Would like your advice about a table saw

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KLJ

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I am looking at buying a jet jtsa-12 table saw. It has 5 hp motor, 12 inch blade,
jet exacta II 50 in fence system. Do any of you have experience with or opinions concerning this saw. Thank you in advance for your help.
 
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jttheclockman

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I am looking at buying a jet jtsa-12 table saw. It has 5 hp motor, 12 inch blade,
jet exacta II 50 in fence system. Do any of you have experience with or opinions concerning this saw. Thank you in advance for your help.

May I ask why 12". You are stepping into high dollar territory that unless you need that cutting capacity is really overkill. So many more 10" blades and configurations out there. Spend the money on a SawStop saw if money is no object. Just an opinion. Is this a contractors saw or cabinet saw?? There are some models discontinued so beaware of that too if buying used. Would like to hear your plans. :)
 
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I owned a Jet Anniversary Edition 10" cabinet saw with a 3hp 220v motor. Nothing stopped that blade from turning. When I moved I sold it to a guy who has told me he's still using it and loves it. Like JT asked, why a 12"? The 10" has a far better blade selection and unless you're cutting steel it will handle any species of wood etc.
 
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Terredax

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If you are running production, cutting woods 4" and thicker, or building cabinets, then a 5hp/12" saw would be a good choice.
However, if you are only doing hobbyist woodworking, a 3hp/10" would be more than enough.

Whatever you do, stay away from Sawstop for any heavy cutting. They are very under-powered. The belts slip terribly, and need replaced often when cutting thick material.
If cutting high moisture woods, they need to be over-ridden to avoid tripping the brake. And if the blade senses metal, like a staple or nail, it will trip the brake.
 

vtgaryw

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My next table saw will be a Saw Stop. I still have all my fingers but I've been living on borrowed time.... :)

-gary
 
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Shock me

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+1 on SawStop. I haven't encountered any issues with heavy cutting, but I'm sure it has its limits. I've cut plenty of wet wood, especially big box store pressure treated lumber still soggy, again with no problem. SawStop says the brake is unlikely to be triggered by a small nail or staple, but it could be. I've never knowingly hit one, so can't say firsthand. I can say that I'd much rather replace belts than fingers
 
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Terredax

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+1 on SawStop. I haven't encountered any issues with heavy cutting, but I'm sure it has its limits. I've cut plenty of wet wood, especially big box store pressure treated lumber still soggy, again with no problem. SawStop says the brake is unlikely to be triggered by a small nail or staple, but it could be. I've never knowingly hit one, so can't say firsthand. I can say that I'd much rather replace belts than fingers


Keep in mind that the OP is looking at a 5HP saw. He apparently wants to do heavy cutting.

We run 3/4", furniture grade, 11 ply veneered plywood, four sheets at a time through our 5hp saw, without a burp. The Sawstop has a hard time with only two sheets, without running slow enough to burn the material and blade. It is intended for a home shop.
Damp and wet wood may trip the brake, not necessarily always. We've had it happen. It's much easier to over-ride the brake, than to replace it at $80.
They also say that metal can trip the brake. Haven't done that, yet.
The problem is, it is under-powered for heavy cutting. Something that a 5HP saw would do with ease.

I tend to keep my fingers away from the blade. Not that accidents can't happen but, most times that is from inattention, and sloppy practices.
Sleds, clamps, push sticks, and full attention on operating the machine is essential.

Don't rely on a machine to do what is required of yourself.
That will make you complacent, and injuries can happen.
 
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vtgaryw

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Saw Stop has a 3 HP and a 7.5 HP Industrial Saw as well. I was doing some work with a professional woodworking shop a couple of years ago, and they replaced their saws with the 3 HP. After one of their key people sliced a couple of fingers off. That sold me on them.

Gary
 
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Shock me

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I wouldn't disagree with any of that. OP says he is looking at a 5hp 12 inch saw not necessarily for one. So I think it's all good advice he's gotten- if he needs so much power, the 2 hp SawStop won't cut it. If not, it's worth a look. Personally, I have the utmost respect for my table saw and what it can do to me. None of my rare near misses have been due to inattention, but rather to something unexpected happening. The SawStop is just another layer of protection
 

Terredax

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Saw Stop has a 3 HP and a 7.5 HP Industrial Saw as well. I was doing some work with a professional woodworking shop a couple of years ago, and they replaced their saws with the 3 HP. After one of their key people sliced a couple of fingers off. That sold me on them.

Gary

I just looked on their website, and from the configuration, it looks like it was the 3hp saw we used. It certainly was less than impressive.
Maybe the 7.5hp could handle the work. We have three local distributors that have them set-up for demonstrations. I'll look at the 7.5hp for comparison, the next time we are close to one of them.
 

rherrell

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I've had my Grizzly G1023SLW left tilting TS for 13 years and have not had one problem with it. I've made 10 Maloof style rockers that use 8/4 hardwoods and it has cut like butta' through all of them. It even has the original belts on it and you can balance a nickel on the top with it running.


Unless you're going to cut stock greater than 3" thick on a regular basis I don't see the need for a 12", just more $ and less choice on blades.
 
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vtgaryw

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My analogy is I'm a tennis player. Every so many years, it's time to buy new racquets. But 1/2 of the playability of a racquet is in the strings and the skill of the stringer. Unless you try different racquets strung identically by the same stinger, you're not getting a fair picture.

Same with tools. Unless you try the same HP rating saw with the same blade, and you know the saw is set up and aligned properly, you're not going to get a good comparison.

I had a Delta Motorize Table Saw for years. Direct drive. A lot of purists would sneer at it, but I build my own fence (spent almost as much as I did for the saw) and use nothing but the best blades. I've gotten way more out of that saw than I should have been able to.

That said, there's a lot of other factors to compare, such as fences, etc.

-gary
 
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bsshog40

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I had the money to buy a 10" Hitachi 30a 3hp tablesaw about 10 yrs ago. I don't do really heavy work but a 10" has done everything I've needed to do with it. Still is a very nice working saw.
 
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Gotta chime in here. While I don't have familiarity with the saw (it's probably an excellent unit) I do have just a couple thoughts. First, it's probably 220 powered. Maybe even multi-phased. If you have an underpowered shop that could skew the economics. Also, as was noted, other stuff (mostly blades) will be scarcer and more expensive. As will maintenance things like blade sharpening. I haven't checked. Does it have a 5/8" arbor?
 
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vtgaryw

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That brings up a question for me - does a motor on a 12" saw have a different RPM than a 10"? Can you use a 10" blade on it or does that screw it up because of the speed?

-gary
 
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jttheclockman

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That brings up a question for me - does a motor on a 12" saw have a different RPM than a 10"? Can you use a 10" blade on it or does that screw it up because of the speed?

-gary

No to your question. HP does not dictate speed of a motor. Speed will depend on the brand of the motor and what specs it was built to. Each 5HP motor may not be the same. This is one reason you can not judge tools by the HP alone like routers and drills and things like this.

That saw is single phase 220volt if sold for home use. I do not know his exact model. A 12" blade and saw has a 1" arbor so no again to that question. They do sell reducing washers to get down to 5/8" so yes to that question a 10" blade can be used on a 12 inch saw. No the speed will not affect the blade if you buy quality rated blades.
 
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vtgaryw

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That brings up a question for me - does a motor on a 12" saw have a different RPM than a 10"? Can you use a 10" blade on it or does that screw it up because of the speed?

-gary

No to your question. HP does not dictate speed of a motor. Speed will depend on the brand of the motor and what specs it was built to. Each 5HP motor may not be the same. This is one reason you can not judge tools by the HP alone like routers and drills and things like this.

That saw is single phase 220volt if sold for home use. I do not know his exact model. A 12" blade and saw has a 1" arbor so no again to that question. They do sell reducing washers to get down to 5/8" so yes to that question a 10" blade can be used on a 12 inch saw. No the speed will not affect the blade if you buy quality rated blades.

Maybe I didn't phrase my question correctly. I wasn't talking about HP. I know about the HP rating and the problems therein. I was asking about SFM of the blades itself, and whether maybe 12" saw motors ran by design at a different RPM to keep the SFM in the same ballpark as a 10" saw.
 
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jttheclockman

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That brings up a question for me - does a motor on a 12" saw have a different RPM than a 10"? Can you use a 10" blade on it or does that screw it up because of the speed?

-gary

No to your question. HP does not dictate speed of a motor. Speed will depend on the brand of the motor and what specs it was built to. Each 5HP motor may not be the same. This is one reason you can not judge tools by the HP alone like routers and drills and things like this.

That saw is single phase 220volt if sold for home use. I do not know his exact model. A 12" blade and saw has a 1" arbor so no again to that question. They do sell reducing washers to get down to 5/8" so yes to that question a 10" blade can be used on a 12 inch saw. No the speed will not affect the blade if you buy quality rated blades.

Maybe I didn't phrase my question correctly. I wasn't talking about HP. I know about the HP rating and the problems therein. I was asking about SFM of the blades itself, and whether maybe 12" saw motors ran by design at a different RPM to keep the SFM in the same ballpark as a 10" saw.

The difference between a 10 and 12" saw blade is inherently different when it comes to speed because of basic physics. Not all blades are the same for both 10" and 12" The max speed should always be marked on the blade. As I mentioned good quality blades will be interchangable.

If you are asking does a 12 inch saw run faster or slower than a 10 inch the basic answer is no. But again it depends on the motor manufacturer what that speed is. 2 saws different motors same size saws can run at different speeds.
 
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Dehn0045

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Induction motor speed is determined by frequency and number of poles. Without a VFD, the frequency is generally 60 hz. Given 60 hz, if there are 2 poles the motor will be 3600 rpm, 4 = 1800 rpm, 6 = 1200 rpm, and 8 = 900. Most of the time you see motors are either 3600 or 1800.

It looks like this saw is belt driven, so the actual blade speed is determined by the ratio between the motor and arbor. In this case the arbor speed is 4300 rpm. It is the same for both he 10" and 12".
 

bmachin

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Just checked the Jet website. Both the 10" and 12" saws have arbor speeds of 4300 RPM.

Go to the horse's mouth.

Bill

Oops! See that Sam beat me to it.
My bad.
 
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Personally, I have the utmost respect for my table saw and what it can do to me. None of my rare near misses have been due to inattention, but rather to something unexpected happening. The SawStop is just another layer of protection

I agree. I think in a earlier thread some months back a similar issue was brought up. ANY power tool needs to be respected, especially one with a blade of any type. My only concern with the SawStop is that people allow themselves to become complacent on shop safety, let the tool be my safety monitor. To be honest, I've had more injuries with a framing hammer than with any power tool.
 

Rob183

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I just had an opportunity to purchase a SawStop at an amazing price, NIB. Build quality is top notch.
 
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