Jet CTAS or keep looking?

[William C Rogers]

I have a 1980's Jet CTAS saw. Bought it used about 5 years ago and paid $750 for it. It is in very good shape with all the covers and parts except the original blade guard and I have never had a problem with it. Like others I watch CL for any bargains, but not many in this area. However there was a used Unisaw that was for sale for $1500. It was the limited version painted white and looked good. Of course I thought about it ( thinking it was $200-300 high), but couldn't convince myself it would be any better than what I have. Is there something that would make the unisaw a step up that I don't know about? The unisaw did have the shark guard with the riving knife which I cannot fit a riving knife to this saw. I have added a overhead guard (CL $100) and added a splitter, and have a 52 Biesmeyer fence, use the board buddies where practical, and proper push blocks. I realize the unisaw would hold value better, but as far as quality it seems perceived rather than real. This saw has been running for 30 years and bearings are still tight. Am I missing something? Note the unisaw is no longer listed, guess sold.
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[phil harold]

I have a 1980's Jet CTAS saw. Bought it used about 5 years ago and paid $750 for it. It is in very good shape. This saw has been running for 30 years and bearings are still tight. Am I missing something?

I think you answered your own question
running for 30 years and still good
sounds like a fine machine
I have a jet left tilt cabinet saw that has been running for 20 years now

[Rick Potter]

If you are happy with it, I would not move up unless you find a newer cabinet saw with a real riving knife (not a splitter).

Rick Potter

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I've had both, and my only quibble with the Jet wat the cursor on the Jet knockoff of Biesemeyer fence. You have that fixed nicely, so there is no reason to change machines. My Uni is maybe a bit smoother fit and finish, but not enough to really matter.

[William C Rogers]

I've had both, and my only quibble with the Jet wat the cursor on the Jet knockoff of Biesemeyer fence. You have that fixed nicely, so there is no reason to change machines. My Uni is maybe a bit smoother fit and finish, but not enough to really matter.

I have the actual Biesemeyer fence, not the Jet knock off. Since I have never ran a unisaw I didn't know if they had something over the older Jets. The saw is smooth, I can easily balance a nickel wHEN running. The saw was made in Taiwan and I can say the finish has held up well. I do need to improve the dust collection. I did seal the bottom but need to make something under the blade. The unisaw just looked very nice and did have a riving knife.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have the actual Biesemeyer fence, not the Jet knock off. Since I have never ran a unisaw I didn't know if they had something over the older Jets. The saw is smooth, I can easily balance a nickel wHEN running. The saw was made in Taiwan and I can say the finish has held up well. I do need to improve the dust collection. I did seal the bottom but need to make something under the blade. The unisaw just looked very nice and did have a riving knife.

I meant the Bies has a better cursor, so you have fixed it for sure. That is a pretty Uni, but the wood probably doesn't care, and the savings can buy you more wood! On my Jet, I sealed it up pretty tight, then had to open a few openings back up to get adequate air flow. Was just learning about dust collection at the time.

[scott spencer]

That seems like a lateral move to me.....if you love old American iron, the Uni will have some appeal, but functionally they're in the same class of saw. If you run the saw hard several hours day, the Uni would likely hold up better.

[William C Rogers]

Well that unisaw has been relisted. It is a limited edition painted white with a shark guard with riving knife, delta fence and mobile base. The seller claims it is just too big for his workshop. I know I don't really need it, but it does interest me and maybe I should go look at it. What should I look for in the unisaw? What are the weak points of this saw? I have seen comments that some like the Delta fence better than the Biesemeyer, why?

[Steve Rozmiarek]

The unifence allows you to slide the extrusion part forward and back to have a long or short fence. It also allows you to turn the extrusion on edge and have a 1" or so tall rip fence, which can sometimes be beneficial. I have a Unifence now on a saw, and have had a biesemeyer, and I prefer the biesemeyer. You can easily use add ons to do the same things with the bies fence. I prefer the bies heft and smoothness. The way the uni locks to the rail is obnoxious as well, imho compared to the rock solid simplicity of a bies.