Customer Reviews

JET 708529G / JWP-15CS 15-Inch Wood Planer with Enclosed Stand

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Previous to getting the Jet 15" planer this year I owned the Powermatic 12" floor model planer, for which we paid quite a bit more, back in 1989. Having tried both, I can honestly say I like the Jet better.

We had some shipping damage to the Jet planer, either because the Fed-Ex boys got a little rough, or because the Jet people hadn't packed it well enough (or with Fed-Ex in mind; take your pick). One of the lifting handles on the planer had shot through an internal shipping container, ripping it open and scattering the return rollers over the bed, and bursting a can of touch-up paint that Jet includes with some of their tools.

Because of the thick rust-protectant gunk that Jet puts on their beds, the beds were unharmed. One of the knives got a small chip, and the worm gear housing got cracked. A call to Jet got the replacement parts on the way, but in the meantime I was still able to get the planer up and running. The knives were installed at the factory close enough so that I didn't bother messing with them, and I went through the other set-up adjustments without much of any problem. The bed gunk cleaned up with Naphtha and a rag; you just have to spend a while scrubbing. Tables were perfectly flat; they just needed some alignment to bring them parallel to the cutterhead.

You need to make an alignment gauge out of a block of wood to set up the machine initially. Jet does not provide you this tool, but does give you detailed instructions on how to make it. The only other thing you need that they don't provide is a feeler guage. In all you probably can get the machine uncrated, up and running in about 4-6 hours if you have help. If you don't, it will take longer (just to get it out of the crate). It already comes assembled to the base.

The planer seems to have plenty of power, and makes nice cuts with very little snipe; the snipe seems to be pretty much a function of how high you set the bed rollers. The closer you set the bed rollers to the table the less snipe you get, so if you do a lot of lumber that is already smooth on the underside, you might want to set the bed rollers within a couple thousandths of the table or even with the table. You won't be able to do that with rough lumber though. (The planer comes with the bed rollers set at .005 above the table, and that is approximately how much snipe I get.)

I noticed there was a lot of black dust coming from the belts through the belt cover vents; I had thought the belts were sufficiently tight, but tightened them a little more, which seemed to take care of the problem for the most part. I had also noticed quite a shudder when turning the machine on; after tightening the belts this too seemed to go away. There is still a little black dust from the belts (there are three), but I have learned that that belts that come with these tools aren't always that accurately cut.

One thing that really impressed me about the planer is the number of tools that Jet provides with it: a full complement of metric open-end box and allen wrenches. Unless you want to use some sockets, they give you all the tools you need to assemble and maintain the tool (except for feeler gauge and alignment block, see above). The planer comes mostly assembled, but you do have to do some minor assembly. The can of touch-up paint is a thoughtful gesture, too.

You don't need a mobile base for this planer: it already comes with quite adequate casters installed, which lock with a foot pedal. The four lifting handles are a real help when moving it around the shop. The machine has a lot of little extras and niceties, like teh return rollers on top. It really is a lot of machine for your money.

The dust hood (included) will fill quickly with wood chips if you don't have a dust collection system hooked up to it. It doesn't just completely blow them out to the side unassisted.

The machine comes prewired for 230 volts. All you have to do is screw on a 230 volt plug. (And have your shop wired for 230, if you don't already)

I had high expectations for this machine, all of which have been met and exceeded. The machine is smooth and powerful. The fit and finish are superb. For people with larger hands the forward bed release knob is a bit difficult to access, but this is my only complaint. Set up was minimal. Planing down to 1/4" thickness is even and precise. I own many Delta machines, all of which I love and have consistently bought Delta over Jet because of what I considered to be Jet's inconsistent quality control. However, everyone I spoke with rated Jet's 15" planer over Delta's, so I took their advice. I could not imagine a better planer than the Jet machine.

After having used a 12" Grizzly for ten years it was time to search for a suitable 15" planer. The JWP-15CSW from Tool Crib was the best deal considering the price of the planer is identical in any of the catalogs and .coms I searched. the difference was in the extremely low shipping charges and the customer service from amazon.com. The machine arrived well packed and ensuing set up was easy following the directions. Controls are handy and finish is excellent and at 500 lbs it is very solid. Tips for the next buyer: you will need bronze wool or some other soft abrasive to get the factory gunk off the table. Kerosene alone will not do it. The power cord is rather short and I had to go into the switch box and reinstall a longer one to reach my 220 receptacle.

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.

This planer arrived in perfect shape. It only took about an hour to set it up. Knives, inside rollers and table were already aligned so I was able to plane boards as soon as I could get the electric connected. The only tedious part of the setup was aligning the front and back outboard rollers. I've planed about 300 feet of American elm, Texas cedar and red oak. Nice, smooth surfaces that need almost no sanding.The table is long enough, and the inside rollers strong and flat enough to avoid snipe.Be sure to get plenty of vacuum from your dust collection system because this planer is a chip factory. I think that over 600 Cfm is needed at the planer to effectively remove chips.
And now for an unpaid sales pitch.I once hesitated buying heavier tools by mail order because of past problems returning damaged or defective items. This changed when I started buying through Amazon. If something's wrong,Amazon comes to the rescue fast!

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.

This is an excellent machine, from assembly to changing blades,to looks. Two speed planing makes this machine very versitile. The use of dust collection keeps it from cloging the exit chute with chips. It moves around quite easily on the locking casters. I would recommend this Jet planer for anyone that is stepping up from a smaller portable machine. It sure was nice to have the full 15 inches when I made some solid oak doors. Jet keep up the good work with machines like this...

This planer is easy to setup, easy to change blades. Has more than enough hp to do larger boards. This is my 2nd. planer,1st being a portable, which lasted 4 years and still working when sold. You need dust collection with the chip pipe 4" in place. The only neg. comment that I have about this machine is trying to eliminate snipe on infeed and outfeed. Excellent buy for the price.

This is the first time I have bought a stationary woodworking machine that was not a Delta and I did have some reservations at first. Assembly was simple, and the various initial adjustments were not difficult, just cumbersome to perform. Ideally, the machine should arrive correctly adjusted. Any unpainted metal part comes covered with some kind of preservation oil and it did take quite a bit of time to remove. Fit and finish are excellent and the machine appears well built throughout. Based on my initial impressions, I will give serious thought to other Jet products in the future.

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.