JET Reviews

The machine is excellent. It produces smooth snipe-free boards. The out-feed rollers are cheap and out-of-round requiring you to adjust the outfeeds "lower" than the main table. The wheels in the bottom only allow the machine to roll in and out and are NOT a substitute for a mobile base. Be warned, that if you want to turn this machine in your shop, you will need to buy an mobile base. Jet could have easily added one outboard pivoting roller to solve this usability glitch.

I purchased the Jet 15" Planer after many trips to my local cabinet shop. After initially being up in the air over which planer to purchase, Jet, Powermatic, grizzly, or delta. I was able to obtain several excellent recommendation for the Jet and Powermatic planers (for those of you who may not know Jet bought out Powermatic) and not a single negative one. Everyone I talked to especially liked the way the planer knives were set using jack screws and the quality of the castings. This greatly reduces the amount of time changing blades. My local cabinet shop has been running the same set of blades for 8 months and they are still sharp and true. That's about 100 kitchens later. I did however find negative and postive comments about all the other brands. Some quite serious. My planer arrived via fed ex freight, in an OSB crate, within 7 days from the time I placed the order. The driver had a pallet jack and hydaulic lift gate and positioned the planer right where I wanted it. It weighs about 500lbs. It does have wheels so now that it is on the concrete floor I can move it easily. The crate was damaged in shipping but the planer was not. The instructions for setup were straight forward, I received everything including touch up paint in the package. Since I purchased the jet Planer I have also bought a Jet 6" jointer and 1 hp. dust colletor a serious must while using the planer, as without it, you seem to be regurgitating shavings expelled by the planer. All of the jet products I have purchased to date have been of excellent quality. I will definitely look at them for my future carpentry, and cabinetry needs.

The JET 15 inch planner was delevered approximatly one week after I placed my order. Be prepared to have a couple of strong friends when you unpack this heavy machine. It comes shipped on its side, so you must lift it up. In my case the truck driver was just as anxious as I was to see what we had. He helped me get the machine on its feet. I was missing one of the rollers, the extra set of blades was bent, and the pulley guard was also bent in the shipping. I called JET and had all the missing and damaged parts in one week. The first test was a piece of oak of a Morris chair I am constructing. The machine needed no adjusting and was true to square from the factory. The pieces I planned needed no sanding and no snipe at all. I am very happy with the machine and the Company in getting the parts I needed witin a week. I wanted a machine that was moble and having the JET planner already on wheels was one thing that interested me. My next purchase will be a cabinet saw and I certainly will lean to a JET saw over others.

As far as the the clamp goes, it works OK. However, Amazon jacked up the price from about a $1 up to over $4 each. That's well above retail price. Talk about a rip-off

I used a whole lot of these when I set up my dust collection system, and I can say that the hype is justified. These thin metal clamps slip between the ridges on the flex hose perfectly to create a very air-tight connection. I also appreciate the phillips head on the tightening bolt - it makes it a lot easier to crank these down quickly with a drill/driver.

A word of advice - I found these clamps to be A LOT cheaper at Menards.

These clamps work well on ventilation hose that you would use in a dust collection system. They are much cheaper and they clamp tight. Regular hose clamps slip because of the ribs in the hose.

I had the oportunity to test both of these lathes and , what is better about the Delta is the Belt access door location Jet was a pain to change speeds, also smoother running. AND less money to boot!

Very quiet smooth running no vibration small and light enough to move any where take it to shows and use at shows... No.1 lathe. Turn bowls plates covered boxes pens and a lot of art work.

The lathe worked great right out of the box. I would say the instructions are a little weak. They lack any instructions on how to replace the face plate, live center, etc... Had to look at the parts diagram to figure out how to place in a pen mandel.

But as for the machine itself... it's perfect!...

Really like the lathe, package came wet and all retaped up, but being one unit was ok, scared at first, easy to use, everything works, have turned a few pens, have not tried a bowl yet, two main reasons I got it bowls and pens, got rid of an older shop smith for this so far good tool..variable speed nice option for finishing work and sanding

As a newby woodturner grandma with zero experience I ordered this lathe on the advice of my son, reviews I read and trying a JET mini in a bowl turning class at a Woodcraft store in AZ. Bought it online as carrying it back home to MO wasn't an option and no sources nearby out here in the Ozarks.

It arrived and was quite easy to put together. Did it myself! I turned it on, grabbed a small hunk of oak tree limb from the wood pile and was able to turn a passable spindle in short order. It's quiet, the headstock and tail stock met exactly without any adjustment and if my opinion is worth anything, I would recommend it to others who want to try this fun craft. Lots of power, easy to change speeds with the variable dial and it even looks nice in it's white coat of paint! Just the right thing for this Grandma.

As other reviews have indicated I also had a problem aligning the extension bed with the lathe bed. In my case the chamfer on the inside of the extension did not match the chamfer on the lathe bed so the tailstock would not pass over the interface between the beds. Several strokes of a file on the extension bed chamfer was all that was required to remedy the mis-match. The tailstock now slides smoothly all along the ways.
One other small problem was the interference from the DC motor on the AM band of the radio (my wife loves talk radio!). I added a $2 filter in the AC power line and presto peace and harmony was restored.Maybe Jet should install such a RFI filter in the DC speed controller in the first place. All the foregoing aside this is a great Midi lathe.Quiet,smooth running and the speed control is a joy to use.

Over the past three months, I have purchased 4 Jet woodworking machines including this one, to the tune of almost $2400. Until recently, I was planning to purchase a Jet Planer Molder and Performax Drumsander, but based on my recent experience with the WHM Tool Group, who makes this equipment, I am having second thoughts. Although I am for the most part happy with the machines I've purchased, when I was assembling my table saw, the fence that came with the saw did not match the one in the instructions, and I had to spend a considerable amount of time on hold with the WHM customer service department to find out how to mount it to the saw. I can live with that, but as I began to use the saw I discovered that although two arbor wrenches are required to change the saw blade, only one came with the saw. Although I don't think it is too much to ask that they throw in two $6 wrenches with a $1500 saw, I thought, I'd just order one from the WHM website. There I found that the Shipping for the $6 wrench would be $19.99. I sent a note to WHM regarding this requesting a reply, and did not receive one. When I called a week later, I was curtly told that the saw comes with only one wrench. When I asked why it would cost $20 to send a $6 wrench that would fit in a standard letter sized envelope, I was told that they do not ship via U.S Mail, and that was the end of the conversation. I ordered the wrench to the tune of $26.70, and was surprised again to find that it was back ordered with no expected date of delivery. I sent a copy of this rating to WHM tool group to give them a chance to respond, but again have received no response almost a week later. For what ever it's worth, if customer service is important to you and you don't want to have to purchase things that should come with the tool and then be charged three times the value of the item for shipping and handling you might want to consider another brand.

If you are looking for a 3hp cabinet saw, look no further. I ordered this saw after exhaustive research. I had eliminated the 5hp models from JET, Delta and others due mostly to price. I knew (and I was right) the 3hp model would handle the oak, maple and other hard woods I like to work with. The fit and finish is first rate. Everything about this saw feels first class. I have no complaints at all

The saw arrived with no difficulty. I used the free shipping option, and contacted the carrier to ensure it was delivered on a lift gate truck (thank you to all of you who warrned me!). The whole shipment is 680 lbs. 580 of it is just the saw. I was able to slide it down my storm cellar entrance on my own (however, I don't recommend this as a 1 person job!!!), as the saw comes bolted to a wood skid.

I set the saw up in about 3 hours, with another 1 hour for the router base. Again, thanks to all of you who provided an order of assembly, and the note about the router plate holes being off by 1 mark.

The fence is amazing. Once it was setup, I've never had to worry about it's allignment. I get smooth, consistent cuts every time. The micro adjust let's me dial in any cut, with a degree of acuracy that is greater than any other non-industrial saw I've worked with.

In terms of cut quality, I'm very pleased. The best saw is worthless without a good blade. Again, I'm value-consious, so I've been using the Freud blades - I have about 6 of them between my radial arm saw, table saw and mitre saw. I've not been given a compelling reason to spend the extra money on Forrest blades. I've also added the Freud Super Dado set, and made some unreal dado cuts.

I would recommend a few extras: 1 - stabalizer. This has made good cuts excellent cuts. It really is a must, even with the quality Freud blades. 2- Zero clearance insert. In combo with a good rip blade, I've been ripping oak plywood without any tearout or splintering. 3 - Outfeed table. I've installed the Delta outfeed table. It took drilling a few holes in the cabinet, and removing the splitter/ blade guard. It took about 3 hours to install, but it fits perfectly. This is an excellent addition to an already great saw. It really make the saw more useable, and more importantly, safer.

This saw has PLENTY of power for any cut. I've cut 3/4" x 3/4" dado's with out any bogging of the saw. I've rip-cut 3" solid maple stock without any hint of bogging down. 4x quartersawn exotics? No Problem! This thing just GOES!!!

This was an upgrade for me from a Rigid contractor-type table saw. This is an excellent table saw that is easy to assemble if you read and follow the instructions. Mine was perfectly aligned from the factory and took me about 3 non painfull hours to assemble ( as a matter of fact, I had a good time doing it because all the parts were there). After that I was practicing and making a few different cuts to try it out with a happy smile on my face. I do use it on an every day basis, and I can tell you that it works great, has plenty of power, it's extremely straight, accurate, comes with a great fence, and it is a joy to use.
If you are not familiar with table saws in general, it would be a good idea to find out more about left, or right tilt table saws. With that in mind, see which is more confortable-convenient for you to use. Keep in mind that this saw has a powerfull 3 HP, 230V electric motor.
I started working with a contractor saw, and 2 years later I bought this Jet model with mobile base, and extension table. Now I notice the difference in power and the quality of my cuts. I am glad I didn't buy a more expensive brand. This is a great saw for the money and it will last you for a long, long time.

These work great for light wood and small peices, but they didn't hold larger pieces (18"x30") of 3/4 inch plywood very accurately. They've been invaluable (and much quicker than corner clamps) for smaller case work though.

This is a great product, and you can get it, along with any other products on Amazon up to $500 Free! Participate in a special promotion and get a free $500 Amazon Gift Card at this web site: nocost4u.info/amazon

These clamps are cleverly-designed and well-made. They don't work well for very narrow or very wide boards, but they're great for everything in between (as long as the boards are no more than 7/8" thick).

Have a careful look at the pictures and you'll see that the two clips on each clamp are not symmetric. One is wider, so it acts as a stop to keep a corner butt joint aligned.

One small negative: it's easy to get glue on the clamps when sliding them onto boards.

I've had no problem at all with this throat plate. Fits my saw perfectly. Easy to install and easy to remove. Read earlier complaints and thought about them before purchasing...took the chance and couldn't be more pleased.

Ross...

This was a pre-christmas gift for myself. I purchased
the SD206 6" Freud Professional Dado blades, and the
JET DI-10 / 708102 8" Dado Insert for Right Tilt Saw.

Together these work great together. While I've not
gone all out and used the blades extensively. I have
played around and made a number of cuts with them.

The dado's are clean, flat along the bottom (unlike
with a wobble dado set).

I'm not a full-time woodworking. I just like to play
around with my pwoer tools in the garage. These products
were perfect for me. Low in cost, and high in results.

For a beginner or starter set. I don't see how you can
go wrong with this items. Plus the carrying case for
the dado blades is quite handy.

This was a pre-christmas gift for myself. I purchased
the SD206 6" Freud Professional Dado blades, and the
JET DI-10 / 708102 8" Dado Insert for Right Tilt Saw.

Together these work great together. While I've not
gone all out and used the blades extensively. I have
played around and made a number of cuts with them.

The dado's are clean, flat along the bottom (unlike
with a wobble dado set).

I'm not a full-time woodworking. I just like to play
around with my pwoer tools in the garage. These products
were perfect for me. Low in cost, and high in results.

For a beginner or starter set. I don't see how you can
go wrong with this items. Plus the carrying case for
the dado blades is quite handy.

A friend of mine recommended these for burning audio cd's on the computer. He has burned over 200 cd's and says he has never had a problem. The only thing that has me stumped is the other Maxell blank cd-r's amazon has for much more money.

I find these cds to be better than the memorex, and I like the fact that they come with individual jewel cases. When you get a spindle of 50 or 100, it becomes a real pain in the rear end to keep track of them all. I didn't have any dud cds out of the ones I got.

I've used these CD's for data & audio, and i've never had a problem... Someone wrote to check for some kind of mark if you had a Phillips, i have a Phillips and my CD's doesn't have that mark, and they've worked fine...

This sander seems to be first rate in terms of quality and performance. I would have given it five stars if not for a few adjustments that needed to be made to the machine before I could use it. The dust flange/seal behind the sanding wheel was bent and rubbing the impeller for the blower. The first time I turned it on a got a lot of rubbing noise and the smell of burning plastic. After figuing out what the problem was it simply required reaching in thru the dust port and slightly bending the flange away from the impeller. The biggest problem is my unit arrived damaged (broken cast iron foot) and am currently awaiting a replacment. This unit seems to be on constant back order, so that's another issue. The broken foot was probably caused by UPS but some fault lies with Jet for sub-standard packaging (this unit weighs 100 lbs and they pack it in flimsy styrofoam).
Other than those issues this is a really good machine... smooth, powerful, flat table, lots of mass. Even though it costs significantly more than similar units, it's worth the money.
I would buy it again.

WOW - What a tool SHOULD be. The best disk sander I've ever used, and for several reasons. The motor is quiet and this tool is vibration free! The cast iron table in front is large and comes with two miter slots, unlike the Delta and Grizzly. I purchased the stand and filter locally only because Amazon was out of stock at the time. Don't tighten the hardware on the middle of the stand untill you first measure the hole distance on top for the sander. Pre-arrange them at that distance and then attach the sander. Dust collection is very nice too as the internal blower fan blows it into the filter without having to attach and use a shop-vac. I like this feature. I purchased this sander for $224.99 but two weeks later it increased $168.00 - DON'T KNOW WHY SO MUCH! All in all, I'd buy it again. You won't be dissapointed.

Here's another glowing review of the JDS-12. Yes, it is the most costly of the 12" benchtop disc sanders, but it's worth it and makes my list of "buy only once" tools. I bought just the sander and skipped the filter and stand because I had a spot on the bench with plumbed dust collection reserved for it. This sander sports a cast iron housing and shroud where the others are made of sheet metal or plastic. This helps account for its beefy weight of 100lbs. The platen and table are also cast iron. The table is the largest of its competitors at about 12" x 16" and features miter slots going both directions. It comes with a sturdy metal miter gauge and circle cutting jig. The trunnions are table mounted as opposed to post mounted, keeping the table edge nearly touching the disc throughout its movements. This also eliminates any flex or deflection.

The 1hp motor has plenty of power to hog down even the hardest of woods. The brake is a little cheesy, but I rarely use it anyway. The JDS-12 has excellent dust collection features (a huge consideration for any sander) with its built in fan impeller and 4" dust port. There is also a motor fan on the back shaft. Mine came with one that is made of riveted sheet metal and was not true. It was wobbling and rubbing on the motor housing until I adjusted it out a bit. I've been told that on earlier models this fan was cast metal. The disc platen is very true with minimal to no runout. You will appreciate this when doing precise sanding to the line. All disc sanders leave marks. I usually finish with touch ups on my belt or orbital sander, but the disc will certainly get you 99% of where you want to be.

A back issue review of 12" sanders is available for download from Wood Magazine. It was rated "Top Tool" in their 2003 review.

I'm very happy with this machine.

The v-weave filters clog way to easily with a plastic bag on the bottom. The collected dust spins and migrates into the upper portion and cakes into the filter's many crevices. Use a cloth bottom bag and the problem is minimized. The only reason the manufacturers are putting plastic bags on at all is because it's cheaper and some suckers replace the bags each time they dump them... as if that makes the process of changing bags any cleaner!

I purchased my Jet DC1200K dust collector a few months ago (about a bag of sawdust). I am pleased with everything but the dust filtering canister. The unit has plenty of power and is relatively quiet. I can recommend this unit highly, but suggest you consider a bagged version rather than the canister filter if you use it more than a day or so a week.

The dust filter has the same filter clogging problems as a shop vac only bigger. While the paddles are a good idea, they don't get the job done and some messy disassembly is required every couple of weeks or so. A thorough cleaning results in about a bucket of sawdust the paddles and thumping the canister miss. I recently decided to abandon the canister and go with a bag filter. I needed a bag retaining strap and a bag. Jet customer service told me the retaining strap was on backorder and not expected for a month and a half. (I wonder if there is a reason why Jet is out of stock on this item?) A Jet filter bag is priced at $138. I bought a Woodtek 20"x 36" 1 micron bag for $29 and used a Pony band clamp for a retaining strap. The revised dust collector works noticeably better than it did before with a freshly cleaned canister. The bag still requires cleaning, but a few slaps on the bag results in clearly visible quantities of sawdust falling into the collection bag. Air flow doesn't degrade as quickly as with the canister and cleaning is much easier.

Easy to assemble, nice power, you'll be amazed how quickly the bag fills with chips. Product was short-shipped some of the non-essential hardware, i.e., the knobs to hold the cannister in place and the nut to hold the handle on top of the cannister. WMH had to guess at the part numbers and ended up shipping me ALL the small hardware pieces over multiple shipments over about 3 months. But I have all the hardware now and am pleased with the unit. All is well that ends well.