Jet benchtop table saw

[Pete Schupska]

Looking for a small table saw, and I'm on both a space and $$ budget. I've been looking at the Jet 10" Benchtop saw:

(http://woodworking.jettools.com/Prod...Part=708315BTC)

I'm looking for two things, does anyone here have experience with this saw? It seems to have good reviews, but I'll have to order it... so no opportunity to actually touch it first.

Second, Jet's website says it can accept up to a 1/2" - 6" diameter dado blade. Really?!? I haven't seen a benchtop that could take a dado blade yet, can anyone confirm if this is true?

[Blake Barr]

on that budget you'd be better of buying used.... you should be able to find a belt driven contractor style money in the $250 range...

[Adam Wissman]

i also would agree with blake on the used tools. i can easily fit my contractors saw with a mobile base in my 20x20 shop and still fit all my tools, lumber, and 2 cars in when the days over. takes 15 min max to condense down.

my older dewalt table saw took an 8" dado and 9/16" width dado. i have never used that jet saw but after using a "high end" portable saw, even a entry level contractor will have more benefits. ie quiet, more powerful, less vibration, full stacked dado, better fence, larger table, i could go on and on.

you can find used contractor saws on CL all day long.
whatever decision you make, good luck, and you can still make some fantastic furniture with a properly tuned saw.

[Pat O'malley]

I had a craftsman with the pull out wings and similar size top. It was OK for small jobs but as my projects grew the tabletop did not. I upgraded to a used contractor saw with 36” rip capacity, which fits all my needs. At $250.00 with a little patience you can find a used contractor saw in very good shape and will not have to sell the bench top saw as I did. Like Adam I’m in a 20x20 space and everything quickly goes against the walls for the cars when not in use. Good luck in your serch…

[Prashun Patel]

My 2Cents:

Buy a budget saw if you're an occasional woodworker who has no plans to get into this bigtime.

If you anticipate having this as a serious hobby, then the benchtop saw will be quickly outgrown. Yr better off finding a way to get a larger saw into your space and buying used as suggested.

Another option is to look into the Eurekazone system. You can do a lot with that system. When (if) yr ready to a big tablesaw, you can keep the EZ for working with larger panels.

[Larry Rasmussen]

Many times I do buy used. I have not used this specific saw but have had a Bosch saw about the same size and type, a Bosch 4000. I've used it for about 3 yrs, the current model is Bosch 4100. I've had for a couple decades gotten by with cheap contractors saws, the kind you are being encouraged to pick up on Craig's list.

The first and most screamingly foremost thought that popped into my mind is how loud the entry level contractors saws are. The little Bosch I have is quieter, stays adjusted and powerful enough for general purpose work, better in every way than the previousl Delta or Craftsman saws I've had. I think the weight on the Jet was 68#, enough to give it the potenial to be a solid steady tool.

I did not like the fence on the telescoping table wing set up and replaced it with one by Mule Cabinet Supply (or something like that) but was able to use the saw for a year or so before I did that. So in summary I guess I can say today's technology is good enough to actually create a decent little saw out of composite materials. I think there were 30 something reviews at Amazon, go read them, the saw fared OK with around 4/5 stars. What is good about Amazon is that the reviewers comment about usability day to day and if there is something specific wrong it comes to light by repeated complaints.

A standard dado kit would be 3/4" wide I think, yes? I don't personally think stating there is room for a 1/2" dado is much more than a warning that it can't accomodate a full width set.

I noticed over at Amazon the product description started to talk about some features on a Freud saw so check out the write up carefully, may be a mix up.

Good luck,
Larry Rasmussen,
Seattle

[Darius Ferlas]

I made a serious effort to make a bench top saw work for me but I failed. I checked a few direct drives saws. I actually bought and tested 4 of them in all. I ended up with a Ridgid cast iron TS (3650). It is still a budget saw but for the money it is a pretty respectable piece of equipment. Some HD stores may still carry those at attractive discount prices.

[Craig T. Smith]

Pete, I have a Delta benchtop saw and hate it. The saw is fine but the table is too small for most anything and babying a crappy fence is a mission in futility. I am saving up for a better saw. That said I will keep it for rough work. If you are interested in any kind of accuracy I agree with others a different saw is in order. just my opinion, Craig

[Blake Barr]

I picked up a Ridgid TS3650 for $250 on CL... don't be scared of surface rust or things that are out of tune but do a good inspection of everything you can see and get the manual (you might be able to print from the website)....

[Craig McCormick]

I have a Ryobi jobsite saw that comes with a folding built in stand. I think we paid $230 for it 5 years ago. We replaced the blade with a $50 Frued and had to tweek the miter gauge to fit in the slot better. The fence works well for an inexpensive saw. While the table is small and it is a little under powered for 2X material it works great for a jobsite saw. I would think the Jet bench top unit would be a much better saw than my Ryobi.

My home shop is 13' X 23' I have a Rigid contractor saw with a built in mobile base. I just push the saw out of the way when I need more room. I bought the Rigid on clearance for $290.00.

Craig McCormick

[glenn bradley]

Looking for a small table saw, and I'm on both a space and $$ budget.

OK, I'm feeling bad for Pete but think he is getting the right response. Unless you are willing to enter the $400-$500 range, benchtop saws are pretty questionable. Even the good ones are still benchtop saws.

I don't know that it has be clear what sort of work you plan to do. If you are not making large cabinet carcasses or working with material over a few feet in length, a jobsite saw would at least allow you to work.

It will not compare to a larger saw but if you are just cutting pieces to rough size for hand work or prepping them for the scroll saw or some other task, this could work.

I normally don't make this recommendation but, if you are testing the waters to see if this is a hobby you may become serious about, buy cheap. The reason I say this is that if you become serious, a benchtop will rapidly become frustrating and the less you spend the less you'll be out when you change.

[Pete Schupska]

Thanks for the input, let me clarify a bit: 20' square would be a dream right now. I'm making do in ~8x10. I'm trying to pick this back up, as I've been on hiatus since high school. I'm leaning towards a benchtop saw because it can share the stand I'm currently using for the miter saw, router table and bench grinder...

We're currently remodeling our house, so the immediate need is ripping a small amount of hardwood flooring; but I'm starting to enjoy small pieces of furniture on the side, nothing thicker than 5/4.