Wavy Cut With Jobsite Saw...Help?

[Derek Arita]

Points taken. I've never owned a jobsite or contractor saw. I was fortunate enough to start out with a cabinet saw, so I have no comparison and that's why I'm asking. I was just hoping to mitigate the issue as much as possible.

[Derek Arita]

So here's what I did...I put a straight edge flat on the table, up against the fence. I ran a piece of plywood against the straight edge and guess what? I got a flat cut! I guess a flat fence really does matter. So, what can I use against the fence face to help flatten it? I even considered scraping the high points on the fence.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Derek,

Not super familiar with your saw. 1) can you remove the white facing of the fence from the “body” of the fence? If you can you might be able to shim the low spots. 2) if you can’t remove maybe you could sand down the high spots, provided the material machines well. My only thought is the white facing looks thin so you could introduce other issues. 3) you could build a fence sleeve that fits over the existing, this could be a PITA if if you are switching back and forth between rips and cross cuts without being permanently set up like a cabinet saw.

[Randy Heinemann]

First if I understand you and the rip fence face is wavy call Sawstop. If it’s a new saw it’s under warranty. I bought the SS Jobsite saw just after it first came out and have never gotten a cut like that. The Jobsite Saw is certainly not a cabinet saw but my guts are essentially perfect. I have been a woodworker for over 40 years and am a perfectionist so would notice that. I would imagine that if you force 8/4 hardwood through the blade there would be deflections but I’ve cut maple, oak, and other woods but never with that result. I have always found Sawstop support very good.

[Derek Arita]

First if I understand you and the rip fence face is wavy call Sawstop. If it’s a new saw it’s under warranty. I bought the SS Jobsite saw just after it first came out and have never gotten a cut like that. The Jobsite Saw is certainly not a cabinet saw but my guts are essentially perfect. I have been a woodworker for over 40 years and am a perfectionist so would notice that. I would imagine that if you force 8/4 hardwood through the blade there would be deflections but I’ve cut maple, oak, and other woods but never with that result. I have always found Sawstop support very good.

If I don't have success with flattening, I'll be calling them on Monday. I did call them on a out-of-flat table issue and they basically said it's a jobsite saw, not a cabinet saw, albeit very nicely said. Apparently there is no tolerance number for the JSS Pro.

[Derek Arita]

Solved the problem by sanding the fence face. I used a reference slab, with 220 paper and went slowly. Now I have an ugly, but flat fence face that eliminated the wavy cut. It also eliminated the vertical cup in the fence face. Stoked, I am. No more wavy cut and no need to add another face.

[Ron Selzer]

Solved the problem by sanding the fence face. I used a reference slab, with 220 paper and went slowly. Now I have an ugly, but flat fence face that eliminated the wavy cut. It also eliminated the vertical cup in the fence face. Stoked, I am. No more wavy cut and no need to add another face.

Glad you got it worked out
Ron

[Greg Parrish]

Nice. Who cares how it looks as long as its a nice flat reference surface and it gives you accurate cuts. Good job.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Nicely Done! The appearance clearly shows what you were up against. If you re-do the laminate you could use Colorcore Formica. It would look nice but your work at flattening would not show.

[Randy Heinemann]

After thinking about this for awhile, any waviness, if it exists on my Sawstop Jobsite saw, is probably removed by jointing. I can't think of any rips that I haven't jointed before using in the project. I generally run the rip over my jointer once or twice after ripping, thus removing any residual saw marks. My guess is that, if any waviness exists on my saw, it's minute and is removed with the saw marks.

[Derek Arita]

After thinking about this for awhile, any waviness, if it exists on my Sawstop Jobsite saw, is probably removed by jointing. I can't think of any rips that I haven't jointed before using in the project. I generally run the rip over my jointer once or twice after ripping, thus removing any residual saw marks. My guess is that, if any waviness exists on my saw, it's minute and is removed with the saw marks.

You're doing what you should do. I, on the other hand, am lazy and prefer to go from saw to glue-up, so I try to adjust to the best sawn edge that I can get.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I just received a response from Beaver Tools about the Job Site Pro.

Answer: Hello! The Jobsite saw is a mixture of aluminum, plastic, and metal. The table top is coated aluminum, as are the fence rails. The fence itself is plastic, as is most of the body of the saw. Most of what's under the table like the trunnion, etc, is metal. They seem to be very resilient, and hold up over quite some time. I hope this helps. Thank you for your inquiry!

[Derek Arita]

I just received a response from Beaver Tools about the Job Site Pro.

Answer: Hello! The Jobsite saw is a mixture of aluminum, plastic, and metal. The table top is coated aluminum, as are the fence rails. The fence itself is plastic, as is most of the body of the saw. Most of what's under the table like the trunnion, etc, is metal. They seem to be very resilient, and hold up over quite some time. I hope this helps. Thank you for your inquiry!

Actually, the main part of the fence that comprises the melamine faces, is an extrusion. It's black and looks like plastic, but if you scrape thru the finish, the aluminum is exposed.