Jet Contractor Saw - Sell?

[Steve Kirincich]

Hello,

I have a Jet contractor style table saw (JWTS-10CW2-LFR, 1.5 HP) that is about twenty years old. I am looking to sell this saw for a very reasonable price because of the wear/damage on the gear responsible for raising and lowering the blade. Replacement parts are not available. This gear does not fully contact the worm when first raising the blade above the table surface. The blade needs to be pulled up to engage the mechanism. Once engaged the lift gear works well. I have tried, with some success, to use both 8" and 10" blades to avoid the unstable section of the blade height range. The saw makes perfectly good through rip and crosscuts, but the current situation makes some non-through cuts (rabbet, dado, cove) very challenging. At the lower blade height range, the blade will move up when the motor is turned on.

I would appreciate any thoughts on selling. I would prefer to sell intact as opposed to parting out. Now that I have found a good deal on a used cabinet saw, I am ready to say goodbye to this saw. Thanks!


Steve
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[Jim Becker]

As long as your ad (here in the Classifieds and elsewhere) fully discloses the issue, I suspect you'll find a buyer who will be willing to do what's necessary to repair things, even if they need to source parts from unconventional places. That disclosure is necessary, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because having to manually assist the blade up to a certain point brings risk of injury.

[glenn bradley]

Depends on the damage. The worm gear should have some sort of eccentric to adjust for backlash. If that is all that is required my son in law just sold a 10 year younger version of that saw for $250. If the trunnion really is toast, you could advertise it as a good motor, fence and cast iron extension wings with a questionable saw attached for a price commensurate with your area . . . with the condition that the buyer has to take it all.

[Frank Pratt]

I had a similar model, the older green one, and it was a very good saw. But having an important part worn out that is no longer made kind of kills the value. Just place an ad & see what offers you get.

I sold mine to my woodworker brother. He offered $500, but I sold it to him for $400. He's very happy with it.

[Jamie Buxton]

So the saw is nearly impossible to use, and repair parts are unavailable. You can offer it up as a hanger queen, but expect that it will take a long time to find somebody who wants it. Realistically, the value of the saw is zero. Buy that cabinet saw you've found, and get on with your woodworking. If you can find somebody to take the broken saw some time, good. If you get tired of it hanging around your shop, send it to the landfill.

[Mike Kees]

There is far more value sitting there than Zero. Fence, cast wings, motor. Part it out, worth more in parts than whole.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Your story reminds me of a local railroad fifty years ago. They had two rail cars with six new cars ($$$) on each. Insurance quickly paid off clam, and then parted out brand new cars for parts, pocketing a very nice profit.

[Jerry Olexa]

Agree with Jim's comments above.....You should inform the buyer in advance for ethical and safety reasons....You may have to sell it for a bit less than you normally would.
Then you can go forward with confidence to your new saw.

[Sam Force]

I had a similar issue with a TS, I could not in good conscience sell it or even give it away. What if someone lost a finger or something even worse because the saw was hard to raise/lower the blade. Would the money you pocketed be worth the price paid? For me, the answer was NO.

[Steve Kirincich]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I would love to see the whole saw or at least some of the parts go to use rather than end up as scrap metal. There are certainly many more of these in circulation and it is likely that someone else is in a similar situation where a critical replacement part is no longer available from typical sources due to the age of the tool. I would also think that between the motor, the wings and the fence someone could breathe new life into their saw.

[David Stone (CT)]

Nothing to add here, except it is incredible to me--and no doubt, I'm dating myself--that no one is any longer selling, and parts are no longer available for, the basic contractor saw that Delta designed and Jet and many others reproduced. There were a gazillion of these made and it's what so many of us, including me, got into this hobby with back in the 80s and 90s. Fond memories.

[Steve Kirincich]

Hi David. As I have pondered replacing the described contractor saw, I have searched for the part needed to get the saw back in shape. Several years ago, I accidentally bought the wrong cast iron gear and steel worm screw. I recently got a good deal and purchased a used Jet cabinet saw. With a little cleaning the lift mechanisms work very well. Those unused parts I described above actually fit the cabinet saw, but it seems to be so well made that I may never need them. That cast iron gear is no longer available from the source I used several years ago. Seems the current spare part supply is minimal and will be consumed in short order. I love the contractor saw and have bonded with it over the years as I have squeezed under it to do maintenance and have also taken it apart more than once.

[Curt Harms]

You have a new (to you) saw. If I couldn't find a replacement part, I'd keep any parts I thought worthwhile - motor at least - and scrap what I couldn't sell. Keep in mind that there is no Jet factory just as there is no Grizzly factory or Craftsman factory. They all use contract manufacturers. If you can figure out what other brand/model is identical to your Jet you might be able to source your required part with another brand on it.

[Jim Becker]

If you go the parting out route, keep in mind that things like cast iron wings can and will fit other brand saws. Even used motors sell for top dollar these days it seems because new ones are darn expensive. Etc. You may actually get more money for parts than you could for a "broken" tool. And what's left is very much recyclable.

[Alex Zeller]

If you sell it whole just list it as "for parts" and then list why. Chances are there's someone in the same boat as you who has one with a different no longer sold part who would really like to fix it. The word "parts" will be what will attract them.