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The upper guard gets in the way of your view of the work. So certainly not enough that it will affect my work.My biggest complaints with the saw are the blade guides and blade guard.The blade guides are the euro style carbide wheels. It comes pre-installed with the blade in place. The lower blade guide is a real challenge to work around, especially with the table in place.
The table on my saw was slightly convex parallel to the blade (about 1/32 difference) and flat perpedicular to the blade. Overall, the saw is very good. They also get in the way when you are trying to set the blade guides - especially the lower blade guide. It is quiet, smooth, and much better for resaw and other work than the smaller saws with the block extensions. They were misaligned when received and it is not a simple task to ensure vertical alignment with the blade.
I do like to have the upper part of the saw blade covered when I'm working so I sawed off the lower portion of the blade guide to expose that portion of the blade entering the blade guides and so I could saw along any traces I put on the wood to be cut. I recommend the saw, but be prepared to spend a few extra bucks on blade guides and a better saw blade. All that needs to be done is to add the table, stand extension and make some other minor adjustments.Other reviewers found the table to be bowed slightly. I ended up removing the lower blade guide altogether. For a few extra bucks, it would have been no problem for Jet to install guide bearings in place of the carbide wheels.
But instead you'll have to shell out some extra money for the bearing type blade guides.The blade guards beg to be removed. This ended up lowering the guides by about 1/16 inch or so, but doesn't impact the cut.Overall, with the ball bearing guides, this is an excellent saw and would be a 5 star if not for the issues above. Also, be prepared to make some other minor modifications to suit your work.
The saw went together with no problems, but as a couple of other people noted, mine had a table that was far from flat. I have resawed with no noticable blade drift, except one time when I forgot to tension the blade.Since I have used the saw for a number of angled cuts, my biggest complaint is with the small trunions and angle scale for the table tilt, and difficulty of getting the table adjusted to the proper angle. I called Jet, and they sent me a new table right away, and that one is well within spec for flatness. I was not impressed with the 3/4" blade supplied with the saw, so I ordered a "Woodslicer" from Highland Woodworking, which does a great job. I have a very inexpensive Craftsman 8" bandsaw that has a micrometer-type table angle adjustment so you can easily dial in the angle you need. I wish this saw had something like that.
Airborn Freight delivered the saw right on time. (This will probably be resolved when the 3/4" Wood Slicer is installed) I have a set of Carter Style Blade Guides ordered, but I'm not convinced that this may be neccessary. The table went on with no problem and was flatter than pee on a plate. This included installing the Jet fence that I ordered separately. I just soaked some paper shop towels in a citrus degreaser, and layed them on the table for about 10 minutes, then scraped off the stuff with a single edge razor blade. The saw was in excellent condition, no scratches, dents or anything else. With the help of a friend, had the saw uncrated, together and runing in just over 1 1/2 hours. After reading some other negative comments about this saw, I checked it out very carefully.
Resawed a 1/32 slice of 6" red oak with the factory blade. No problem other than very shallow blade marks. Jet provided all the tools necessary for set-up other than a phillips screw driver and a square (for table set-up) Getting the protective coating off the table was no problem at all. This saw is a fantastic value for the money and will do everything a somewhat serious woodworker would want.
Overall, I need to get the fence and do some more serious cuts before making a final evaluation. The fence I ordered has not been delivered, but making cuts with a temporary fence indicated a noticeable blade drift, so resawing will need a bullnosed fence attachment -- this is contrary to one of the other reviewers.The supplied blade is 3/4" wide 3.5TPI in mild steel. He also took the box, pallet and Styrofoam packing.The tabletop had paint run-backs in the beveled surface.
I did it myself in about three hours. This may need to be replaced -- see other comments.You need two 14mm wrenches to secure the 90 degree stop.The blade guard extends so low that it obscures your vision of the cut. From what I've seen so far, this machine does not meet my expectations.The set-up was pretty straightforward.
The top edges and blade channel had rough edges which required sanding down.The tabletop is fairly flat from the neck side to the miter gauge slot, then it tapers down pretty substantially. Luckily, the local delivery came in a lift gate truck. The driver helped me take the crate, lift to vertical and open and inspect the unit.
I'll need to remove it, cut-off about 2" and reinstall.Preliminary cuts were OK, but not overly impressive. You should consider buying a blade for resawing and a narrower blade for curves.
It's virtually inaccesible, even with the special hex wrench Jet gives you (lose that puppy and you're SOL). I agree with all the good things said about this saw's power, smoothness, and quietness. The guide wheels secure with thumbscrews that an average hand can't reach without mangling your flesh, and there's so little room you can't wear gloves. BUT. the odd blade size means you'll pay more and have to special order - that's takes time.But the real killer design flaw in this machine is the lower guide arrangement. The guide base flops all around and is hard to see and almost impossible to align properly. I've been using bandsaws for 40 years - so I KNOW it needn't take half an hour to change a blade, then another half hour to readjust it over and over.If you change blades often, stay away.
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