JET Reviews

I recently purchased this machine and have immediately ran into some problems. It was slightly damaged during shipment. One of the adjustable fences was smashed. This was due to the shipping company, Eagle, moving it on its side. It comes bolted to a pallet and would be fine if it stayed upright. A couple of minor pieces of plastic hardware were defective and the drawbar and nut were broken when I opened it up. I don't know how that happened. I called Amazon and they are fixing the problems. I will write back and let you know how that all went.

The microadjustment knobs on the fence are nice; however, they are too short for my liking. I wished they were 6-8 inches long rather than an inch long. This would allow you put your hand around the knobs rather than your thumb and forefinger because they would stick out past the table rather than just above it.

I think the spring door latch is king of cheap. I hope it holds up.

It is a beautiful machine. The paint was excellent and the table was almost mirror quality. This is true of every Jet tool that I own. It uses 12 AMPs and is easy to run off a good extension cord if needed. It is super quiet!!! Dust collection works great if you have the fence mounted with the included 4" dust chute.

I have had this machine for a couple years and i must say its great.When i bough it i really wasnt on the market for a shaper but rather a higher end router table,couldnt find one with an independtly adjustable fence.I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. My local tool store was having an end of year clearance and i saw this for just over 500.00, Two hours later it was integrated into my home shop.I have had absolutely no problems with it and have done everything from raised panel entry doors to setting it up for edge jointing operations before i purchased a dedicated jointer.I would easily pay the 800.00 for it.

This shaper is everything I had hoped for for use in a home shop. It is a solid machine setup is easy and cuts are accurate. The tool is solidly built and has adequate power for my use.

This dust collector was entirely unsatisfactory and has been replaced. It now sits all alone outside and is not being used and nobody interested in buying it used.
1. Very hard to clean the filter.
2. Very fine dust like from a drum or wide belt sander plugs it up almost instantly.
3. lid is heavy and inconvenient and needs a very tall can to keep from sucking stuff from the trash can into the filter.
4. Not sure I ever got even near 650 cfm. Doesn't even work on one machine very well.
5. Usual crappy tech support from Jet, Performax, Delta ETC. You know when they all are under one corporation, tech support will go down the tubes.
5. Reccomendation: buy something more powerful like a cyclone type DC.

I have a wood shop in my garage where I do cabinets, wood turning.
The Canister filter clogs very fast, I installed a large 5 micron bag that lasts atleast 10 times longer before I need to clean it. It is loud compared to my 2 bag Jet 650CFM. I see no advanatages to having a 2 stage dust collector (there may be better designs out there). My 2 bag Jet 650CFM works great, it is easy to clean and it is quiet. Install thin wall metal pipe if you can it does make a big difference over the 4" flex hose. I had the 4" flex hose and was able to get 4" thin wall metal pipe from work for free with long sweeping curves. It made a big difference.

I was in search of a good two-stage dust collector that would not break the bank. My requirements were that it be small, portable, and use a canister filter rather than a bag.

One of my options was to buy a standard two-bag collector and install a garbage-can separator before it. This didn't meet the filter criteria. Also, it's not very portable because there are two pieces to move, not one.

Another option was to buy the larger JET DC-1100CK to get the canister filter. But, that model is not a two-stage collector. To have that capability a trash can separator would again be added, eliminating the portability.

After researching every brand I could find, I settled on the JET DC-TS650. It has a canister filter and sits on top of a trash can, just like the plastic separator lids. I went to the local home center and purchased a 30-gallon metal can to go with it.

Hits:

-Canister filter is very effective at containing fine dust.
-Separator system works extremely well even when bits of wood or nails are sucked in. Nothing ever hits the impeller.
-Much quieter than expected. I'm used to hearing the howl from larger units. This one is actually not bad!

Misses:

-Included hose is not very long. Buy a 10-foot section and some connectors for your equipment.
-Lid is rather flimsy. The motor casing is solid metal. The lid that it is attached to is only plastic. The day it falls apart is the day that I attach the motor to the metal lid that was included with the trash can.
-Air leaks. Between the motor and the canister filter there is a duct in the metal that is formed by two pieces that are bolted together. The seal is not air-tight and allows some fine dust back into the room.
-Small filter. The canister filter is rather small for this application. While it does perform quite admirably, it will clog faster than expected. Part of this is due to the bottom of it being sealed rather than having a container at the bottom to collect the fine dust. If at all possible, this should be modified to have a coffee can or tomato can under the filter.
-Price. There is no way this dust collector is worth $349. I bought it on sale with a good coupon locally on Massachusetts' annual tax-free day. I believe most of the cost is in the canister filter, but am looking at alternative sources for a replacement when this one wears out.

All-in-all, this is actually very effective dust collector. I have been using it on a Rigid contractor-style table saw, a compound miter saw, and a home-made router table that uses a large (3.25 HP) router. Even when spinning a 3.5" horizontal panel-raising bit (with back cutter) the collector is able to keep up with the amount of wood chips generated.

In spite of the "misses" I note above, do not be afraid to buy this! The fit and finish is quite good. The unit is solidly build and will last a long time. Just try to get it when it's on sale, rather than paying full price.

These clear bags work very well on my Jet DC-1200CK, but they are way too expensive. Thus the reason for only two stars. If one is willing to purchase a carton of 100 bags it's much cheaper to use a company like ULINE at www.uline.com (I have no vested interest in ULINE, but did a simple search for similar bags).

Clear bags are the only way to go. I've now used about 20 of these bags. They seem heavy duty but you should treat them with kid gloves because they split open very easily. So, if you set a full bag next to your garbage can, beware. A little bump from something, anything, and suddenly you'll have a 6" gash in the bag. Also, I've received an order where 4 of the 5 bags had tears in them.

I love the clear view of what is in the bag so I know when to empty it. Saves a lot of mess, just tie and toss. However, I found that the bags are difficult to install because the bag kept slipping off the retaining ring when I tried to insert the ring into the housing. Finally resorted to a few pieces of duct tape to hold it and got it into place.

PSI offers a version of this connector, reviews of it are also available here at amazon. I wish I had read those reviews before buying this. The PSI reviews are more critical and more numerous than those for the Jet version, and not knowing to look there, I decided to buy this and give it a go. My mistake.

Well, on the plus side, its well made, solid and the correct dimenstions.

On the negative side, I don't have any 4" OD hookup that fits securely in the tapered end of this connector. Sure, all of them will go inside to some degree. Most will slide in about 1/2", some a little more, and some only about 1/4". None of them make an airtight seal. They will pivot in the taper under vacuum pressure and allow air gaps, reducing static pressure significantly.

Worse, nothing seems to want to stay put. Any bump on the hose, such as tapping it with a board or your elbow, will usually cause your hose to pop free of this connector. And I do not mean bumping the hose near the connector, but instead near your tool. Yes, the connection is really just that delicate and weak. I spent more time reconnecting, twisting, mashing, tapping, etc., my splices into this quick disconnect than I would have by just loosening a clamp, sliding hose over a standard connector and tightening the clamp again.

This is NOT a complete solution. What is lacking is the male counterpart connector, which should have a tapered end to match that on this female connector. I cannot find that such male connectors exist. Perhaps they are in the works and we'll see them soon.

Fazlok by Woodtek has done this scheme right, or so I tend to believe by reading some reviews of it. Both sides are tapered to match each other.

However, I don't own and have never used the Fazlok products. I won't therefore endorse them. As of this review date, Woodworkers Supply seems to be the sole reseller for Fazlok (I could be wrong). Result: You pay 8 bucks per connector, which is 1 dollar MORE than the MSRP. You'll need 1 female for your collector end, and each tool will require 1 male end (either at the tool itself, or at the end of a short length of hose attached to the tool). Lack of competition in resellers makes this an expensive alternative.

OK, let's be fair, this connector by Jet/PSI is also 8 bucks. Assuming any possible future male connector becomes available, it had better be much less than 7 dollars to make the resulting system cheaper to own and use vs. the Fazlok. If such a male connector ever comes forward, and if it sells at 8 dollars also, then I'd recommend taking a long look at Fazlok if you are willing to spend that kind of money on a simple piece of plastic. At least the Fazlok is transparent and includes a twist-lock to prevent accidental slippage, which given identical prices between the competing makers, offers a slight edge
to Fazlok for the dollar spent. Still, 8 dollars for a simple mold of plastic? There's probably 25 cents of plastic in these things. The engineering and manufacturing costs can't be THAT much (it's a cylinder, and how difficult is that to engineer?)

I think I'll stick with the old way of fiddling with hoses and clamps until either (1) Jet makes a male connector to match this female one, or (2) Woodtek gets more resellers for Fazlok so the price comes down to below MSRP per connector.

Since I don't have room for a permanent fixed dust collection system I am stuck doing the dust collection dance with all my tools. This quick disconnect has never let me down. I haven't been using it all that long, but I have been using it long enough to fill my dust collection bag by about 1/3. I can move from table saw to band saw to planer without any hassle.

This simple device is a time saver for me. I do not have the space for a permanent workshop floor with convenient built-in dust collection. Instead, I use the drag things around the garage or driveway method. The flaired end connects easily to a rigid 4" fitting and I use this to move my dust collection from table saw to router table to planer, etc. The quick connect moves from tool to tool without delaying my work progress. At first I thought the connector might disengage itself while the tool was in operation but I've had no problems. I'd recommend the quick disconnect for anyone needing to change tool connections quickly and reliably.

I am awaiting the shipment of number 3. The first arived damaged in shipment and missing a bunch of parts. The packaging was in such bad shape it couldn't be reused. Number 2 the box was in great shape but the sanding face plate had a good 1/4" bend in it. So I took the 2 and made one. Well it lasted about an hour and the motor started making noise and shaking. Sure hope the third time is the charm. If not I will get a Grizzly.

I purchased this sander with the dust collector about six months ago. The tool arrived within 2 weeks from Amazon without any damage. Assembly was very simple and required putting the stand together and then bolting the sander on the stand. The motor is very strong and quiet and it has plenty of power for a home sander. There is no significant vibration. The dust collector works very well and there is no visible airborne dust.

The only negative aspect is the disc run out. The disc run out was 13/1000 of an inch on the first sander. I called Jet tools and they told me that this is excessive and they will send me a new sanding plate which I replaced. The run out was 20/1000 of an inch with the new disc plate.

I called Amazon and they send me a completely new Jet 12 inch sander with free return shipping of the old one. The run out on the new disc sander is 25/1000 of an inch. I have decided to go ahead and keep the sander and ignore the run out after all.

The people at JET Tools and at Amazon were very helpful and they gave me no hassle on replacing the Sander. I recommend this sander except for the excessive run out. I hope this review was helpful.

I'd been wanting to upgrade my (hobbyist) wood sanding capabilities for several months. I usually do a thorough research job online, then visit retailers who stock whatever I narrow down. This purchase was no exception, but $350 is a chunk of change for some of us, and my "work shop" has limited floor space.

After concluding that my belt sander could handle most 'long boards' and table tops effectively, I settled on a disc-only model, instead of a combo disc-belt model. The two features most important to me were, (1) a cast iron table that would accomodate a circle jig, and is rock steady when tilted to 45 degrees and (2) the ability to help me control dust. Horsepower was my third, and less important, consideration.

I'll tell you now, this machine is a 'hoss' in all three categories! This machine eats soft maple like a steak knife through warm butter! The table is large and quite heavy and secured by an adjustable stop (at 90) and two locking knobs on either side. It was dead on 90 degrees from the get-go (used an Incra 'Guaranteed Square"). All the hardware was there, instructions were easy to follow, parts (individually wrapped) fit nearly perfect, and setup took about 45 minutes from start to finish, including the stand & dust canister. Incidentally, Jet even includes a ground wire that clips from the body to the canister - to help prevent a flash fire, I suppose - but they're thinking ahead, none the less. The floor footprint is less than a yard square (guess-timate). The 80 (100?) grit adhesive paper was already installed on the cast iron disc plate. It's quiet and virtually vibration free.

The only minor downside (if there is one) aside from the $350 price tag, is that I expected the built-in impeller to act sort of like my dust collection system; it gets a lot of the dust but a little still escapes. Again, that was my own expectation, and not bad enough to reduce an otherwise powerhouse to a 4 star rating. The machine just drips with quality so much so, that I expect to pass this one down to my next of kin (hopefully, a long time from now).

I have been running the Jet 16" planer for just two days and shredded six V-belts.

The machine came out of the box well tuned and solid. The manual was very detailed and well written except for an error in the V-belt tension adjustment section. Assembly was easy, although I could have used a 240 V plug at the end of the power cord.

My problems with the machine came when I started feeding in my rough cut Douglas Fir lumber. I have a large supply of wide stock (1x15 inches). A few hours into running my lumber I started to experience stalls and a lack of power. Looking over the machine showed a plume of fine black dust coming from the V-belt housing. The three belts were badly worn.

The motor is mounted on top of the blade and roller assembly. The only means of adjusting the belt tension is to move the heavy motor up and try to tighten the bolts, a two man operation. The bolts are easy to reach but dificult to accurateley adjust. There is no self adjustment and a large margin of error epecially as the belts heat up.

The next day after installing new belts and a call to Jet's tech support number I tried to get to work again. (The manual has an error in describing how to tighten the V-belts.) Sadly, the second days results were the same as the first with less that three hours of machine use the V-belts were shredded.

So far Jet has not been able to offer fix other than sanding down the cast belt drive wheels. Perhaps the wide stock is to much for machine? This is a new model to the market so I can't be sure if the issue is with my machine or the design.

However, I can't wait to find out, I will return the 16" Jet and look for a planer with a better drive system.

First off, this is a GREAT planer. Specific things:

It comes with a 4" dust hood that works well, as long as your dust collector is off the left side of the machine. Reversible, or even rear-exit, would have been nicer.

Second, this thing takes forever to assemble. I spent about 12 hours putting it together. Part of this is because it is incredibly heavy. If you have an engine hoist, forklift, or Neanderthal available, you'll be fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend trying to lift it with two people.. it really needs four.

I ended up removing the motor to lighten it up a little. That helped, but added a 3-4 hours to the assembly process.

Third, delivery was a little sketchy. I couldn't get it delivered for free without a liftgate. If you've got a loading dock, consider yourself lucky.

Fourth, why not include a power plug? It comes with a ~5 ft cord, no plug. Delta's Unisaw is twice the price, but it comes with a long enough cord and plug.

Random thoughts:

The stand is sturdy enough. I'm sure some people would prefer an enclosed stand, but it isn't currently available.

The infeed and outfeed rollers are very sturdy, and are adjustable for up/down and the angle of feed. This is helpful in case they are warped for some reason.

Conclusion- great planer, the assembly process should be simplified, and it is HEAVY! The bill of lading said 573 pounds; Amazon says 396 pounds. It's probably somewhere between the two.

I just got my new jet 16' planer and as in the previous review set up was somewhat time consuming, and the machine is very heavy. I have only run a few pieces of pine and maple stock through it with mixed results. My initial opinion is that this is tool that will take more fine tuning then I normally would have to do and more experience in order to get the results I expect. On the plus side this planer will really hog some lumber. I tested the power of the planer by running a 9 inch wide piece of hard maple (the widest I had on hand) and the planer never hesitated. The height adjustment is clear and easy to read and adjustment is quick and easy. One more feature that I am impressed with is the four handles that slid into the base. These handles were helpful when assembling the planer and later on when moving it around my shop. The mobile base is a must with the size limitation I have in my shop

Just received this item from Amazon. The filter does have a metal frame. The actual filter material looks the same as the Jet disposable filter. This makes me a little skeptical about being able to wash this thing multiple times. Doesn't come with any instructions so I guess you can just take a hose to it when it needs cleaning.

Jet says this filter is washable...guess you could, but the frame is cardboard. This is the standard filter that comes with the machine. They also sell a metal framed version which is washable, matter of fact, after blowing it out you can put it in the dishwasher...does a nice job. You can also buy furnace filters at the home center for a lot less money. I buy em in a 2 pack for a LOT less than the jet filter. They are not an exact fit, but you can cram em in. I have the washable filter, but I use the disposible ones when doing a major cleanup of the shop. Blow out all the nooks and cranny's with the air chuck and the dust collector running on high. When I finish I just throw away the disposibles and reinstall the metal framed one. The jet filters do a good job, but they are spendy. The price is why I gave em a 3 star rating.

I ordered this and got the nice metal framed version, not sure what happened to the other guy. It works good, even has an X brace on the back to keep the filter material from sagging.

The manufacture's review should state: "designed to fit SMOOTH piping to...." not just "designed to fit piping to ...". Very tough application when to comes to seating a ribbed hose and the compression needed to secure that surface to a fitting.

The steel band clamp should only be used in one type of application. That being where you are putting two SMOOTH surfaces together, like a garden hose or radiator hose. But with a DC application of a ribbed hose, the steel band clamp is NOT the preferred choice, use the wire clamp.
The steel band clamp will only strip and never be fully seated trying to compress and secure the wire rib to the smooth DC fitting. The steel banding and worm screw is not designed to do that task and provide the needed pressure to fully seat the ribbed hose. Whereas, the wire clamp will actually strattle the rib on both sides and create a perfect clamping fit.

I tried to save the twenty cents over the wire clamp, and wound up stripping the clamp thread on about 50% of the applications with the steel band clamps. I antied up and spent the extra cash and got the right product, the wire clamps for the ribbed DC hose.

I found this hose clamp to be the perfect accessory to get my ... order over the magic ...free shipping barrier. It is likely I will find a use for it over time so it is a valuable addition to my emergency repair kit I keep in the garage.

If you're in the market for a good quality hose clamp at a good price, look no further. I have used this clamp for almost a year now and it has performed above and beyond my wildest expectations. When I'm not clamping large hoses with this clamp, I use it as a paperweight to hold my important papers on a picnic table on a windy day. The only problem is that I keep on misplacing my screwdriver, making it hard to me to loosen the clamp to put it on a different hose. I like to change hose clamps every 3 months or 45 miles, whichever comes first, on my wooden-horse car. And no, not as big as the one in the mythology books, but just big enough to get me to work and back (clamp salesman with Clamps-R-Us).

I made my own inserts from a railroad car window which is half inch thick polycarbonate. They fit and work very well and didn't cost a cent.

This insert is much better than the insert that comes with the Jet. The fit is excellent and is very easy to adjust. I have found that after some time has passed, the adjustment screws work loose and require more adjustment time than I would like. I'm going to try lock tight on the adjustment screws to see if that will hold them in adjustment. I thought the price was a little high, but it's the best insert I've seem so far.

Buying this Leecraft insert has eliminated small pieces of wood going down under the saw between the blade. I feel much safer cutting with this zero clearance plate. My cuts are more accurate now as well.

Sturdy steel frame, but puny little wheels with wimpy friction locks and cheap black plastic star wheel screw-downs to lock the two front wheels. Should cost half as much. Private-labeled by HTC for Jet, and Jet must make a huge mark-up on this item. They could spend an extra few dollars and at least offer industrial-strength value for the price.

P.S. The wimpy little plastic star knobs that one turns to lock down the front wheels are difficult to grasp and twist with sufficient torque unless you have extremely small hands and very strong wrists. I replaced the knobs (5/16"-18 threads) with two simple ratchet handles that are commonly used on jigs and fixtures. You can buy them about anywhere. I got mine from TWC (part # 00689) for a few bucks each, and they are a significant improvement. Not a huge deal unless you work in a small space and have to move your equipment frequently, as do I.