Thread: Which table saw?

Gordon, there have been numerous reviews on this saw. Search the web for these.

I believe the saw is sold in one version only here in Australia, with a 30” rip fence and sliding table. Reviews have generally been good, but I’ve only read ones from satisfied customers. (These tend to be rather biased, though based on subjective experience.)

There are three concerns about this saw.

1. The fence is considered weak. It apparently has considerable flex at the non-operating end. When I looked at this saw here in Melbourne the vendor volunteered that he was disappointed with the fence. He stated that the locking mechanism was not very positive and demonstrated this by moving the fence after he had locked it into position. (Granted, he had just set the saw up for the first time, so perhaps it needed some more tweaking.) I observed that the fence cursor has a fairly large magnifying lens mounted above it. Unfortunately, this magnifying lens is some distance from the scale, so depending on where ones head is positioned when viewing the scale, it’s not difficult to misread the location of the fence.
2. The sliding table has no mitre slot to the left side of the blade. There is a mitre slot on the right table casting to the right of the saw blade. The absence of this slot means that a lot of jigs will not work with the Jet Supersaw, the tenon-cutting jig being an example. Also, the mitre fence device is not thoughtfully designed and in some angle settings obscures the mitre scale so that an accurate reading is impossible to make.
3. Dust extraction from the surface of the table is good, but poor from within the cabinet. The saw has a four-inch port at the back of the saw that draws air from within the cabinet through a few small holes at the base of the cabinet. These quickly become clogged up with small pieces of wood chips. Users state that cleaning the cabinet floor manually is a frequent requirement.

One thing that concerns me about the Supersaw is that it is Version 1.0. The Delta cabinet saw has been around since 1932 and apparently parts from the modern version still fit it.

I imagine the Jet Cabinet saw would be similar in that regard.

Jet seem to have limited distributors and I think the price is high because of this. The Supersaw here is some $400.00 dearer than the US and they tell me that the current pricing is only 'introductory'.

Gordon.

Gordon, a couple of comments.

The Jet Supersaw really has only one direct competitor, the Dewalt Woodworkers Saw, Model DW746K. To make a comparison with a standard bench saw configuration is somewhat like comparing apples to .....

Second, it is also erroneous to compare the price of a product in the USA to the price of the same product here in Australia. Even allowing for the exchange rate, there are other factors that make this comparison dubious. For example given the unit volume of models built for the US market, component costs are lower than for the Australian equivalent. The cost of electric motors and electronic components is almost always significantly higher for Australian versions. (I base this on my experience in another field where both motors and electronics play a part in the cost.)

Third, freight costs vary considerably. A USA importer is likely purchasing substantial volume that is reflected in lower container costs. An Australian importer has difficulty even filling a container - hence their shipping cost is much higher.

I think Jet products are excellent. I own a couple myself. And I think their build quality is exceptional. But I think they lost the plot in designing the Supersaw. Their primary objective seemed to be to compete with the Dewalt model that had taken a significant bight of the target market. This product is targeted at the aging baby boomer market with fairly high disposable income, perhaps new to the hobby of woodworking. They were attempting to create a new paradigm - a sexy looking saw with large (easy to read) scales, and with new features not available on an ordinary bench saw.

The problem is that although they succeeded with the above objectives, they forgot some of the basics. :madence - no left hand mitre slot, poor dust extraction, and a lousy rip fence.

Purchase the standard Jet table saw with left hand tilt. It's based on the Delta Unisaw, has a proven track record, a larger more powerful motor, and none of the above detractions. By the way, who needs a relocatable motor switch? Once you have located it where you want it, you will be unlikely to ever move it again. Nice feature - but is it practical?
:confused:

"Purchase the standard Jet table saw with left hand tilt. It's based on the Delta Unisaw"

Would that be the JWCS-XXXX one.

Gordon.

What is the going rate for the standard left tilt Jet cabinet saw at the moment (A$)..

Helix,

I think Gregory Machinery up your way has the best prices. Saw section is offline till June 30th. The JWCS-10JF was $1858.00. Melbourne price on same was $1975.00. They told me (Melb) that the reason Gregorys' price was lower was because they sold saw without a fence - find this hard to believe

http://www.gregmach.com/unavailable.htm

Gordon.

Thanks Gordon. I will check it out..

Guys,

I ducked out to gregory machinery in brissy last week and was told the jet cabinet saw that sold for around $1800 was no longer being sold by them. the guy then pointed me in the direction of the supersaw. I am by no means an expert and am looking to get away from my triton but the sliding table didn't enthuse me. the catalogue he gave me shows that the sliding table is optional. I think i will give him a call tomorrow and see if they sell any other models than the sliding saw option.

Cheers,

Garry

I can not understand why someone would drop the 3 HP cabinet saw for the 1.75 HP supersaw with a gimmicky sliding table. I guess I will buy the TSC-10HB instead, and save some money as well.

Cheers,

Josh

At the Sydney WWW show, Major Woodworking equipment who are the NSW suppliers of Jet gear, had the supersaw for sale at $2100 with the sliding table and $1520 without.

I don't think that their $1800 "cabinet saw" was 3hp. It was basically the 1.5 hp contractors saw with an enclosed motor.

I think that their "real" cabinet saw is in the $3k to $4k range from memory.

If I may clarify for you,

Jet make a 10" Cabinet Saw (JWCS-10) which I have and this is rated at 2HP @1Ph 230Volt. That, by the way, is more than enough power. It is priced at around $1,900.

They also make a 12" Cabinet Saw (JTAS-12) which is rated 3HP @ 1Ph 230Volt, or an optional 5HP @ 3Ph 415Volt. This one is priced around $3,500 from memory.

Then there is the 10" Contractor Saw (JWTS-10) which is rated 1.5HP @ 1Ph 230Volt and is priced around $1,350.

Then comes the 10" Supersaw which is rated 1.75HP @1Ph 230Volt, and is priced at about $2,200.

As far as I am aware, the Supersaw is the only one that comes with a sliding table as standard, and it is basically a contractor saw with a semi-enclosed cabinet.

Craigb- I have read similar opinions on the deja.com discussion group. The protagonists there (who seem quite obsessed with the fine points of table saws) seem to think the base model Jet "cabinet saw" is actually an enclosed contactors saw (something about the trunnions I recall). Anyway, I suppose its the performance that counts rather than what you call it.

George,

You are correct. The "purists" suggest that because the trunions (which support the motor) are mounted to the table, rather than the cabinet, it is technically not a cabinet saw. What an absolute load of crap !

Ask yourself which is the most rigid - the table or the cabinet ?
Does it have any effect whatsoever on the function of the saw ? Of course not.

So there you have it.
Personally, I'd love to be able to have any table saw but I don't have room for one and a router table so I have to make do with a Triton work centre and router table.

It does appear that the Woodman group (and or Jet) may be phasing out the JWCS 10xx in favour of the Supersaw?

Craig