JET tools

M

magnum .44

Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,110
i'm looking into buyiing some new equipment for my shop. but i have a low budget, what my grandfather likes to call "no budget" but i can get a few bills. anyway, i;m primarily looking at JET equipment, they seem to have very well built tools, that will last many years with proper care. First and most imporatant would have to be the oscillating spindle sander. it's a floor model, model number JOVS-10. also the planer, model number jwp-15cs. the planer is very important to me, becuase i buy boards of exotics and resaw them into knife handle thickness, can this planer handle exotics? those are the only two, i'm seriously looking into buying.
 
I don't own any equipment made by JET but I haven't heard anything bad about them and they've been around a long time. It seems like their products are only in stores that carry the higher quality equipment, and they're popular.
For your spindle sander, depending on how hard your going to use it, you should look at the ryobi B.O.S.S. I don't think its built quite as heavily as the JET your looking at, but they make good tools and it looks like a nice piece of equipment. I think Ryobi is a little lower in price on everyhithing too. I have their dremel style rotary tool and its surprised me how much it does when it was so much cheaper than the other tools.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
magnum,

Jet tools are very good for the money. I own some. They are a little over built sometimes. This is good. Some of the instructions seem to be written by 6 yr olds.
Tuneing them in sometimes takes a little longer and a little more often. I have a shop with several employees, this is sometimes a problem because they abuse every tool I have. If you are the only one using it, it will perform very well for a long time. Parts are easy to get. tune up often.

John Yeackley

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http://www.toptexknives.com/yeackley.htm My contribution to the world of knife fanatics.


 
Magnum, as far as using a planer for sizing down exotic lumber...I think you might be better off with a table saw. I've found that using a planer causes a lot of "rip outs" in the heavier patterned grains of some exotics.

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Jake Evans Member of the HORDE, SKULL BASHER, Wielder of the Mighty Blade Soul Stealer
 
Hey magnum,this kind of ties into your other thread.I have a jet dust collector in my shop.It is the 1 hp model.I have been really happy with how great it works.I run it for hours at a time with no problem.The best part was I only paid about$200 for it new.
 
I am fairly new here although I have been lurking for awhile. As far as the Jet equiptment, I think it's wonderful. Between my father and myself we have around 15 pieces of the Jet tools. We have never had any troubles through alot of use. I especially love the spindle sander for knifemaking.
 
Putting a resawing blade in your bandsaw and getting a really accurate miter gauge and rip fence for it would be the best for cutting handle slabs.Resaw blades are specially designesd for cutting thin dimensional lumber on a bandsaw. The thin kerf will leave you with more pieces and less sawdust than a planer or a tablesaw.The cuts are smooth enough that they only need a little sanding to.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
thanks guys this is very reassuring.
matt, i'm cutting them in to 1/4" and 3/8" slabs on my bandsaw, i usually cut them with some screw up room, usually around 1/8". i just bought a 3/4", 3-tpi, carbide tipped bandsaw blade by LENOX called the TRI-MASTER. it was $100, wew! i'm planing on using the planer (with carbide knves) and planning them down to the 1/4" or 3/8" size i use. it's a real pain in the but to grind them down to the usuable size becuase it makes my shop dusty for weeks. i did look into the b.o.s.s. but i'd rather have floor model, it gives me more work room, and the jet one comes with 10 spindles.
Jake i can't find a table saw big enough from cutting down 10-12" wide boards. or powerful enough for that matter. also i can fit a table saw into my shop, it's only 10'x12'.
ben, i'm glad you like your dust collector. my brother seems to think we need a 3hp dust collector, do think think i should go with more hp, or go with 1hp like you did.
ridgeback,
you must really like JET equipment, what types of tools did you buy?
john Y.
i've found alot of companies to put out instructions that sound like they've be written by a 6yr old. my RIDGID bandsaw has instruction like that. tuning them is not a problem for me
 
Yeah magnum, I do like the Jet tools. I just started buying them because my father replaced all of his tools with Jet. I used them and have had no troubles, so that is what I have started buying. As of now, I have the table saw, wood band saw, metal band saw, 6x48 sander, drill press, planer, joiner, mini lathe, large lathe, and dust collector. Some of these are duplicated between my father and myself. All of them Jet. My spindle sander is Ryobi. I still don't own a knife grinder and that is definitly next on my list. I just dont have the money for one of the big names. I am considering the Grizzly because it would sure be better than using my 6x48 which is what I am curently using. Believe it or not I am acually starting to turn out some decent blades with it though.
 
make a grinder, that's what i'm doing. even putting it on a stand with casters. i can move it to the door way and all the dust flys out the door.
 
Go for the extra Hp if you can.Be careful though I bet the 3 horse could suck your skivvies off if you aren't careful.Also,try to pick up the book called Dust Collection Basics if you can find it.I believe good ductwork layout is vital to the system working properly.Grounding the inside and outside of all ductwork is very important too.
troy
 
Delta has a benchtop planer that might be a little more suited for the size of your shop.I'm in the same boat there.I have a corner of the basement to myself and then all my power tools are either in the garage or my dads shop at the barn. My Dad has a delta scrollsaw and I have their bentchtop bandsaw and beltsander. There really good tools. The belstsander has great tuning, the saw is a little more tricky. I don't know what the planer would be like.I bet its pretty nice.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
The only Jet tool I am dissattisfied with is a vertical milling machine my company purchased lasted year. It is rather light and chatters pretty bad. Other than that, the other Jet tools I have and I have used are a good deal for the money
 
scott, i'm convinced bridgeport is still the name in milling machines.
ben,i think i'm gonna go with a 2hp dust collector. i bought that book, but never got around to reading it yet. my dad is a union sheet metal worker, so he can help me out with the duct work.
matt, i looked into the benchtop planers, and i may go with a dewalt, around $450, not to bad. i also have there belt sander, the little 1/4hp right? i modified it to accomidate knifemaking. decided against buying a bench top bandsaw. t's to small/low hp for what i'm doing (resawing exotics). My dad and his business partner bought me a RIDGID 14" bandsaw, it was a gift, i don't get to many freebies(i made them both knives for that). i'm going to change that one to accept carter guides.
 
I have some of the smaller Dewalt stuff. They're great tools to. I've got the 6.0 AMP reciprocating saw and it'll cut anything you can find blades for.Another good thing about them is they only sell commercial grade stuff. You don't have to mess around with finding the same tool in a sh#% grade, no good grade, and a built to last grade.

What kind of stuff did you change on your sander? I'm thinking of changing mine over to an 8 inch disk. I'd like to do more grinding on the belt but the platen is too wide to get good plunges. Do you just take that rest off the top of the belt and adjust it to overhang the side? Where do you get belts at? The coarsest I can find is 60.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !
 
matt, i get belts from super grit 1"x30" ceramic 60grt. i gronud down the platen's sides to just under the width of the belt. then i mig welded another 1/8" bar of steel to that. that peice goes from 1/4" from the top wheel, to 3/8" from the bottom wheel. make sure it doesn't hit etheir wheel or you'll screw up your grinder. i rounded the corners, and top of the platen so belts wouldn't snag and break. i don't use the work rest they put on there, so i just took it off. i don't know if you can put an 8" disk on it. oh yeah i get my belts from supergrit. they have excellent prices.
scott, all of my dad's machinist friends only use bridgeport, they won't even talk about using other mills.
 
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