Opinions on Jet's commercial XACTA Fence II

[David Clay]

I'm shopping for a new table saw to replace an old sears contractor model. I'm leaning heavily toward a cabinet saw and wanted to keep the budget around $1,500 - $2,000. I like the Grizzly 1023 but it doesn't have a riving knife. I can get the 50 inch rip Jet Deluxe Xacta saw delivered for $1,534 (after $100 rebate from Jet) from Rockler. Any user opinions on the quality of Jet's commercial XACTA Fence II system? Any other recommendations for quality saws I should consider?

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have a Jet cabinet saw and two Xacta fences. One Xacta is an older model with a steel face I added to use magnetic featherboards. The other Xacta is a newer model they call Micro-adjust. I had a Biesemeyer fence on a contractor saw for several years. I see no functional difference between the Xactas and the Biesemeyer - they both work the same way and are excellent fences. I never use the micro-adjust feature - it is more trouble than it is worth - bump and lock works well for me.

[Dave Lehnert]

When I purchased my Jet it came with the regular exacta fence. I had problems with the little plastic guide pads coming off. That problem was caused by the fence was not welded square. The adjustment would square it out but I had the adjustment screws in one side and out on the other to the max. The front rail mounting screw holes were also tapped wrong which did not help. My dealer ordered a replacement fence and the screws were striped out so he ordered another. The replacement the same thing. My dealer with the support of Jet gave me the Exacta 2 fence that he had in stock. That fence is a much better quality fence over the first one. The micro adjust feature is nice but don’t use it much at all.
I love my Jet saw. I made a good purchase.