Jet 315 Table Saw

[morrisminordriver]

Ive seen the adverts for the Jet 315 folduppable table saw which looks like it could be good for me as I have limited space in my shed, however, does anyone know what its like?

It ca be seen here:
http://www.jettools.co.uk/jts315s.html

thanks, MMD

 

[Ian Dalziel]

Hi Morrisminor driver

Site saws like the jet and similar from other manufacturers are fantastic for lifting in and out the back of vans etc. They are designed for use on sites hence they get called site saws. they are ideal for onsite joiners, window fitters because they are mobile but they are really for rough ripping. This is the market that they are aimed for
For hobbiest use this would not be my choice, i would prefer something like a small kity or dewalt dw744 or sheppach 2000. these are a lot more accurate and have fantastic fences. I have owned several tablesaws and the one i like now has a fantastic rigid fence this is what i look for now in a tablesaw not depth of cut or dado ability these are all nice to have but the fence has to be its best and strongest feature and remain accurate. I would also recommend fitting an outfeed table
I also noticed when checking that the bosch intro into the small tabletop saws have had a good write up and tried one myself and was quite impressed especially the fact it has a long shaft for the blade or blades.
also these saws can be made into great little multi workstations check GWW latest issue
Hope that was of help

Ian

 

[Offcut]

This saw is the same 'site saw' as electra beckum TKHS 315 and all the other manufacturers that have used the same frame. I have seen the EB version and although the picture looks small it is actually a large saw. the rear table does not fold down very easly from my recollection you have to remove two bolts. It's also pretty heavy as the table top is galvanised steel plate about 5mm thick.
The mechanism for raising and lowering the blade is a threaded rod which gets glogged in sawdust and makes it hard to raise the blade. Lowering isn't a problem.


Andy

 

[ike]

the table top is galvanised steel plate about 5mm thick.

Wow, if so that's very chunky, and extremely heavy to lug around. The top on my Scheppach TKU is a no more than about 16G pressed I would say and the whole unit weighs in under 50kg.

Speaking for myself, I originally got a site saw for the workshop because I wanted a bigger depth of cut capacity and had a tight budget. Wonderful as it would be have a solid cast iron beauty with micrometer fence etc and I dearly wish I could afford one just for the pleasure, I bring the accuracy into the wood prep at the planer/thicknesser stage, and haven't found the use of a site saw to impair my work in any way.

With a site saw, you can get a lot of bang for your buck i.e. 90mm depth of cut and (in the case of the Scheppach) a beefy 3hp (P1). This is a saw that happily munched full depth from either side through some tough old 6" thick elm baulks I scavenged from an ancient cowshed.

Just my own thoughts for anyone contemplating a site saw, as I think they're to easily dismissed as a poor cousin to the precision table saw, and therefore not up to scratch for the discerning home woodworker.

Ike

 

[Offcut]

I agree with Ike, is is a good saw and as accurate as most saws as long as it is set up correctly. I was trying to emphasis the size of the saw as MMD mentioned it was for his shed. Unless it is a big shed then it may be too large. As for its capabilities, it will happily chomp it's way through just about anything (wooden) and a few nails along the way.

Andy

 

[ike]

Absolutely Andy. I see the major difference between the Scheppach and the EB /Jet sitesaws are that the Scheppach has a, really, quite nice sliding table, but the saw is relatively very expensive compared to some of the competition.

A word of warning though. My defence of site saws excludes the Ferm model. My father got one. He mainly makes planters and so forth, not any kind of furniture or cabinet work and I suppose it's OK for his needs. But it really is pretty awful in almost every respect!

Ike

 

[ike]

Anyway, back to MMD's original question. The Jet looks well specced for the money, and the sliding table looks very similar to the Scheppach design with the canted box section support rail. The proof will be in the build quality. It looks well worth a trip to view IMO. The motor spec seems to good to be true - I'm not sure taht it can be correct at 4HP CONTINUOUS OUTPUT! (the P2 S1 bit) Can that possibly be the single phase version or a 3-phase version?

Ike

 

[Anonymous]

I bought the E/B TKHS 315 and it is pretty heavy! About 10kg more than the Jet. You are right about the table thickness, it is heavy gauge steel.

I put a Freud blade on it, and it is a beast! Scared the s**t out of me when I first fired it up, I thought it was going to drive off!

The fence is rock solid as well.

I wouldn't like to put my hand on that blade when it's going round, I reckon that could give you a nasty cut, I do.

It has two folding handles at the front and you can lift it up and walk around with it (If your hard!)

I bought the sliding carriage for it, but have not tried it yet.

I cannot comment on what everyone calls a good cut on these dearer saws, but the cut on the E/B is as smooth as a babies bum and accurate too!

You do not have to undo any bolts to lower the rear table, although the locking mechanism is a bit crude. Apart from that it seems pretty well put together by todays standards.

 

[johnelliott]

In my opinion the most important aspect of any table saw is how well it crosscuts. A smooth rip isn't very important as it can be planed, but a good crosscut needs virtually no further attention.
Touble with site saws is that the tops are not flat. This means that the crosscuts, even with a sliding table, will need further work because the angle will vary with the length of the piece being cut
John

 

[ike]

Touble with site saws is that the tops are not flat.

True, but they're not TOO bad...

This means that the crosscuts, even with a sliding table, will need further work because the angle will vary with the length of the piece being cut

....not bad enough to automatically imply this. As long as the sliding carriage is carefully set up, they CAN be quite accurate. The smoothness of the crosscut is down to the blade fitted.

John, no one'll argue set up on a site saw is quite as accurate as a precision saw, but a saw isn't the be all and end all of accurately dimensioning and finishing stock is it? I mean, it's like everything we buy, there's a law of diminishing return isn't there. Much as we all like, some of us can't afford £1000 -£1400 for a table saw - but we can still get the same end result using something a third of the price, and with some careful measurement and tickling with a plane(r).

Ike

 

[Anonymous]

John

What Ike said.

A shooting board will sort any cross cut problems in a few seconds and I would be surprised it any table saw will give as accurate a finish as a well honed plane iron on a shooting board.

All comes down to money and use - surely most hobbiests would not want to spend £1000 + on a table saw and then use it once a forthnight if time allows?