Jet JWSS-22B

I have owned both the new Excalibur EX16 and this new Jet 22, previously I owned Dewalts 788 and the Delta 40-694 so I can now make comparisons of all of them. But this is about the Jet. So this is more of a comparison review.  But mostly about Jet. 

Note:  This is NOT a bottom feed only machine although it is not a top feed at all.  I explain below

     If you have Arthritis in your hands like me, this is your machine.  Blade changes can be painful sometimes with all the other machines. Jet makes it near painless.

     My Dewalt, Delta, and Ex16 all had drift on the tension knob.  As does my Jet.  Solution?  simply place a piece of tape top and bottom of the knob to mark its place and check it periodically. My Jet does not drift too badly, and not as badly as the EX16.  My Delta had almost no drift, but I placed markers on it regardless. I don't seem to have any motor speed drift.

    Top blade mount requires no tool. Bottom blade holder has a built in tool on the side of the saw.

RE Feeds: Top;Bottom; and what I call.. the Free Blade Feed:  Yep I made that up because no one seems to have referred to it by name online.  hmmm

     I have read some reviews that state this to be a bottom feed only machine.  That may be true for many scrollers, but it is also a "free feed system".  ie.  I do bottom feed on some smaller pieces, but in very intricate fretwork on larger pieces,  I simply thread the blade through the hole in the wood before the blade is mounted. Then I slide the blade through the table and insert the blade holder. 

     The blade slides into position and it locks up perfectly.  My feed is separate from the machine since the blade holder locks the blade before it is mounted.  Hence I have no problem at all with much larger pieces of fretwork.  Threading the blade is a breeze.  No bottom feed. No top feed.  All is separate. 

This is also very helpfull for intricate cuts and veining.

   Vibration?  Smoother than my previous Dewalt or Delta.   About the same vibration wise on the Excalibur. Perhaps the Jet is a little better. This is the least noisy of all machines I have used.

       Vacuum?  I use a large Delta collector attached to the vac port on the underside. That port easily slides out for cleaning. Jet has no built in light. I use an ottlite magnifier.

Set up was nearly spot on from the factory.

     Blower?  Works fine now. BUT  initially from the factory it was loose and had a tendency to fall down onto the work piece during cuts. Jet simply sent me a new one. Now all is well.

I acquired extra blade holders, and now I can switch between blade types without remounting blades. 

Ease of use I give it 100%.  [I also use two different grits of sanding blades [I make my own] so I can switch back and forth with the sanders pre mounted.  A nice feature.

Before my Jet I needed two saws, one to sand with and one to cut with. Otherwise I would have to remove and remount blades. With the jet and extra holders, I just slide them in, alternating sand grits and blade types.

    So the only con for me was the blower assembly issue which Jet took care of.

White?....And I even like the color: Shows dust which I immediately remove.

I will upload a couple of images of a sunburst clock [Not mounted yet] that is a work in progress. All done on the Jet.  But just to show you that Jet is not the only good machine out there, I will try to upload a Dutch Box I made with my Excalibur and Delta a year ago.  That one won at the state fair Aug 2019  Fair in 2020 was canceled. If the fair is on for 21 the Sunburst clock is what will be entered.   Hope this comparison helps someone. 

now months later...lots of months,  I can truly say that I love this saw. I did finish this piece and enter it into the Illinois state fair and it did win first place.  I will try to upload the completed work here if possible. The end result is that with my arthritis being so advanced this may be the easiest saw to work with but vibration is very low as well which is another positive for me.  With all the saws I have owned, I will go back to this without question.

Two big issues with this saw. 

1.  My speed control backs off while I am cutting.  I constantly have to adjust the speed back up where I want it. 

2.  The tension control on the back of the saw also rotates counter clockwise while cutting.  I have attempted to locate the issue but can find no explanation. 

Tech support has not been able to help me with either issue.  I would not buy this saw again.