitter was quick attach/detach but I guess you can't have everything. You will also want to put a mobile base on this baby cause its heavy.