jon minerich
12-31-2014, 5:26 AM
Well, I got my new Saw Stop Jobsite saw yesterday. Ya, they weren't supposed to ship until next March, but Saw Stop had a limited number of their new saws and I was lucky enough to get one! I have only had a few hours playing with it (after work last night). So for all of you who may be interested, here are my initial thoughts.
1. It came well packed which was a good thing. FEDEX freight put a few good sized dings in the outside of the package. The saw made it to me undamaged.
2. It was easy to unpack and arrived about 99% assembled. I just added the cart handles and wheels, slipped on the fence and miter gauge and was good to go.
3. My initial checkout of the saw found a few minor things. First I removed the blade insert to see what the "guts" looked like. To my surprise, I found a few loose screws on the dust shroud around the blade. No big deal. A few minutes with an allen wrench and that was fixed. The second thing I found was the sliding extension table was slightly our of alignment with the saw table. Once again, a few minutes with an allen wrench and the table + extension were flat with one another.
4. Overall, the design features were pretty neat. The fit and finish were nice.
5. The fence has some nifty innovations such as a slide out shelf to keep thin stock from slipping underneath it and a locking mechanism on top. I like that when using a tape between the fence and saw blade for a precise measurement. That said, the factory setup was very close to perfect!
6. Titling the blade was amazingly simple and easy to use. The design and balance of the trunnion assembly made it almost effortless.
7. I was worried about the "one turn" adjustment to raise and lower the blade from full up to full down. Once again the design made it easy.
8. There is a nifty storage compartment to hold the blade guard, miter gauge, spare brake assembly, and it even has compartments for your tape measure and pencil! Pretty slick. Include are 3 hex key wrenched for any adjustments you would like to make.
9. Wrenches to change your saw blade are attached to the outside of the saw. With a quick 1/2 turn of a knob they are released for use. Of course the fence and push stick fit into well designed holders on the saw too.
10. Lastly, the cart (included with the saw) is well designed and sturdy.
So much for the design of the machine. Now let's talk about the performance. Please remember that I am a hobbyist, not a professional woodworker. So my thoughts may not be "scientific". They are just based on my limited experience.
1. The combination saw blade that came with the saw was surprisingly good! Both rips and cross cuts were very clean, with little chipping or tear-out.
2. 90 and 45 degree cuts were dead-on when checked with my machinist's square. By the way, my first impression of the miter gauge was that it was light and a bit flimsy. However, it worked well and held any angle securely. I got used to it and it works fine.
3. The machine seemed to have plenty of power, but I only ripped some 2 X4's. I didn't want to screw up any of my expensive hardwood. Even 45 degree angle cuts (with the blade tilted) were easy and accurate.
4. The 2 1/2 dust collection port worked very well. My vacuum system captured almost all of the dust and debris from cutting.
5. No, I didn't do the "hotdog" test! At $90 bucks for a replacement cartridge plus the cost of a new saw blade, I will wait some time to test that one.
My only concern is that the saw appears "light". I guess I am not used to owning a plastic and aluminum table saw. I will place my faith in the Saw Stop designers. They created this saw for the job site so they must understand the abuse this machine will take out in the field. I intend to use only inside my small shop and believe it will meet my needs nicely. The price was a bit difficult to digest when compared to the Dewalt or Bosch, but I believe the design and quality of this little machine is excellent and with the safety features I got my money's worth. Please remember it doesn't have the horsepower of the bigger machines. For hobbyists like me it is a nice machine and I look forward to having years of fun with it.
PS [I am in no way affiliated with Saw Stop. Right now, I am just a satisfied customer of their product. Thanks!]
1. It came well packed which was a good thing. FEDEX freight put a few good sized dings in the outside of the package. The saw made it to me undamaged.
2. It was easy to unpack and arrived about 99% assembled. I just added the cart handles and wheels, slipped on the fence and miter gauge and was good to go.
3. My initial checkout of the saw found a few minor things. First I removed the blade insert to see what the "guts" looked like. To my surprise, I found a few loose screws on the dust shroud around the blade. No big deal. A few minutes with an allen wrench and that was fixed. The second thing I found was the sliding extension table was slightly our of alignment with the saw table. Once again, a few minutes with an allen wrench and the table + extension were flat with one another.
4. Overall, the design features were pretty neat. The fit and finish were nice.
5. The fence has some nifty innovations such as a slide out shelf to keep thin stock from slipping underneath it and a locking mechanism on top. I like that when using a tape between the fence and saw blade for a precise measurement. That said, the factory setup was very close to perfect!
6. Titling the blade was amazingly simple and easy to use. The design and balance of the trunnion assembly made it almost effortless.
7. I was worried about the "one turn" adjustment to raise and lower the blade from full up to full down. Once again the design made it easy.
8. There is a nifty storage compartment to hold the blade guard, miter gauge, spare brake assembly, and it even has compartments for your tape measure and pencil! Pretty slick. Include are 3 hex key wrenched for any adjustments you would like to make.
9. Wrenches to change your saw blade are attached to the outside of the saw. With a quick 1/2 turn of a knob they are released for use. Of course the fence and push stick fit into well designed holders on the saw too.
10. Lastly, the cart (included with the saw) is well designed and sturdy.
So much for the design of the machine. Now let's talk about the performance. Please remember that I am a hobbyist, not a professional woodworker. So my thoughts may not be "scientific". They are just based on my limited experience.
1. The combination saw blade that came with the saw was surprisingly good! Both rips and cross cuts were very clean, with little chipping or tear-out.
2. 90 and 45 degree cuts were dead-on when checked with my machinist's square. By the way, my first impression of the miter gauge was that it was light and a bit flimsy. However, it worked well and held any angle securely. I got used to it and it works fine.
3. The machine seemed to have plenty of power, but I only ripped some 2 X4's. I didn't want to screw up any of my expensive hardwood. Even 45 degree angle cuts (with the blade tilted) were easy and accurate.
4. The 2 1/2 dust collection port worked very well. My vacuum system captured almost all of the dust and debris from cutting.
5. No, I didn't do the "hotdog" test! At $90 bucks for a replacement cartridge plus the cost of a new saw blade, I will wait some time to test that one.
My only concern is that the saw appears "light". I guess I am not used to owning a plastic and aluminum table saw. I will place my faith in the Saw Stop designers. They created this saw for the job site so they must understand the abuse this machine will take out in the field. I intend to use only inside my small shop and believe it will meet my needs nicely. The price was a bit difficult to digest when compared to the Dewalt or Bosch, but I believe the design and quality of this little machine is excellent and with the safety features I got my money's worth. Please remember it doesn't have the horsepower of the bigger machines. For hobbyists like me it is a nice machine and I look forward to having years of fun with it.
PS [I am in no way affiliated with Saw Stop. Right now, I am just a satisfied customer of their product. Thanks!]