Jet JMS-12SCMS 12-Inch Dual-Bevel Slide Compound

[K.T.]

This is the first power tool I have ever bought and that just about two months ago after nearly buying the yellow brand. I haven't put it truly through its paces yet.

Likes:

*Electronic Brake... haven't timed it but its slows down to a stop the blade pretty quickly
*Laser is green..very visible and came out of the box with a need for calibration.. cuts are spot on.
*Dust extraction is acceptable (I would contemplate using it in my living room if I needed to). I use a 6.5 hp shop vac and lean a piece of carboard against the back of the Portamate PM7000 workstation to so all the sawdust slides down to floor making for a quick clean up.
*Its a beast (72.6 lbs)but it has to strategically placed rubber carrying handles and being lock the arms down and from sliding is great. (I would be very surprised if I had to carry it more than once a year out of my garage)
*It has place to put a small padlock to prevent unauthorized use. I unplug everything and put the extension cord away when I am not using it eventhough my kids are small enough that even if they could unlock the door to the garage they wouldn't have the strength to pull the door open. Having a physical lock for me is great for situations like this: Inlaw asked me the other day if I had any power tools that he could use to cut his tough dry fish product... Instant visualization of dried fish dust in my TS75, CT33, or Jet 12SCMS. (Yes, my answer was no then I handed him a hacksaw)

Dislikes:

*Offset of mounting brackets didn't make for a instant fit for the portamate pm7000 (HTC will send out brackets happily and free)

Afterthoughts:

*I really enjoy the saw but if I were a professional and needed portability I would pass on this beast.
*Really glad I passed on the yellow brand
*I wasn't familiar with Festool when I bought it otherwise I would have bought the Kapex (my other uncle may be getting this saw for a gift this year if I starting using it more so I can justify to myself getting the Kapex)
*I wish I knew of Festool before I bought it and the portamate stand but as you can see below in my signature that I have been on the right path since March 1st! (Uncle Bob, its that time again... I will call you tomorrow to place another order!)

Has anyone had experience with this saw? I would like to hear how it compares to other saw because I don't have anything else to compare it to

http://www.jetwilton.com/us/manufacturing/en/product.html?node=4528&product=88248

 

[mouppe]

Kim,

Wow! Some dealer had a very happy March thanks to you! You have been busy. Good luck with all your future projects. I really like Jet products and bought some of their parallel clamps recently. They are the best I have ever used.

Richard.

 

[CList]

I recently got the 10" version as Jet had a 3-day sale a couple of weeks ago and the proces were very low. It was hard for me to swallow getting a makita or bosch given how low the price was on the Jet.

I've since been using it quite a bit in the renovation of my wides new store; installed a whole bunch of base board, make some faux-antique "picture frames" out of different types of molding (the frames will not have glass or pictures in them, they'll be used to frame jewelry and things and hanging on the wall), and used it to make to make frames two monster (7' x 4') floor-standing mirrors.

I've used a couple other SCMS's (though not the Kapex), but the only one I've spent any real time with was a fairly new Makita 12". I liked it quite a bit but I heard they had some issues with the latest revision with the slide being a little "bind-y", and again, the Jet was so much cheaper on sale but similar in price when not on sale, so the sale pushed me over the edge.

Likes:
* Smooth slide action
* smooth start up and fast shut down
* all controls up front - including bevel, and very intuitive
* I couldn't find anything that needed adjusting out of the box
* laser was well aligned out of the box and I actually use it and trust it, something I couldn't do with other saws I've tried (though they were also saws my contractor was bringing from job to job, my saw's hardly moved since I got it)
* nicely shaped / placed / feeling handle - all in all the action of the saw and the feel when cutting inspire confidence

Dis-likes:
* Made in China and too many cheap-feeling plastic parts - especially the hold-down clamp and the fence adjustments
* Changing blades is a real pain - gotta remove two screws and have the blade guard flopping around while you're dealing with the arbor - seems like they could have done it better
* a bit too much play on the detents for the miters (for my taste) and rather big markings on the miter gauge + a fat cursor that give me the impression that it's imprecise (OTOH, the actual cuts seem to be right on the money... so far...)
* blade only just barely clears the bottom of the wood in the back bottom corner - would like it if the blade had a little more over-shoot there

All in all I'm happy with it, but I can't help but wonder if I would've liked the Bosch better from a strength and precision-feel perspective - wish I'd had a place to go and try them all in person.

Cheers,
Chris