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Table saw modding

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backofanenvelope:
Hello all,

Apologies if this is in wrong place, please move if needed. After quite a bit of time away from workshop I have returned in time for winter ;( and want some advice for trying to improve my Table Saw. A bit of back history is that I was brought a TS as a birthday present by family as I had been laid off and had more time and wanted to start various projects. Anyway cutting a long story short I received a JET JT-10 TS straight out of the box it felt cheap and nasty and at just shy of 200quid I felt it had a been a mistake. This is the first proper bench tool I have owned and realise that you have to pay for quality but the budget was limited. There were parts that didn't fit and the Chinglish manual well..... ended up hacksawing bits to make fit and then read online the reviews were at best not particularly positive.

As a novice I wasn't sure what I was looking at or for but I knew that this was going to be a struggle to fettle. My first point of concern is the guard. It is nigh on useless with so much movement and inaccuracy that I can't get a straight cut no matter how hard I try.
There there is the top that is as un-smooth as carpet of broken glass.
The Riving Knife is set at a jaunty angle no matter how I try and straighten it
The Safety Guard is so tight that it usually stops the progress of any cut.

There are other problems but these are the things that are hindering my progress. So I am looking for any help and advice in order to either rectify via modding or after looking online at a number of great Youtube channels build my own from the parts. What do people think?

Regards
Tom

S. Heslop:
Here's a few articles that might help. Especially the first one to combat the rough surface.

https://woodgears.ca/shop-tricks/slippery.html
http://woodgears.ca/delta_saw/index.html
http://woodgears.ca/table_saw/index.html

I made a wooden fence for my own (wooden) table saw and it's worked out quite well. It's fairly solid and gives me straight cuts. There's an article in that third link about one that he made.

With that saw you've at least got the inside mechanism so there's alot of scope to modify the saw around it to make it something decent. You could even go the whole hog like this guy did.

I'd suggest the guard is totally useless and probably only included to reduce the manufacturer's liability for injuries. I don't know anyone who operates a tablesaw with one attached. I think I also once read that a riving knife is only decent if it's the same width as the blade, and having one also gets in the way of certain kinds of cuts. Again it's not something you really need unless you're ripping terrible beams with alot of internal stress.

If the top of your saw is not just rough, but also warped, you might be able to replace it with a board of good plywood. My own tablesaw uses birch ply for the surface and it's holding up fairly well.

Don't think you've made a bum purchase though. If you can turn a £200 tablesaw into something half decent with some quick modifications, then that's a bargain in my books.

studders:
I've been stirred to 'un lurk'.

Operating a table saw with no guard is unwise, operating one with no Riving Knife is just plain stupid IMO.

awemawson:
Well said sir !

Welcome aboard - sounds like you've been winkled out of lurking for the best of reasons  :ddb:

(My regards to Bromley - I left there 7 years ago )

studders:
Thank you for the welcome.
Bromley.. hmmm? Not the place it used to be, wish I'd left too when I had the chance but too old to be bothered now.

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