Considering a Jet jwbs-14sfx 14” Band Saw yea or nea

[michael dilday]

I am in the market for a 14” band saw to replace my vintage 12” Craftsman. Looking seriously at the Jet jet jwbs-14sfx. $200 off now. Anyone have experience with it?

[Mick Simon]

I haver no direct experience with it, but my brother has two and loves them.

[michael dilday]

Thanks Mick

[Jim Becker]

My original bandsaw was a Jet 14" and it was probably comparable to current models of the same...it's not like they change these things much. It was a good tool within it's capabilities and limitations...it did what a 14" saw of that design is expected to do and did it well.

[michael dilday]

Thanks Jim

[lowell holmes]

I have a Jet band saw and I am happy with it. I put a riser block on mine.

[fritz eng]

I have the Jet 14DXPRO. I really like it and it does all of the things I need it to do. I purchased it through Home Depot and had it delivered to the store for pick up. It saved me a bunch of $.

[james manutes]

I was on the fence with the Jet -vs - the Laguna 14-12 . Then my father in law was in my driveway w/ a Grizzly 555 LX . He is a very kind man , to say the least . I was sure I would be quietly "disappointed" , but I'm really not . I've not used the Laguna or the Jet , so it's hard to compare . The Grizzly works for me , and its $625 .

[Dan Gaylin]

Michael,

I have the 14SFX and love it. It does a great job on everything I throw at it. Note that the stock blade it comes with is horrible. In my first month I regretted the purchase because the saw kept burning the wood. I can recommend several replacement blades if you decide to purchase it.

-dan

[Mike Kees]

If I wanted a 14'' saw I would look used.There are thousands of old Deltas around that are a great saw,all other cast iron framed 14" saws are copies of this design including Jet. Save a bunch of money on the saw and buy some quality blades. These saws work best as they were originally intended as general purpose bandsaws for curves and cutting joints and such with 1/4'' or 3/8 '' blades. If you see yourself wanting to Resaw wood a lot in your future a larger saw will work better for that purpose. I still have my original Delta at my shop as well as a much bigger brother,they both get used a lot. Hope you are happy with whatever you decide to do.

[Carroll Courtney]

Echoing what Mike suggesting,I have purchase over yrs say maybe 8 of these saws one or two from 50’s and others little newer.They were all the same,only thing that change was motor brand and size of motor. Don’t know what new 14” cost now days but maybe taking something new out box is exciting.I don’t know,I always purchase used machines.But purchasing used I would definitely give a BS test drive,if BS been treated right over yrs not much can go wrong.Only problem is some think blade needs be as tight as piano cord,so that arm that takes care of that may be bent.Thats bout it,good luck with either new or used it’s good tool have

[Justin Rapp]

Last year I finally pulled the trigger on my 14" bandsaw. I researched for 2 years, looking at Jet, Rikon, Powermatic, and at least online, Grizzly. I was first looking at saws in the 1hp realm, like the Grizzly 555 LX James mentions or a JWBS-14CS. I realized 1hp was not going to cut it so looked at 1.75 hp, from Jet, it was either the JWBS-14SFX or maybe similar designed model, I don't remember the exact # on it. At that point I ruled out Rikon for no reason at all, just have other Jet tools and was pretty much going to buy a Jet. I heard about Laguna so I drove to Woodcraft and saw the 14/12 and was pretty set based on what I heard about Laguna's bandsaws and just like the overall build. It was good because the Jet and Laguna were side by side, and like the fit/finish better on Laguna. Before I pulled the trigger, I also bumped my budget up to get more HP and went for the 2.5hp 14BX. If I had the ability, I would have gotten an 18BX.

I am not sure what you plan to do with your bandsaw but make sure you buy once instead of needed an upgrade sooner than later.

[lowell holmes]

I also have my bandsaw on a roller and it has a rip quide as well.