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

List Price: $1,054.00
Category: Tools
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Product Details

• 1-1/2 hp, single-phase, 115/230-volt motor
• 30-inch rip to the right capacity, 12-inch left
• Includes 30-inch Xacta fence
• Includes 27-by-16-inch wood accessory table
• One-year limited warranty

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

Customer Review: Love it. Here's some tips for avoiding assembly snags.
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

Table Saws

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