I'm still deciding which table saw to purchase and have been reading reviews
at Amazon and several other places. I seen what appeared to be a problem
with the Jet Supersaw and emailed the company about it. Below is what I
wrote including reviews and their response.
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I'm going to be purchasing a table saw in the next month and after a lot of
research I've narrowed my selection down to your supersaw and Dewalts
woodworkers saw. Reading all the reviews I could find shows you seem to be
having a problem with a timing belt. Has the problem been fixed, I sure
don't want to buy it if I'm going to be having problems. I live in a
semi-rural area so any service center would be over 100 miles away.
-Here's what I've read so far concerning the problem.
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Reviewer: A home improvement enthusiast from montgomery, tx United
States
My wife bought this saw for me as a gift which I recieved sometime about
February 2003. I was so excited when I uncrated the saw, set it up, and cut
my first piece of wood. It looked and worked great for about 3 weeks. Then
abruptly the blade would not raise or lower any more, a broken timing belt.
I contacted Amazon who informed me that the part was on backorder for
several weeks. About 3 weeks later I recieved the part. I contacted a Jet
service representative who assured me that I could replace it myself with a
minimum amount of time and effort. About 2 hours later, after dissasembling
the entire timing gear/shaft assembly, I realized the drive gear is cracked.
Again I contacted Amazon who referred me to Jet. I waited an infinite amount
of time on hold with Jet, who four calls later, referred me to a repair
facility in my area. The repair facility ordered parts and one month later
my timing gear assembly was repaired. I reinstalled it on my saw and it
would bind and jerk when it is turned. I contacted the facility who then
told me to contact Jet. Jet said they would send a technician to my shop. A
half dozen phone calls and three weeks later my saw was repaired again. Next
the sliding miter fence would not pivot and the screws that held the face
plate on vanished ( they were remove during the previous repairs). Again I
contacted the repair facility who in turn contacted Jet. Jet assured the
parts would directly be sent to me. Well, it has now been almost a month and
I STILL don't have any parts. In the six months I have been in "POSSESION"
of this saw it has worked without flaw for about four weeks.If you would
like to spend hours on the phone (mostly on hold), get any number of empty
promises, wait countless weeks for parts that never come, and truly desire
to do business with someone who genuinely could care less if your problem
gets resolve or not, Amazon and Jet are the right people for you. What is
really sad is that if I was ready to purchase another saw I would recieve
lightning fast attention and service and a new one would be at my doorstep
in 2-3 days. But when I really need help, I wait endlessly on the phone, get
referred back and forth, and still have a broken product who's warranty is
not worth the paper it was printed on. Thanks for nothing to Amazon and Jet,
world class zeros in Customer Satisfaction. Just a thought, but maybe
someone should start dissasembling some of those saws you are selling so the
little guys that DEPEND ON THEM TO MAKE A LIVING can get them fixed when
they break.
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Reviewer: mark from Las Vegas, Nevada
After one month of serious usage with my new saw, I found a two-bit belt was
key to the flawless operation I had come to expect from this rugged beauty.
Timing Belt woes . . Absolutely rediculous its difficulty in accessing to
repair . . dealer doesn't have a clue about its short comings -
unavailability of parts . . and a cheap belt no-less!! How could this
critical part be so overlooked regarding reliability?? . .It shut me down
and is going to be a real headache to find the part and then reassemble the
shaft assembly . . The tiny set screws are soft metal and very hard to get
at. I will have to drill out one of them - hope for the best. Will probably
have to order a new part they sit in. Not happy anymore! . .Dissapointed
---------------
Then the "timing belt" issue, that others have mentioned, came to call.
The timing belt itself is not the issue. Jet has promised a replacement free
of charge under warranty (the good news, so to speak). However, Jet doesn't
even expect to have the belt in stock for two and one-half months (the bad
news). I found out the availability date from my local tools shop and
confirmed it with Jet. Apparently, Jet doesn't have a problem with my fairly
expensive saw being idle for two plus months after only six months of use.
From the other reviews, this doesn't appear to be a new or unknown problem.
I've visited my local bearing shop and ordered a temporary replacement belt
of similar size and configuration at a cost of five dollars for the belt and
five dollars for shipping. We will see how well it works. A friend suggested
that you might also be able to pick up a serviceable replacement belt at a
sewing machine shop.
If Jet seemed at all concerned about the problem, that would be something.
If they even suggested some alternatives, that would help. If I can get a
replacement from the local bearing shop in less than a week and it takes
them months, their service is pathetic. If they offered to reimburse me the
[money amount]for my bearing-shop replacement, I would sing their praises.
The fact that they don't even seem to care is unacceptable
---------------
I own the Supersaw and highly recommend against anyone purchasing this
engineering disaster. The vaunted dust collection system just doesn't work,
even with an 850cfm dust collector. After trying to make the dust collection
work and still having the wooddust thrown back into my face, I called the
Tech support at JET. They told me, even before I finished explaining my
problem, that they knew about the problem, that the dust collection system
had not been engineered properly, and that the only solution was to cut out
the bottom so that the little shelf underneath could actually collect the
dust! This is not what I bargained for. In addition to the dust collection
system not working, the engineering has the motor right under the saw blade
so it collects the odd small pieces of wood that fall through and stop the
blade movement.
I have never seen such a poorly put together piece of equiptment in all my
years. The engineers, and the company management should be sued for
malpractice. Don't purchase this machine if you value the joy of
woodworking.
--------------
It seems that this saw may have an achilles heel. Jet uses what they call a
timing belt to connect the control wheel to the trunnion assembly that
raises and lowers the blade. This belt failed two weeks after receiving the
saw. Repeated attempts to get a new one have fallen on deaf ears. While I
realize the effects of the strike are still being felt, I was promised one
would be delivered via air freight in early November; didn't happen. After
several calls and inquiries I was told I would get a call back; didn't
happen. Today I was promised one on Dec 26; we'll see
---
Here is their reply to my email:
THIS PARTICULAR MACHINE WAS DESIGNED FOR THE CONSUMER HOBBYIST. AS LONG AS
YOU ARE NOT LIKE TRYING TO BUILD A HOUSE WITH IT YOU SHOULD BE JUST FINE.
ALSO WE HAVE REPAIR STATIONS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY SO IF ANYTHING SHOULD COME
UP WE CAN GET THIS REPAIRED.
Thank you,
Rebecca Voorheis
Customer Service
WMH Tool Group
--
Can you believe that, just made to be used as a hobby tool and don't try to
use it for any serious or large projects. Sounds like a cheesy excuse for a
problem their having. I know what I won't be buying.
Mike S.
"mttt" wrote in message
...
"Bob Davis" wrote in message
k.net...
In another thread, I talked about misalignment on my Jet Supersaw. I
wanted
to complete the story of how Jet has handled this. I'm the kind of guy
that
I've got three Jet machines: the Supersaw, their 14" bandsaw and their 6"
jointer. I have called Tech Support about three time for various things.
Calls are taken quickly, the people are more than courteous, and (so far)
all parts have been shipped free of cost.