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View Full Version : Jet Jointer 6" comparison


Dave Aronson
05-13-2011, 9:27 AM
I have a Jet 6" jointer JJ-6 from 1984 and I could swap it for my friends Jet 6" open stand jointer that is 5 years old. The design is slightly different with a fence on mine mounted along the full length of the infeed table and floating over the outfeed table. The new one has a centered fence. They new one is setup for dust collection where the old one isn't and I would have to design my own chute for the shavings and dust hood.

Any opinions on which unit is better than the other?
194512
David Kumm
05-13-2011, 10:22 AM
The best jointer is the one with the flattest tables and truest fence. The mfg tolerences allow for quite a difference from machine to machine. Dave
Dave Aronson
05-13-2011, 11:50 AM
The best jointer is the one with the flattest tables and truest fence. The mfg tolerences allow for quite a difference from machine to machine. Dave

what is the "best" way to measure this between the two? Is there an advantage between the two fence styles?
David Kumm
05-14-2011, 12:10 AM
I'm not familiar enough with the end mounted fence to compare. The were pretty common in the old days. I like the highest longest fence. If you have a good aluminum level, use it. It will at least tell you if the tables droop, are coplaner, have humps, etc. The tables are pretty small so hopefully they will be good. Table droop is my least favorite problem on small jointers since most don't have a good way to deal with it. Shimming can be problematic. Not coplaner is a bad deal. Check the fence for bow and consistency at 90 degrees. Most of the jointers today have less than perfect machining on the castings and tables and usually it doesn't affect much in woodworking. Just make sure that you don't swap for problems. Dave
scott spencer
05-14-2011, 2:05 AM
IIRC, the Jet open stand jointer is only 3/4hp.....is your current jointer 1hp? If your current jointer is flat and coplaner, I doubt it's worth swapping it out for another 6".
Joseph Tarantino
05-14-2011, 9:53 AM
i'd keep the 1984 unit. the newer jets probably aren't up to the level of the older units like yours, which were probably made in the usa.
Curt Harms
05-15-2011, 8:24 AM
i'd keep the 1984 unit. the newer jets probably aren't up to the level of the older units like yours, which were probably made in the usa.

Was Jet EVER made in the USA? I thought they were Taiwanese from day 1 but I could be wrong. Some of the other WMH group companies were USA based-Wilton & Powermatic- but I thought Jet was always far eastern.