New Jet scroll saw

[Wooden Lace]

Has anyone had a chance to actually see and try out the new saw?  I called Woodcraft right after Steve posted the video a few weeks ago, and they said the last week of June they'd have it.  Their site says it ships directly from the manufacturer, so guess they'll just have one to show and demo on. 

I'm not thrilled with having to feed the blade up from the bottom, but for my wine glass caddies and ornaments it shouldn't be much of a problem, since they're small.  For larger projects, I'd probably use a Dewalt.  I plan to sell both of my excaliburs and 2 or 3 of the Dewalts.  It's kind of crowded in here with 7 saws! 

I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone after they see and try the saw.
Nancy

[Wooden Lace]

I called Woodcraft in Seattle today to see if they finally got one of the new saws in so I could go have a look at it.  Turns out they don't even have one ordered!  I was told one of them saw it at a trade show and wasn't impressed, so they won't be carrying it.  That kind of worried me, but his reasons didn't make much sense.  He said it would run into too much extra money to have to buy all the extra blade holders, but unless you plan to have different ones pre-loaded, you really only need the one that comes with the saw.

Their next objection was the slot in the table to put the blade through, saying it would weaken the table and cause vibration.  On a cast iron table?  Not likely!  The Jet video showed the saw actually cutting and a nickel standing up on the table, so there must not be much vibration.  Also, the Hegner has the same slot and plenty of people use those .

Guess I'll just keep looking for a dealer where I can actually try the saw, plus wait for reviews from others who buy it.
Nancy

[herrwood]

I looked at the manual it has some interesting features but seeing a price online of almost $1000.00 and as I only cut for fun, no selling I think I would stick with my dewalt
Link to manual if anyone needs to see it

http://www.jettools.com/us/en/service-and-support/manuals/?keyword=727200

[tbolt]

Looks too much like an ex already have one of those sitting in the corner will keep cutting on my hawk and save my money for something else

[Paladin]

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

[Wooden Lace]

Thanks Steve,  always nice to hear from someone who is actually using the saw.  I'm pretty sure you're right about the guy from Woodcraft.  He might know how to run a saw, but that doesn't make him a scroller.  As you mentioned, a tiny slot in a heavy cast iron table isn't going to cause any problems, so I'm wondering if he even tried it out, or just looked at it.

Also, the extra blade holders that he says will run into so much money, that's just crazy.  As you said, they send 3, and you don't really have to have any extra if you don't want.  Think he was just looking for an excuse to not have to carry something new, since they already carry at least the DeWalt and Excalibur.

Sure hope it holds up for you.  I've about decided to wait until after the first of the year, since I really don't need any more business deductions this year, then buy one if reviews show that people are happy with theirs. That will give me time to sell a few of the 7 saws I have, as it's getting pretty crowded in the shop.  I'd love to hear back from you toward the end of the year, to see how it's working out.   Thanks again.
Nancy

[EIEIO]

The photo of the new Jet JWS-22B looks so similar to the Excaliber that you'd have the think Jet is just labeling a saw made by General INTERNATIONAL (Excaliber). I've had no problem with the steel table on the EX21, but the cast would work as well.

[puzzleguy]

Hi Steve ,
got a question : Being a full time scroller Im concerned about how fast it cuts - I use to own a Dewalt before I got into using the Eclipse ,
 , I even had a 30 inch Canadian made Excalibur for about a year , it was a bit too big for my purposes
and it did not seem to cut as fast as the Dewalt - thou its been a while . the booklet i downloaded from the Jet site mentions its motor speed only goes from 400 to 1550
thou im not sure about its depth of cut -
is this saw a fast cutter or is it basically a Excalibur ?
Made a few calls in my area , but the two places that are Jet dealers dont want one on their floor -told me they can only order it ?
Im a try before i buy person ---
Thanks for your help !
Tony Burns

[Judy Hunter]

I did try one out. And thought it was great once I got used to it.  what do you think of the speed of cutting compared to the Dewalt?

[puzzleguy]

I did try one out. And thought it was great once I got used to it.  what do you think of the speed of cutting compared to the Dewalt?

Im in the same boat -anyone out their who can vouch for the speed -hoping its faster than the excalibur ?
and more durable than the Dewalt. ( thou thats a tough question )

Thou i will add i dont like the idea of the easy clamp on the top - I always take the tension off the top clamp
when its the end of my cutting day -dont believe leaving the tension on anything is ever a good idea.

[Paladin]

I have not used an ex, but I would have to guess cutting speed is pretty similar.  The blade motion is adjustable like the ex, so you can make it more aggressive if that is what you are looking for.  I have mine set for as close to straight up and down as I can get it, and it is definitely less aggressive, and therefore, slower cutting than the dewalt.  The plus-side of the trade-off is that I can control it much easier.  On really detailed stuff where I used to almost hold back while using my dewalt, I can now cut with a lot more confidence and ease.

Steve

[apopj]

I can agree with WoodLace, my local WoodCraft store in Oakwood Village says they will not carry the Jet saw. Seems when they went to the dealer show, even the Reps couldn't get it to work right. For that price, why not wait to see what the new Seyco saw costs. I mean, the ONLY advantage MAY BE the top clamp, but first reports are saying it isn't working the way is should. And, the bottom clamp is not tooless, so if you do a lot of sawing, you can expect your time to go way up when you have to remove the clamp to change the blade. But, to each his own....

[dirtrider73068]

One thing I loved about the excalibur you can adjust it to cut agressive or not, I set mine to cut slower it helped slow me down and I got more cleaner intricate cuts with out breaking parts. Yes it was slower but I was taking proud of my work and wanted it perfect, wanted it to look like a machine cut it out. Plus I had time to go slow, its a hobby and wanted to be enjoyable and rush and have aggravation in the proccess.