Captain John | Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I've always heard great things about Jet table saws: quality manufacturing, quiet, reliable equipment, top-of-the-line tools that will provide years of service. How much of that would transfer to Jet's new 10" benchtop saw (Amazon price about $200) was the operative question for me.
I'm kind of an average weekend-do-it-yourselfer when it comes to woodworking and working with power tools like a table saw. I've owned a Delta 10" benchtop in the recent past, so I have some basis for comparison, though I have worked with similar, but professional grade equipment from time-to-time as well.
SET UP and SAW CALIBRATION
Setting up the Jet saw really wasn't very difficult; a precision square and a hex wrench to make adjustments had my blade square and parallel in no time; setting the 45-degree stop was more complicated and required a bit of muscle to wrestle the blade to the proper angle, but once done, everything was true as can be. Overall ease of set-up on a scale of 1 to 10, probably about an 8. Right out of the the box, the 45 degree stop was nowhere close; calibrating the parallel and vertical blade positions was a snap.
There isn't a whole lot to assemble, so I'd rate that aspect about 9 on my scale. Any questions, just read the manual, which is nicely illustrated (exploded diagrams and photos) and detailed.
PERFORMANCE
In my humble opinion, this saw really hums. It's powerful enough to smoothly and easily cut the kind of material I will be using; the included blade, while not a precision, fine-tuned instrument, seems to have done a very nice job with all the operations I've subjected it to so far; it will be interesting to see what kind of results I get with a really nice blade. But for out-of-the-box, the blade is versatile, sharp, and produces nice cuts.
This benchtop saw is not as quiet as one would expect from a professional grade machine, but the belt drive does make it quieter than direct drive saws. Compared to my old Delta, the noise levels seem to have dropped about 25 percent. That's a real plus in any shop.
QUALITY AND PRECISION
For a Jet tool, I'm a little disappointed in the quality of the mitre gauge and rip fence. These are hardly precision instruments and do more to compound your work than help it. While I didn't expect laser-cut, ultra-smooth, precisely manufactured equipment, neither did I expect something on the exact opposite of the scale, which is what Jet seems to have packaged with this saw. Expecting to position the rip fence parallel to the blade is almost wishful thinking; likewise, the mitre gauge is almost too toy-like to be of much use. Both the mitre gauge and rip fence (and associated scale) are prime candidates for replacement with aftermarket tools.
MISCELLANEOUS
Save for the mitre gauge and rip fence, Jet appears to have done a commendable job with this saw's design; the only operation gliche I've encountered is the occasional interference of the rip fence and the handwheel used to raise and lower the blade. The construction is sturdy, though not heavy, there is plenty of opportunity to add extension wings and a table surround, plus the relative light weight offers a lot of portability. I've mounted my saw on my own purpose-built stand with casters, yielding a surface height of 34.5 inches -- ideal for me. The saw is attached to the stand with four hex bolts, easily removed when I need to take the saw somewhere.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Pressed (or not-so-pressed as the case may be) to rate this saw, I think I'd give it an 8 out of 10, dropping the two points because of the disappointing mitre gauge and rip fence. Beyond that, Jet has produced pretty much what I expected for a $200 weekend project tool. It's at least on par with comparably priced (and even higher priced) equipment, likely better than most. If you feel up to replacing the two aforementioned components (mitre saw and rip fence), you should have the foundation for a very nice, versatile piece of equipment that will serve you well.