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« on: August 15, 2016, 12:31:13 pm »
I am the proud and very happy owner of one of the new Jet saws. It appears to me to be very similar in mechanics to the Excaliburs with the obvious differences of the slotted table and upper clamp mechanism.
Nancy, I'm not sure about the guy from woodcraft you say went and saw one and wasn't impressed. I highly doubt he was a scroller. I have a very hard time imagining the slot in the table causing any vibration or other problems. The table is very solid and mounted underneath in such a way as it should never cause any difficulties. The lower blade clamp issue - they send you three of them with the saw, so you already have extras.
I have been scrolling for over 10 years (mostly on a Dewalt) and am very impressed so far with the low vibration and smoothness with which this saw operates. Seeing that I do mostly fretwork, the top clamp was a big selling point for me over the EX-21, and so far it has worked flawlessly. Once you get used to it, you can move to the next hole very quickly. Funny, I got so used to my Dewalt that for the first week of using the Jet, when I stopped cutting my hand would automatically go to the side of the upper arm reaching for the blade clamp before I realized "dummy, you don't have to do that anymore".
The one thing you cannot do with this saw is top-feed. If that is what you are looking for - look elsewhere. For bottom-feeding, the upper arm raises about 10 inches above the table, so there is plenty of room to get under the piece you're working on.
The only thing I would have liked to see them do (and this is so minor, so you know I am digging to to find anything negative) is: if you are going to include a rack for blade holding tubes with your saw...include the tubes.
Overall I am very pleased with my purchase. Only time will tell how it stands up to heavier use, but so far it is doing great.
If you guys have any questions about the new saw, let me know and I will try and answer them.
Steve