Jet12-Inch Planer/Jointer, Helical Head, 3 HP, 1Ph 230V (JJP-12HH)

I've owned this machine for 9 years.Pros:1. Small footprint. Good for small spaces, like a garage, where I use mine.2. Helix cutting head is very nice.3. 12" jointer bed is wonderful.Cons:1. Leveling the infeed and outfeed table is a nightmare. It could take all day. And if you ever move it to a new spot, or have it on a mobile base, expect to have to level it again. The adjustments lack any precision, are hard to get to, and after every minor adjustment you have to close the thing back up, lock it down and see if you where any where close to where you need to be. In total, there are 10 points of adjustments, and it's infuriating.2. Switching from jointing to planning is simple, but tedious.3. Fence always has to be checked for square. It's just a part of my life now.4. Rollers on planer not very strong. I usually just lean into the piece I'm running through the planer.It's a good combo machine. I'm actually pretty attached to mine. It's served me well over the years. Just hate when I have to get the infeed/outfeed table co-planer.

My Jet Jointer / Planer (Jet) arrived 10 days after placing the order. The shipping coordinator indicated the palletized, plywood crate would be unloaded at the street - 50 yds from my garage. Since I had no way to move it to the garage, I warned her I may refuse delivery. She said OK. The driver of the tractor-trailer used his pallet jack to unload and pull the unit into my garage. He placed it exactly where I wanted the machine to reside. He got a nice tip... So far, so good.The Jet was contained in a 1/2" plywood box resting on chip board pallet blocks. There was no apparent damage to the container. I disassembled the box and inspected the Jet. No apparent damage to it, either. I began following the instructions for assembling and adjusting the machine. The jointer beds were co-planer but the fence did not adjust to a precise 90 degrees. It was easy to adjust. The adjusting levers for locking the angle of the fence are clumsy. I swapped them for the locking knobs that secure the horizontal location of the fence sled. This swap seems to be the logical set-up. The fence and sled are now quite easy and precise to move and adjust. It is fortunate they shared common threads. Next, I checked out the cutter head drive belt and the associated feed roller drive belt. The feed roller belt, when disengaged, is slack and does not rotate. When engaged it tightens up and slides across an "idler rod". Thats OK except this "idler rod" is a 1/4-20 threaded bolt! Why Jet would allow a drive belt to slide across threads under tension I do not understand. In any case, I replaced this bolt with a "1/4-20 x 70 mm Coarse Antique-Brass Steel Hex-Drive Connecting Bolt (4-Pack)" that I bought at Home Depot. It has a smooth shoulder for the belt to slide on. Everything else seemed to be OK and set-up accurately.California electrical code now requires all 220v circuits to be composed of 4 wires. This allows the machine or appliance to be able to support 110v auxiliary functions such as a work light or digital depth gauge in my case. I decided to run 12/4 SOOW stranded, flexible cable with a NEMA L14-20 locking plug and matching receptical. The Jet comes with a 12/3 cable with no plug. Where Jet's cable exits the machine enclosure, I installed a junction box screwing into the existing machine cover plate threaded holes. I cut off the extra Jet cable to make the splice. The machine fired right up turning in the correct rotation and ran quietly (relatively) with no appreciable vibration. I don't understand why Jet indicates the machine should be plugged into a 30 amp circuit when the machine comes with 20 amp cable...The final challenge was to get the Jet off the pallet and onto the Jet Heavy Duty Mobile Base. Working alone, I needed some method to hoist the 500# machine, remove the pallet, install the mobile base and lower the machine. After conjuring up countless alternative scenarios, I noticed the Rockler steel frame, clamp rack I had recently acquired. It turned out its dimensions and steel construction were perfect to support my ratchet straps (used to secure plywood / lumber to my roof rack). I was able to easily get the Jet up and down into the mobile base.Overall, my areas of irritation were, for example: the decorative red and black color band at the bottom of the enclosure had bubbles and was coming un-adhered in various places; welds on the dust shroud were coarsely ground down then painted leaving a poor quality perception though perfectly functional result; the edges of the cast iron beds were also coarsely ground plus some corners were left very sharp requiring some hand work on my part; the beds themselves are ribbed in a way that suggests the finish is intended to reduce sliding friction but result in the spaces between the high points being rough and grabby - don't use paper towels - they shred and the resulting lint is hard to remove.Areas of satisfaction are: the helical cutter head delivers a very smooth surface; sliding material across the ribbed bed is easy; the planners' drive rollers grab material smoothly and securely and so far no snipe! The vertical adjusting mechanism runs smoothly with no squeaking or rubbing; the fence now adjusts easily and accurately. Its beefiness seems appropriate for its purpose. The 4" dia. dust extraction ports connect to my house hose with a good seal but is easy to disconnect. I can keep the connection intact when changing over from jointing to planning by simply rotating the hose with the extraction hood (a nice surprise); and the dust extraction in both modes is very high - at least 95%. A real benefit. I became an immediate fan of being able to lift both the in-feed and out-feed beds of the jointer at the same time, rather than individually, as is the case on a number of competitors models. The mobile base adjusted easily and fit the machine base with about a 1/4" gap all around; with the casters locked, the machine is very stable with no shifting or wobble during operation. Moving the machine in the base is very easy.In closing, I got what I paid for: a robustly made machine with a fine helical cutter head that performs all its required functions well. What it lacks is: design engineering sophistication and high quality fit and finish. I knew what to buy to obtain those attributes but was not prepared to pay the additional ~$1500. Given the quality of the jointing and planing I have obtained so far, I believe this machine will perform very well supporting my cabinet making hobby. I have attached a few photos to illustrate some of the issues discussed.

I've had this machine for six months or so. Recently I jointed and planed a 6 foot long 2X10 of rough cypress with it. To be honest I was astonished at how well it performed. The work piece was quite heavy, however there was no tearout or snipe in either process. There is a question about the table above, it is dead flat and slightly ribbed iron. I find that (particularly with the cypress) you need to wax the table and keep it clean to make the material slide well. The one con I've found it that the fence, while flat and straight, can be difficult to set to 90 degrees and have it stay there as you shift the machine back and forth between jointing and planing. The adjustment mechanism on the jointer is just cheap, and a bit frustrating to use.As others have said, this is not a machine to uncrate and start using. You have to get the right circuit run, you need to clean up the tables, and in my case one of the belts had come off the pully during shipping. I cleaned the maching with CMT Orange bit and blade cleaner. It seemed to work well, and has little odor. Follow up with a coat of wax or dry lubricant.Switching from one function to the other is quick and simple, particularly when just flattening and thickness planing. It can be tricky to edge joint, and I've not tried to do anything but a 90 degree edge joint so I'm not sure of that.I do love this machine.