Planer advice please

[Bill Geyer]

I am considering upgrading to a 20" planer and am trying to decide between the Powermatic 209HH and the Jet JWP208HH. Is the powermatic worth the $800 difference?
They look to be basically the same machine, the Powermatic has the Byrd head, but the Jet just claims to have a helical head - is it a Byrd, or something else?
I have a Jet 15" with a Byrd head now and am quite pleased with it.
Does anyone have experience or knowledge of either or both?
All advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[David Kumm]

I'd find a PM 180 or 221 and put a byrd head on it. You will save money and have a planer built way better than your current choices. I'm biased. Dave

[michael case]

PM and Jet are the same company.

[Bill Geyer]

I realize that they're the same company, but the specs. are slightly different on 2 planers that look very much alike.
My question remains - is the PM worth $800 more?

[Matthew Berry]

I can not comment on which one to choose, but I believe PM has a 10% discount program going into effect tomorrow (June 6th). That might make it a little less painful :)

[Paul McGaha]

I've seen some threads on the Powermatic. It's very highly regarded by it's owners.

I dont think I've seen anything on the Jet.

PHM

[Chip Lindley]

Worth $800 extra? Depends how highly you regard "mustard yellow." The only real difference is probably in the helical cutter heads. IIRC, Jet heads have four rows of carbide cutters. Byrd heads have six rows. That certainly is not worth $800.

[David Kumm]

If you are only considering a direct comparison you should go to the tech support people and get technical answers. Ask about bearing quality in the cutterhead and feed rollers if powered. Ask about the size of the bed screws, quality of the motor, what is chain driven and what is belt driven. What features do more expensive planers have in build quality. The list goes on and on. Good luck getting good answers but because jet owns PM you may find a repair tech that will give you a better opinion. When I did research on planers and started looking at the parts diagrams in the operating manuals, I compared the new machines to the old manuals I found on OWWM and I went quickly to the old stuff but that is just me. ( But there really is no comparison. ) If you can upload the manual for each machine and compare the differences you will have a bunch of good questions for the tech guy. Keep in mind that both are built to a price point and the company is probably making close to the same % although the PM name might imply a little higher price for the same specs. Dave