JET 708528 JWP-208-1 20-Inch 3 Horsepower Planer, 230-Volt 1 Phase

by Jet

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Power and production are what you get with this beauty of a planer from Jet. The 3 horsepower, single-phase, 230-volt motor gives you 5,000 rpm for a total of 20,000 cuts per minute via the four-knife cutterhead, turning raw lumber into smooth, ready-to-work boards in minutes.

Professionals will love this planer’s fantastic capacity, with a full 20 inches of width and 6 inches under the cutterhead and a full-width max depth of cut of 3/32-inch.

The gear box has two feed speeds, easily set by pulling out or pushing in a lever while the planer is running. There are three rugged steel infeed rollers that grab hold of the stock for you, paired with three rubber outfeed rollers that won’t mar your piece. Anti-kickback fingers operate by gravity, keeping stock from being thrown back at you.

A large handwheel makes depth changes an easy task, turning smoothly and moving the table surface is .059" with each complete revolution. Yes, the table surface. Instead of the cutterhead coming down to the work, the work moves up to the stationary cutterhead. It seemed a bit unconventional, but the end result is flawless, so we have no beef with it, except for the fact that it makes difficult the job of building auxiliary feed tables. The depth scale is clear and legible, marked in increments of 1/16-inch. We like the sturdy return rollers mounted on top, giving you a great place to rest the stock and giving your arms and back a break on the trip back to the infeed side.

This is a beautifully made machine, with the fit and finish you’d expect in this price category, form the one-piece welded base to the serrated infeed rollers and the glass-like table surface. To keep the tables pristine, you’ll want to apply talcum power with a blackboard eraser once a week – use plenty of elbow grease. The table will stay slick and protected, and your workpieces won’t pick up any discoloration from the powder.

This is a dream planer for the home woodworker, and it will be the staple in any professional’s workshop. Well done, Jet.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste

What's in the Box
Includes 24-volt magnetic controls, four high-speed steel knives, dust hood, extension rollers, two-speed gearbox, return rollers, knife-setting gauge, and one-piece welded base

Product Description

Includes 20-in Woodworking Planer - 708528, Knife Setting Gauge

See all Product Description

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 29.5 x 37.5 x 43 inches
• Shipping Weight: 765 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000223LW
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 708528
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,379 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice with one little exception., October 6, 2005

By 

W. Lawrence "txcowdog" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: JET 708528 JWP-208-1 20-Inch 3 Horsepower Planer, 230-Volt 1 Phase (Tools & Home Improvement)

Fortunately this beast comes fully assembled except for the infeed and outfeed table and arrived in excellent shape due to the good crating at the factory. It is already setup at the factory and I did not have to make any adjustments. Operation is intuitive and fit and finish on the machine is very nice. The only problem I saw was on my first use. A large chip of wood flew up and hit the outbound chip deflector and broke it because it is made of plastic. Personally I think it should have been made of metal to avoid this problem as I think it will happen again. On the plus side, I called JET and they were very helpful and happy to send the replacement part without any argument. Even with the plastic chip deflector I would highly recommend this machine for several reasons. First, it does a great job as a planer with a full 20" planing width (the blades are a little wider than 20"), second, I find it well assembled and a heavy duty machine, third, obviously great support after the sale, and fourth, I couldn't beat Amazon's price anywhere and you can't get any better deal than free freight especially since we are talking over 700 lbs.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jet 20" Planer -- Satisfied, March 18, 2007

By 

James E. Ballenthin "wood guy" (rural northern Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: JET 708528 JWP-208-1 20-Inch 3 Horsepower Planer, 230-Volt 1 Phase (Tools & Home Improvement)

A very good planer. I read all the reviews I could find for the Jet and other planers before deciding to purchase the Jet, and I am very satisfied. I considered giving 5 stars, but I am very reluctant to give 5 stars to anyone. There always is room for improvement.

I agree that if the planer head moved rather than the table it would be easier to support long boards, but after using the planer, I regard this as a minor issue, as board support (at least on 8' boards) is very firm and solid.

The first boards I planed were 3/4" white pine, 12" and 13-1/2" wide, for some cabinet doors. Excellent results. Powerful, firm feed, and superb finish (which I would expect from new blades). Then on the bandsaw I resawed into two boards some 4" and 6" wide birch which I had rough sawn on my sawmill to 1-1/4" (1-1/8" dry). The resaw turned out a little wavy, and I planed these down to 5/16". These are for a new ceiling in our remodeled bathroom, and the 5/16" thickness was fine. Again, results were superb, and I especially noticed no to practically no snipe. I need more experience to discover best how to minimize what snipe there is.

The Jet planer itself is a very substantial machine. I put it on a mobile base, as I need to move it occasionally to make room in my shop. Except for the mobile base, this is a two-person machine to move. I used a jack and supports to lift it onto the mobile base, as I had no access to a second person.

If I had 3-phase available, I would have opted for the 3-phase model of this planer, but the single phase 230V (my shop voltage supply actually is a srong 240V) so far has had plenty of power and I have no complaint.

My other planer experience is with my Dewalt 12-1/2" bench planer, which I have been very satisifed with in general, although it is no match for the Jet. I will keep the Dewalt for lighter planing uses. I also have used my friend's off-brand 12" bench planer which was definitely inferior to the Dewalt. Which reminds me that everytime I try to cut corners on serious tools, I make a big mistake.

My shop is minimally equipped for the quantity of shavings emitted by this planer. I have a Delta 2-bag collector with an intervening collector barrel to catch most of the droppings, and this fills really fast. While not an issue with the planer, it does slow production for me because of the need to very frequently empty the collector bag and barrel.

Free shipping with Amazon was a definite plus. Shipping was fast, the trucker arrived with a drop gate delivery truck, and I used my forklift to carry the pallet with the Jet into my shop. The planer obviously had been tipped over in transit, and one cover was cracked, but the planer itself was true in all respects -- a tribute to the substantial nature of this machine. I called Jet on the cracked cover, and Jet sent sent me a replacement which arrived within one week. I had expected to have to file a claim with the truck company.

I also have a Jet 10" table saw which now is about 10 years old -- a faithful, strong performer; a Jet 6" jointer with which I am very satisfied; and a Jet 18" bandsaw which is only two years old and frankly I have not used a lot, not because of the machine but because of limited applications so far. It's biggest job so far was resawing the birch, which indicated the bandsaw may be under-powered as I had to saw quite slowly. To this add a 12" Delta radial arm saw and a variety of quality hand power and manual tools and there is little I cannot do in my shop.

A final word to the wise -- if a machine motor can be re-wired for 230-240V any you have it available, do it -- the performance improves markedly. I have placed 240V outlets all around my shop so every power tool that can run on 240V now does. And a word to the manufacturers -- always supply motors that can be rewired for 240V operation.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winner..., June 7, 2006

By 

Wild Alaskan (Alaska) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: JET 708528 JWP-208-1 20-Inch 3 Horsepower Planer, 230-Volt 1 Phase (Tools & Home Improvement)

A nice Planer from Jet...Arrives assembled, ready to use within minutes after arrival. Cuts efficiently, I like the top rollers for moving your stock quickly back into feed. We milled Log Slabs one afternoon, taking just a few minutes from "chainsaw cut" down to "ready for final sanding".

I have been very pleased with this planer, although it is not a daily use tool for me, I feel it has performed well.

The only thing that causes any problem is that the feed table raises and lowers with thickness adjustments (Rather than the cutter assembly)...So I cannot easily build an outfeed table, since it too, would have to move with the planer table. Therefore, it is necessary to have two people planing large pieces.

But, a good planer for the price...and free shipping! That makes it tough to beat.