Customer Reviews

JET 710115K JWBS-14DX Deluxe 14-Inch 1-1/4 HP Woodworking Bandsaw with Micro Adjustable Blade Guides, 115/230-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got my band saw a few weeks ago and I have been using it since then. I have to say, that I am very impressed with the quality of the build and the parts. This is a rock solid band saw and every piece of it yells quality. It comes in two big and heavy boxes and you need to assemble it yourself. In my case, it is not a big deal and to some degree, I even prefer to do it, so that I can get a good look at all the parts and details. I ordered the saw with the 6" riser block, the rip fence and roller bearings. It took a few hours to put it together, since I had to build a sturdy platform for it, to mount it on a mobile rack. But once that was taken care of, everything else moved pretty quickly and following the instructions, I put all the parts together and I was in business. I ended up with a saw that stands almost 7' tall and I can easily resaw 12" wide stock. I did some tests with 2x10 stock and I could produce very nice and thin layers. The dust port on the saw is a 4" port and it utilizes a design that I have seen on old Rockwell saws. Overall I am happy with the purchase and would recommend the saw to anybody looking for a nice and powerful band saw. (...)

Excellent band saw. I have several hours of work on my saw and I paid close attention to several items.

The blade guides were important for me because without good blade guides I find the quality of curves to suffer.

The blade itself stays very cool. I cut 14 intricate pieces of work for a project that took me about 30 minutes to complete and the blade was still cool to the touch. This is important to me because hot blades mean duller blades and more blade breakage.

The 1 1/4 horses serve up the perfect amount of power. 4.5" thick maple cut like butter, even with the factory blade.

The dust port is 2 1/2" with a coupler to convert it to 4", no big deal in my opinion, dust is minimal with band saws.

The saw is steady without vibration but I did have to make adjustments to get it perfect. Something I had to do with a more expensive band saw and something I expect to do with any tool.

The saw came in with the motor mount bent (something I have noticed in other reviews). I took it out and straightened it up and I'm going to go back and add 1" MDF to it to add strength to it. The motor is spot welded to the brace so be careful if yours is bent not to put a lot of force on the motor for straightening. I might take my motor into Jet and have them weld it better. It is just something for safety reasons and a peace of mind. Even though I swear this is a wonderfully built saw. You'll be extremely satisfied.

Another review written for my typing challenged wood working buddy. He recieved this Jet Bandsaw for christmas and enlisted my aid in setting it up. I also have a Jet 14", couple of years old, and I love the thing. He has a 40 year old saw, a no name, that served both of us until I got my Jet.
The saw arrived in two boxe's and was very well packed. I think it took us longer to unpack everything than to assemble it. The fit and finish are typical Jet, very nice. The manual is very complete and since I already have basically the same saw, assembly was fairly straight forward and easy. He also got the riser block and we installed that and the carter style jet guides.
Now comes the jealousy part...his new saw has more power than mine, 1/4hp doesn't seem like much, but it is. The fence, with the resaw attachment is very nice, solid and easy to adjust. May have to order one for myself. Think it is even better than my homemade one. But the real kicker is the detensioner lever, man what a time saver. No more turning the knob 25 revolutions to relax the tension on the blade, no more wondering if ya got the tension the same as yesterday and changing blades has become that much more simpler. Cost's too much to add one to my saw, Jet doesn't offer it as a kit, you have to buy all the parts seperatly and try and fit it to the saw. Otherwise I would have stolen his. 'nuff whining.
We mounted the saw on a Jet mobile base, same as mine, after replacing the rear castor on it. Put a Grizzly locking caster on it...tougher and easier to lock the base that way. Even with the riser block, this mobile base is as solid as a rock, and has a much smaller footprint than any of the cheaper generic bases. The saw came up to speed very nicely and is as quiet running as mine. He really likes that part...his old saw was quite noisy. The improved dust collection is a big plus, guess Jet does listen to their customers. The saw runs with very little vibration and the roller guides are easy to adjust. He was ready for his new addition with a good selection of 105" Olson Pro blades, so the factory blade was hung on the wall and will probably remain there. Vibration is very minimal and he has already resawn a bunch of white oak he is prepping for a project.
This is a great saw, for the money, and will serve him for many years. He is going to set his old saw up for light scroll work and use his new saw for everything else. As with my older Jet, we both recommend this new improved version to all woodworkers.
Now where did I put Jet's customer service number........

I have tried two of the Delta bandsaws of comparable price and have returned both of them because of poor quality parts and construction. The Delta bandsaw took nearly three hours to put together just the enclosed base. I was never quite able to get the doors completely square so they would open and close correctly. On the other hand, I have found the Jet to be a bandsaw with high quality construction and much less vibration. The cuts are smooth and the adjustments are simple and quick to make. The additional 1/4 horsepower is a plus for resawing. The jet enclosed base comes in it's own box, preassembled with extra bracing inside to support the heavy saw on top. The drill holes align with no problems and I hade it completely assembled in approximately two and a half hours. I would recommend this bandsaw to any one.

Purchased this machine earlier this year. Have waited to give a good evaluation. At first was not pleased with the quick release for the blade but have adjusted to its action. Cuts wood like butter. Have cut oak, pop, maple, cherry and ash up to the six inch limit with no problems at all. Upgrade the blade guides to cool blocks. The motor is very powerful. The 4" dust port is really nice and does it job. Made a mobile base for it but it is still heavy to roll around. The rip fence was extra but well worth the money.

Got my saw a couple of weeks ago. My son (age 14) and I were able to put the saw together, including installing the Riser Block, in less than two hours. In another 30 minutes the saw was pretty well tuned and we were cutting boards!

The saw appears to be very well made. It is solid, and has almost no vibration when running. It is also very quiet, which was a pleasant surprise. The quick-release blade tensioner is also a VERY welcome addition.

We have been working on a number of small projects as well as playing around with resawing and some thicker hardwoods. The saw has never bogged down or hesitated (as long as the feed rate is reasonable). The 1 1/4 hp motor is adequate for all that I have tried to do.

The only suggestion I have is to invest in high-quality blades - the Timberwolf blades make a HUGE difference when resawing.

I bought this saw and the riser kit at the same time and ran it before installing the riser kit.
The blades suck -- you will need to upgrade to bimetal or carbide very soon, so don't count on do any production until you replace the blades.

The machine does not come balanced -- don't kid yourself!
I took at least 6 grams out of the top wheel to balance it, and put the machine on 3/4" rubber matt to reduce vibration enough to balance a nickel on it.
It is possible to get these to run smoothly -- just not out of the box.

The motor cable should be about two inches longer, when you install the riser kit, the wire is at it's limit.

The machine should come with Carter style bearings!!

The bearings supplied are pathetic and you need to re-adjust them every time you run the guide set up or down by more than two inches.

In my estimation, the Grizzly is the better buy, but both are made in Asia.

Good Luck with yours!

UPDATE: I've had this machine for over a year now and if I had to recommend it to someone, I'd tell them to keep looking. Jet needs to pick up the pieces in their quality department...I've had a lot of trouble with this machine from the out-of-balance wheels, under-powered motor, stripped arbor-tightening nut, and now a tension nut that stripped and subsequently seized on the tensioning rod.

I upgraded this saw with Carter bearings, a nice 1/2" Lenox blade, the 6" riser kit, a Jet fence, etc. I've got at least $700-800 into the saw and it sucks compared to welded 18" saws for $900-1000.
Don't waste your money on this saw.

If you are going to resaw or make deep cuts in hardwoods, buy a welded 18" saw and sleep well. If you are going to be cutting stock under 3 inches, buy a 12" bench model, etc. This saw isn't worth the money.

When I received and assembled the bandsaw, the table had a slight crown. I called Amazon and requested a replacement table, they said one would be sent. However, when checking the tracking of the shipment, it was apparent they had shipped a complete saw. Instead of an item UPS could have left on my doorstep, I had to make arrangements to leave work early to accept delivery of the saw as it was coming freight. Amazon wanted the original saw ready to return when the new one was delivered, however, that would have required complete disassembly of the original saw. Also, the original boxes had been discarded. Amazon then said to just have the freight driver wait while the new saw was unpacked, the part removed, and then repacked, something that is unreasonable to ask a freight company to wait for. The freight company agreed to make another stop once everything was repacked. This required another afternoon spent in order to ship it back.

Overall, I'm not sure the savings in purchase price was worth all the extra time and hassle.

Purchased the bandsaw based upon reviews I had read here and on other sites. So far am pleased with the tool, but have not used it to any large degree. But test cuts have been accurate, and smooth in operation.

Assembly was easy overall. Only real problem is with adjusting the tension on the belt since the nuts on the motor are in the most awkward place and two are hard to reach.

Only real complaint was the table, based upon another reviewers comment about the table, it was the first thing I checked, and sure enough it was not level over all the surface. It had about a 6 inch wide concave spot near the blade with the deepest part about 1/8 inch. Called Jet and no problem, they are shipping another table, hope it is completely level. Am happy with customer response to a problem.

I was somewhat anxious about unpacking the JET Bandsaw, given some of the other reviews that I read; concerns about damaged parts, mis alignment and general difficulty in assembly. Well much to my relief, the unpacking and assembly of the bandsaw went without a hitch. OK, the mobile base was missing an axle sleeve which is absolutely necessary for the wheel to rotate, but $3.00 and 30 minutes later I had one thanks to a nearby harware store. The bandsaw itself was perfect and the instructions were clear and easy to understand. I am quite happy about this product and recommend it to anyone wanting a fine, quality bandsaw.