JET Reviews

The Jet JWL 1236 that I purchased was a great deal, being only around $100.00 more for a good sized lathe rather than a midi lathe, and free shipping ($486.00 all together). The performance of the product is good. I do not have it bolted to the floor, and it still holds its own. It is not noisy, and has little vibration. However, I would not suggest working on anything that is larger than 8 inches in diameter or so. The machine becomes wobbly, but again, I do not have it bolted down. I have not tried the outboard turning yet, being that I mostly do small spindle turning projects.
It takes a good hour to put the lathe together and you do need another person to place the bed on the legs (after the leg assembly is put together). And do not lose any of the bolts or nuts, because there are no extras as far as I remember.

The variable speed is smooth, and the preset "notches" that the speed selector uses are good speeds which will not need any tweaking. SPEND MONEY ON GOOD CHISELS... it makes a difference.
The JET JWL1236 is worth the money. The head and tail stocks match almost perfectly (point to point), and the mechanical parts (stocks, toolrest, motor, variable speed) work just as well as the components on a $3000.00 lathe that I operated last year.

I bought this particular lathe a few years ago...Being a novice at turning I of course blamed the machine for my initial falures. Once I took the correct path to learning what I was doing(balancing, choosing the correct speed and tools, and so on...) I realized I was an idiot ! What a dream this lathe is to use now. Since then I've used other brands and some in a higher price bracket. You can keep em...I'll take this Jet!!!

New to turning, but after much research decided on the Jet 12". Only been able to do a little on it, but so far is solid and stable. Hope to turn some larger outboard bowls soon so we will see how stable it is with more weight on it. Definitely recommend this for a mid-sized lathe, and can't beat the price on Amazon with the free delivery to your door and no tax.

I have owned this product for a year. Like most Jet equipment I own, this one arrived with minor (nuisance type) damage from being dropped. I am wondering if Tool Crib purchases the damaged equipment from Jet at a reduced price to garner higher profit margins.
The saw performs adequately although the accompanying blade did not have a long useful life. The rip fence is low quality and does not permit easy minor adjustments. The miter gauge is also poor quality. Maybe I'm spoiled by the more accurate fence on my table saw but for [price] I expected more attention to detail.
I am using the saw at the lower power level although it can be rewired for higher power.
I like the nice sized cast iron table but plan to build something larger to accommodate more intricate cutting.
The blade guides are not high quality and you should plan to purchase a better quality set.

Purchased my Jet 18" bandsaw with 3/4", 4 tooth blade bout a year ago. Before purchasing this saw I searched for as much info on bandsaws that was available. I am 100% satisfied with it.
Everything I cut is hard wood. I have cut up to 6" thick and even with the 3/4" blade, it was no problem for this saw.
The table surface area is one of the largest on any saw. That's nice! It's easy to clean and the hand wheel adjustments for the cutting height and blade tensioner makes life good.
I don't believe there is a better 18" saw out there for the money.

I, too, have had my 18" Jet bandsaw for almost a year, and it has been a pleasure to use in every respect. Mine arrived without damage or problem, and other than the difficulty of moving a 6' tall wooden crate weighing almost 400 pounds around, setup was straightforward and worked first time out.

I had some problems with blade drift (i.e., trouble cutting a straight line), which seemed to vary with the kind of wood, the blade used, and the tension. I finally made two purchases which I *highly* commend, both from Ittura Designs, a bandsaw supply company that provides an amazing range of accessories and expertise. The first is a tension gauge, to tell you how many psi you're really putting on the blade (note to experts: the Jet has no problem tensioning to 30,000 psi), but the turning point was a Lenox ProMaster iI carbide blade. This thing isn't cheap---over $100 for a single blade---but what an unbelievable difference! The tolerances and sharpness of this blade have made drift a thing of the past: I now cut through everything like a heated knife through butter. If you spend this much on a bandsaw, spend the extra $100 on one of these blades, otherwise you're wasting your time and your wood.

The finish on the saw seems good to these relatively inexperienced eyes; the dust collection works terrifically, and while the lower guides are indeed tough to adjust, the Euro-style rollers work well and seem to hold their adjustments. (One aside: a lot of bandsaw accessories, like zero-clearance inserts and Cool Blocks etc., don't seem to be available for the 18" Jet, so if you're a tweaker, you might want to look elsewhere).

In summary, this is my favorite tool in my workshop. When I started woodworking, I followed closely the "do you need a tablesaw, or can you make do with a bandsaw only" argument, and now that I've had my Jet for a year, with the ProMaster II carbide blade, I have no regrets about my decision to leave a tablesaw behind.

I recently bought this riser block. I bought the band saw and riser block at the same time, but had to wait for the riser block to get off of backorder. So I was pretty excited to finally get the riser block and assemble the band saw.

The kit is very easy to assemble, even with my 105lb wife holding the band saw upper arm while I bolted it together - yeah, she's a sport.

However, once I got it assembled, it was obviously mis-aligned. The upper and lower guide bearings were off by over an inch - much to far to be usable. So, I called JET technical service to help me - thinking they would just send me a new one. The JET technician told me to "knock the pins out with a hammer." Wha? The pins are mounted in cast iron with no through holes. He assures me it will work, so I try. As you can imagine, all I ended up with was mushroomed pins. So I call the technical service line again. The second guy tells me that most of these riser blocks (90% according to him) have this problem, and the instructions were supposed to include how to remove these pins. He tells me to pull he pins out with pliers.

Well, thank goodness Amazon customer service is better than JET's. I returned the block to Amazon and a new one is on route. I hope this one is better.

2 stars for a useful product and a nod to Amazon's great customer service. However, this will be my last JET tool purchase. From now on I'll buy my expensive tools from a company that doesn't expect me to take a hammer to their product before it can be used.

Just installed this today but could not get blade to track in the middle of bottom wheel. Using a straightedge I determined that the top wheel was not aligned with the bottom one. This was a new saw so had never used it without the riser block. I removed the riser block and reassembled the saw, tensioned the blade, and the blade tracked right in the center of the bottom wheel so it appears that the riser block has the alignment holes or pins in the wrong place. Amazon has already responded with a ship date and I expect to have the replacement block in a couple of days. Amazon gets an A for handling this promptly. I will post again once I install the new riser.

***** Update ***** Received replacement riser block within 2 days after ordering. Installed it today and problem solved. Blade tracks in center of bottom wheel.

I took advantage of the Amazon discounts etc available and the price beat everyone around & free shipping. This unit went together a lot easier than described. Read instructions first! I did it alone, but smaller people or those who are not as strong may want a helper to assist at some point. Went right together without incident. Blade did OK for it's style - I use 3/8" and 3/4" 3 tpi resaw blades. I would recommend this purchase at the time you purchase the saw to save effort & time on assembly.

This the third "review" on this product for me. I have read and shared much on the yahoo super saw user group forum. Before spending over $1000 go there to make an informed decision. The day of my second review I had started what ended up to be a three week wait for a replacement timing belt that is integral to raising/lowering the blade. I think a lot of that wait belong to Amazon now that the dust has settled from that experience. With that warranty repair part I gained access to two key 800 type numbers at WMH tool group, the parent of Jet, Powermatic, etc. FYI Amazon purchasers - warranty parts for Jet machines have to be enacted by Amazon. Then Amazon gets WMH Tool Group to ship. This seems a bit convoluted to me, but it is important to someone at Amazon because WMH tells me it is in the contract Amazon.
You can also note on the Yahoo info source a copied comment from WMH stating that problems with the fence are acknowledged, but at this date, when a fix is defined, upgrade parts will available for purchase. (BTW - anyyone out there able to charge $ to their customers for errors on their part? - Just wondering if I'm doing some strinkin thinkin?)
My fence is now exibiting a new problem - perhaps it takes time to wear in - or out - you define. I lock the fence, and begin ripping, and all of a sudden I am ripping a new number -usually wider. Todate this hasn't caused big problems, but sometimes I use high $$ wood, and the profit margin will take a hit if I have to start over. I've read about the fence deflecting, and mine does, but I don't see a problem from this. The handle did break, but that problem is quickly obviously, BUT locking in a "number" and then discovering its changed is a SERIOUS surprise. Lets hope Jet can make this product live up to the name give it - SUPER.

I don't know how this will get hooked up to the review that I wrote when I installed this saw, but with 4 months of solid experience there are a few issues.
#1 - ya the fence. It is just not as crisp as the the unifence I an used to. It usually sneaks to the left 1/32 when you clamp home. AND I broke my handle off too. I repaired it myself and that broke as well. I now have a piece of sasafras (sp) epoxied to a bolt screwwed into the fence. I don't thing Jet was after that rustic look, but it works.
#2 - DUST collection - or lack of. My Oneida is a suckin fool, but that sub pan with little holes is the worst! Yesterday the chips backed up into the belt that drives blade height. I was cutting a lot of 1/4" dado's in blatic birch and went to tweek the blade up a skinch and the belt jamed and broke. I had read about the belt breaking, and was being EXTREEMLY careful, but alas I now wait for JET/AMAZON to deliver me a new belt so I can change blade height. I will have to think some about how to fix this issue to keep chips from building up in the blade raiser area. SHAME ON someone at JET!
Sliding table works great. Power is adequater for all I've done thus far.

I have owned my Supersaw for about 4 months now, and must say I am totally pleased with it. It shipped to me in about 6 boxes, was very easy to assemble, and the fit and finish is superb. It saws anything I have asked it to saw and has never bogged down. I especially love the sliding table, always wanted one of those. I get no vibration, it is reasonably quiet, and has every feature I was looking for in a new table saw. Woodworking is a hobby for me, and the SS does such a great job I find time spent woodworking a real pleasure now. I ordered three blades with my saw, an all purpose, a ripping blade, and a cross cut blade as well. I have ripped up 300ft of wide red oak 4/4 lumber to make T&G flooring,I have cross cut the ends as well, as this was rough sawn lumber I had to plane and joint. My saw has done a superb job. I have done other things but the long rip lengths had to be the toughest task I have put the saw through.
I have no problems with the fence; I am guessing Jet has cured that problem. The tech reps tell me via phone that I don't need a spare timing belt, as that problem has been corrected via a change in belt suppliers. I find nothing to complain about with this saw. I got the 52" fence, with sliding table and mobile base. It all functions perfectly. You need some help in assembly to lift the saw body from the pallet, or use an engine hoist as I did in my garage, with a tow strap. I had to get my son to help with the sliding table, I felt it was too heavy and did not want to risk scratching up the cast iron or fouling the slide assemblies.
I changed my saw to 240V before using it the first time. I think it runs best that way. Pay attention to the numbers on the motor leads, as the color codes were off on mine, but the lead numbering was correct. If I had a gripe that would be it; but that took me only a moment to figure out anyway. They even stick the extra wire nut you will need to do the conversion onto the inside of the motor wiring cover.
The big switch on the front rail is very nice, especially nice to be able to reposition it as needed. My fence works perfectly. So easy to lock down, I wonder how anyone broke the lever. Simply push the lever down and the fence is locked. Just touch it down; it is that easy to do on my SS. I am guessing the fence I have is an improved version, or the folks making it got their act together. The fence is one of the parts made in USA. The extension table and legs are USA made as well, according to the boxes they all came in.
I did not purchase my saw from Amazon. I cannot comment on their service. In fact, I cannot comment on Jet service period, I have had no issues with this saw. I did call the tech department to ask about the belt, after reading all the posts on this page. I feel confident this problem is corrected now. My saw also collects dust as good as can be expected. I use a Jet DC1100CK and it works very well.

I purchased this product about 8 months ago now. It really makes a big improvement over the bag design that came with the system originally. It draws more air and filters better.

The old bag leaked at the housing because the metal strap that came with it to cinch the filter bag at the metal housing was poorly designed. I had to use a nylon ratcheting tie-down strap to hold the filter bag against the housing to prevent dust from flying all over the shop.

This new retro kit comes with a new housing, filter canister and 5 plastic bags. I had the DC1100 so I needed to use the new housing, unlike some others that have posted. The new housing in part helps to draw more air volume, as does the new filter.

The new retro unit allows for the use of plastic bags for dust collection, which are disposable rather than the cloth bag of the older design, which required dumping into another bag. It used to be a messy process. The plastic bags are more susceptible to tearing however, from sharp objects drawn through the vacuum hose. It hasn't happened frequently however, and a small piece of packing tape over the tear solves the problem quickly.

The inside of the filter is "cleaned" from the outside via a handle bar system that spins rubber paddles against the inside of the fan folded filter of the canister. This knocks the excess dust off the inside of the filter and into the plastic bag. The nuts to hold the handle tight to the spindle are not an optimal design as the nuts have a tendency to come loose and then the handle just spins without turning the paddles, ugh.

The canister is held to the housing using several thumbscrews, driven into a slot, which seems a bit strange and clumsy to remove. It seems like clamps of some kind would work more effectively, maybe like ones used on snow ski boots.

The DC1100 came on 4 casters, which is nice for moving the unit easily. However, the new canister and handle design would be improved if it had a way of securing the vacuum hose(s) while moving the unit. As it is, moving the unit around allows the hose(s) flop all over and mark up doorframes or walls or whatever is near. Typically, this means removal of the hoses prior to moving it, which is less convenient.

Overall, I am happy I purchased the unit, and have found it to work more efficiently and effectively.

The filter itself is a big improvement. My complaint is similar to others that have posted and it's that I don't need half of the order. I already have a 20" Jet unit and having the bags turns out to be more trouble that its worth. I am fortunate in that I can just dump my shavings out on my property. No instructions telling me how the new bag system is an improvement over the original and no way to return the half of the order I didn't need. Otherwise it would get 5 stars. As usual, Amazon was fast and efficient.

I highly recommend this product especially for the basement carpenter it takes care of the dust problem in the house from sawing, planning,sanding etc. A must have item for keeping piece in the house.

ok unit but too much money for just the name. Grizzly has a 2 hp unit with a .3 micron bag & a seperator for less money

This product is okay - about the same as the website. Toolcrib used to have competive prices before it was bought out by Amazon. This vacuum, for instance, is selling at Menards for $289.

I had been using a shop-vac, 2 1/2-inch PVC pipe/hose system in my shop for 3 years, but the amount of dust I make overwhelmed it long ago. I make a musical instrument called a hammered dulcimer, and the extensive sawing, planing and sanding was covering my shop with dust and debris. After some research, I settled on the JET 1100A. I'm very glad I did.

The Amazon shipment arrived on time via UPS - maybe even a little early. The box was in good shape, and everything in it was undamaged and unmarred - perfect condition.

Assembly was extremely easy and quick, and all components fit together like they were designed. No problems with strapping on the upper bag, and the lower bag popped in easily.

After visiting the local Rockler store for 4-inch hose and connectors, I attached the JET 1100A to my new hose and blast gate system. Then I gave it my biggest test. Previously, with the old shop-vac system hooked up to my DeWalt 13 1/2-inch planer, half or more of the shavings would end up on the floor. I thought it was the poorly designed dust chute on the planer. However, after hooking up my new JET 1100A I was amazed and very pleased. No, I repeat, no shavings escaped the pull of the JET. Edge sander? Same result. Drum sander? Same result.

The table saw is another matter. While the JET collects the majority of dust coming from the saw, some operations just cannot be made clean. However, the dust being distributed on the shop floor by the table saw has been reduced by 90-percent. I'll take that over the alternative.

Combined with the PSI Woodworking 110V Long Ranger Dust Collector Switch that I bought from Amazon (I cannot tell you how pleasing and helpful it is to turn on the dust collector from anywhere in the shop), my dust collection system has been upgraded several very satisfying notches.

Do I think the JET is overpriced for the job it does? No. Am I glad to get it at a discounted price, with no tax and no shipping cost? You bet!

I have now bought seven major tools from Amazon over the past three years (dust collector, 13 1/2-inch planer, drum sander, edge sander, sliding compound miter saw, table saw and floor-stand drill press) and have been pleased with each one of them. No bad experiences. No damaged products.

If you are looking for a great dust collector that performs extremely well after being properly attached to a good 4-inch hose system, you will do well to consider the JET 1100A. It has my strong recommendation.

OK, after waiting a few weeks on backorder, I just received my Jet 708119 Industrial-Duty Universal Mobile Base from my favorite online store, Amazon.

"Industrial"? With all due respect to Jet and some the other reviewers here, you've got to be kidding me! (I deducted one star for every $10 by which this unit is overpriced, but ran out of stars.)

Word: By spending a few hundred bucks on a small metal press, drill press, MIG welder, some raw steel, and a couple gross of the kind of cheap, "lockable" (not!) plastic casters included with this unit, you could rapidly manufacture these things in your garage for $15 a pop, max.

Yeah, I know, I know. Why, this unit reliably holds 1200 lbs! [Highly doubtful. But even if the cheap plastic of which these casters are made can handle that kind of load, normal motion over a concrete floor will wear them down to nubbins in no time flat.] This unit is stable! [No way - I can turn every one of the "locked" casters with my thumb, indicating that they will do almost nothing to resist any lateral force of an order sufficient to overcome the inertia of any tool weighing much over 100 lbs.] This unit is a whole lot better than other comparable units! [If so, then other mobile bases are even more of a joke than this one.]

Good grief, Jet. If you're going to manufacture an "industrial" mobile base and then charge the end user up to ten times the cost for which he could make the thing himself (with the abovementioned tools), at least use steel casters!

Yeah, yeah, I know - what about those poor souls with wooden instead of concrete floors? [Clue: People with wooden floors shouldn't be rolling 1200 lb. tools around on them. And in any case, why not let everybody know the casters are plastic, so that those who have real concrete shop floors can try something else?] But steel casters don't lock as well as plastic or rubber! [Clue: Maybe not using friction alone, like these cheap/nonfunctional casters vainly attempt to do. But steel casters could easily be manufactured or modified with a locking gear, a spring-loaded pin through a hole in the wheel, or some other positive locking mechanism, no problem.]

If one didn't have to worry about matching the ridiculous corporate advertising budgets dedicated to hyping this kind of function-challenged product, one could double his money selling superior units for about $25 or $30 each. Argue all you like, but that's a fact.

I don't know about anyone else, but resist as I might, I get offended when my intelligence is insulted by people trying to pass off mere plastic, space-age or otherwise, as a heavy duty, abrasion-resistant load-bearing material suitable for this kind of application, especially in unmotorized, easy-to-manufacture Taiwanese products that have almost no moving parts and a price tag approaching $100...particularly when the casters don't even lock as advertised.

Caveat emptor. The fit and finish are nice enough, but in this kind of product, functionality is all that counts.

I own and have used Delta, HTC, Ridgid, Grizzly, and home built mobile stands with $50 casters on each corner, spending up to $300 for an HTC custom built for my MiniMax (with plastic casters by the way). While cast iron or rubber-tired steel casters have their place, plastic has held up just fine for my use (which includes 1/2 the shop with concrete and 1/2 in rough plywood flooring. I frequently negotiate a 1/4" bump between the wood and concrete and also go over a sill to the outside. The Jets have done just fine.

What I like about the Jet, compared to the HTC and others, is that it's easy to back tools against a wall and lock them in place with the Jet. One tip -- you do want to secure your tool to the base for maximum stability. A plywood sub-base attached to both the often flimsy open sheet metal base of your tool and then with one bolt through each corner brace of the Jet base removes a lot of flex. Flex is the one limitation of the Jet (it really should get 4.5 stars because of this), but is easily overcome to create a 5 star solution.

I used this base under an old delta table saw that was used in an industrial setting. Besides the saw weighing 600 lbs, I attached an extended table and an 8 foot long fence rail to the saw, which increased the weight more. The base handled the load without a problem. It rolls with ease and locks down securely.

It met every expectation I could have.

About a year ago, I bought a bumch of these when I bought my first dust collector. They were equipped with a screw knob that is used to hold the gate open.

Well, I just bought a new oscillating spindle sander, so I also bought a new blastgate. JET changed the design! They now use a bolt instead of a knob.

This change must be one of the dumbest ideas ever. The purpose of a blastgate is so that you can EASILY divert air flows. Changing to a 1/4" bolt makes it nearly impossible to open and clase the blastgates. If you have arthritis, you need to get a wrench to open the blastgate.

So, I replaced the bolt with a knob that I had lying around the shop.

Note that currently the picture shows the bolt but the item descriptions says there is a knob. The item decription is wrong.

Also, the sliding doors often get stuck. I'm not sure why this happens--probably a wood chip gets lodged in the track--but damn, is it annoying. Stopping work to disassemble a blast gate is a huge time waster.

Also, at $13 each, this is really expensive.

These are the same product and quality that you can buy from various sources, but these are 1/3 again as much!!

No matter whos' you buy expect to have to use some silicon to seal them up or they will leak mercilessly.

I hope this helps and, Good Luck with your own dreams!

The aluminum blast gates are just great.A little bit on the expensive side but worth the money.I'll just keep on buying two every other month.

Have been using the Jet JWL-1236 for about 8 months now. The first thing you should do is throw the base away and build one with substance. Might be satisfactory for turning spindles but not for anything with any kind of mass unless you secure it to the floor. I do a lot of bowl turning and anything you might have to turn outboard is a joke, especially with the equipment that is furnished with the lathe. Unless you have the capability to ensure something is pretty well balanced don't try to turn it outboard. One problem is that the lathe speed is still too fast even at its lowest setting and the ON/OFF switch is in the wrong place if you have to get to it in a hurry. If you are truly interested in turning bowls of any size save your money and buy something a little more substantial in size and has a true variable speed capability.

I've owned a Jet 1236 for the past 4 years and it has given me fairly good service over that time. The two major problems I've had were a broken tool rest and a broken banjo. I was able to get a replacement banjo(tool rest support) quickly from the dealer at a reasonable cost. The major deficits the lathe has include noise level, vibration if the wood is not properly balanced, small swing over the bed(max of 12" diameter), and lack of power with heavy wood removal. Maybe I've just outgrown this machine!

I looked at all the competitors to the Jet, and they couldn't sway me away from the Jet. It's a good solid machine. I do mostly faceplate work, so the limited (34 1/2") distance between centers didn't factor into my decision. I had considered the Delta 46-700, but was told they had bearing problems, and it was a much lighter weight machine. Time will tell, regarding the Reeves drive, but it seems very smooth when changing speeds. Assembly was a snap, got the bed and motor up on the stand by simply using another table at the same elevation as a helper. The tool rest base and tailstock move smoothly, and lock down frmly with minimal effort. The only improvements in the total package I can see are replacing the 6 inch faceplate with the 3 inch version, and maybe offering the 6 inch tool rest instead of the 12 inch (why do they assume that you are gonna turn spindles??). Also, I don't really like the placement of the on-off switch...its too low for me. As with my old lathe, I will rewire this Jet to provide reversing capability, as soon as the 3 year (hope I can wait!!) is out. I don't understand why Jet, Delta, and others don't provide reversing...it's a 5 dollar modification. Spinning the other way makes for better finishes while sanding. All in all, the Jet is a great machine...highly recommend it!

The mobile base was easy to assemble and works well. It should last the lifetime of the tool. A very sturdy accessory.

I prefer to spend more money on mobile bases that fit specific machines. No assembly hassles and 1 piece solid construction.
If my wife let me have more time I'd just mig weld my own frames together, and use GOOD wheels.
That's my only complaint. That front locking wheel is one of the cheapest wheels for the purpose. This particular piece of equipment gets moved round in my shop alot. Locking and unlocking is erksome but I can live with it for awhile longer.
What I'm inclined to do is buy a better wheel and on my next mobile base purchase just get some better wheels to upgrade during the assembly process.

Quality mobile base and easy to assemble. The only thing I added
was a 3/16" thick rubber mat that my 6" jointer sit's on. I feel
this helps cut down on some vibration.