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For the small amount of time that I have owned this product I have enjoyed it quite well. But other than that I am happy with the product. Set-up was easy and the instructions were easy to follow. However, because the tires that the blade runs on are concave and not flat, I cannot use a 1/8" scroll blade on the machine as the blade will travel to either one side or the other of the wheel and then come off.
All I had left to do was hook it up my dust collector, plug it in and start cutting.Overall the fit and finish was very good. Note that it does take two people to handle the upper saw unit safely.The machine was aligned right "out of the box." The only adjustment I had to make was to the table stop, and that is because you have to install the stop with the table off and adjust it after the table is on. This seems to be due to paint fouling the threads. This unit is shipped in two carton; base unit and upper saw unit. The assembly and alignment instructions were clear and well written. Total set up time from cutting open the box to cutting the first board was under an hour. Note that some of the mounting points were a bit difficult to get the bolt or knob snugged down without applying a lot of effort. Also, you will need metric tools to do the assembly.
All parts necessary for assembly were in the box. Three tries and it was right on the money. For a machine in this price range I think it's a good value. The blade was pre-installed, tensioned, and the tracking was dead center.
Most of my sawing is for resawing Cherry 5/4 into veneer. At the time it was $549.99 with free shipping, $50.00 rebate AND free miter gauge and fence. It does the job perfectly for that.I only have two beefs with Jet. It's on the side above where dust wants to settle therefore most of my dust is either on top of the cast iron bed or slips through the bottom where the door opens to alloy you to change blades.
Junk, junk, junk. I ordered and installed an Olson blade and man, what a huge difference and they are inexpensive too. The latter is not the case because that works great for my other tools in removing dust and chips in my shop.The other complaint is the jet blade that comes with the saw. I bought this bandsaw through Woodcraft. It performs flawlessly and it's a pleasure to use. I want to stretch the cherry wood I had milled four years ago from trees that were cut on my property. Throw it away before you make your first cut.
I can't imagine what an expensive blade would do.Anyway, if you're thinking of buying it just do it. A great deal I figured.This saw has quickly become one of my shops most valued tool. One, is the 4 inch dust collection outlets is absolutely useless. Your gonna love it. It's either that or my Jet dust collector is crap.
It has all the power needed to resaw a 6" oak board. Jet quickly sent a new part and it was easy to replace. The guides adjust quickly and the blade tracks well. It has done well to resaw hardwoods such a oak and birch. I have had the Jet bandsaw for over a year.
The only problem I have had is the blade tensioner broke after approximately 6 months. I have used to resaw 2x4 pine boards to build a fence. I also make boxes which I cut curves in a 6" thick piece of hardwood with no problems. I have been very happy with this product and I use it all the time. I would recommend spending the extra money to get the 1 hp motor instead of the 3/4 hp.
I bought this saw three years ago and have had nothing but problems since.I also have a Jet tablesaw -- which I love -- that led to me purchasing this bandsaw.For the money, this saw should come better built, better-equipped, and/or better-priced.It lacks decent blade bearings -- so add to purchase price $100+ for Carter bearings. Also add the extension pack for resawing -- another $50-$100, plus blades.It lacks a blade de-tensioner, add another $150.It does not come balanced and will shake like crazy, so add your time to balance the wheels.The dust extraction is a joke and it has nothing to clean the dust off the bottom wheel as it is working -- add your time to resolve that.The hardware that they use to get the blade tensioner is third-rate and I am replacing it for the third time.All-in-all, I wish I had bought the Laguna -- my buddy has one for less than I sank into this machine and his is reliable.The only positive note I have to add, is that when it is running nicely, after much tuning, it does work well -- but that doesn't seem to last too long a time.Good luck,Erik.
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