Sawstop Jobsite Pro

[bobtskutter]

I'm in the UK. I was at a woodworking show the other weekend and there was a Sawstop demo. The demo was on the PCS, but they also had the Jobsite Pro and CTS. I'm thinking of replacing my Dewalt 7492 with the Jobsite Pro, but I can't decide.
The primary use for the saw is to cut things accurately.
My primary function of using the saw is to use it safely, i.e. not create a kickback situation or cut my fingers off.
Can anyone give me their real world review of the Jobsite Pro, I know there are FOG member who have them.

I'd be using the saw to mill up lumber, cut sheet goods, make dados (not using a dada stack!!!), cross cutting with sled / mitre gauge.

I've see all sorts of "reviews" on line going anywhere from "expensive rubbish" to "utterly brilliant".

Does the fence stay parallel with the blade when it's positioned?
Is the top flat (as in flat enough for wood working, not a precision level surface for building lasers on )?
Does the blade stay at 90degrees or does it drift?
Can you make fine height adjustments of the blade, e.g. 1mm. The "one turn lift" sounds great, but could also prevent fine adjustment.
I've mounted the Jessem stock guides on a secondary fence attached to the Dewalt fence, is this practical for the Jobsite Pro.

I'd like to hear members thoughts on USING the saw, I'm not trying to get into a discussion about the finger saving technology or the cost.

Bob

 

[ChuckS]

Two general comments:

A) "not create a kickback situation" - SawStop won't help with that better than any other comparable saws. The JessEm stock guides will be a great help.

B) In terms of accuracy, the jobsite saw is not in the same league of a cabinet saw to which the PCS belongs.

 

[nclemmons]

I've had a Jobsite Pro in my home shop for about five years. I also have a DeWalt DWE7491RS at my farm that I use when I'm there. I've been very happy with the SawStop. The Sawstop is a step up in power and accuracy vs the DeWalt. Plenty of power for cutting 2" thick stock for legs and such. I like the accuracy and ease of moving the fence and it stays square. It's also easy to fold up for movement or storage. I have central dust collection and it does OK with the SawStop - not as good as a cabinet saw, but five minutes with a vacuum after using and it's clean. The one-turn blade adjustment might give you a need to practice but I've been happy with the ability to adjust height. It's fast to raise and lower and I've found no issues with a gradual raise or lower if you have a little patience. I've used with standard blades, groovers, and dado stacks and they all work well.

No issues with squareness or accuracy. I build furniture mostly and it's been very accurate for me. I do have the Jessem guides mounted on a piece of plywood and they work well, but with the over blade dust collection guard and riving knife, I don't see much risk of kickback with the saw at all. I've had two cartridges blow - one from cutting wet wood and one from a small nail that I missed in some recycled wood.

I've used larger cabinet saws and they are nice but were too large for my space. I'd buy a Jobsite Pro again if the need arose.

 

[Joelm]

I had a jobsite pro but got rid of it for the cts.

The only reason was the jobsite pro's blade would always go out of square when I moved the blade up and down. It has something to do with the quick angle adjust feature. I don't know if it affected all saws but on mine I had to check for square every time I used it.

Cts doesn't have this problem for me.

The pro does have better dust collection with the overhead blade guard having a hose connection.