Jet Band Saw on sale

[Warren White]

Woodcraft has this band saw on sale now, and with the "March Madness" discount, I figure it will be about $425.00. Either figure (with or without the additional discount) is about what my budget will allow.

It is the Jet JWBS-14CS.

Three questions: If you have this saw, what are your opinions? Should I buy the riser as an option? What additional upgrades should I consider in the future?

[Jim Becker]

I used to own this saw and it was a nice machine. My only complaint was it was pretty underpowered for any kind of resawing, but other than that, it was a fine machine. No problems with it. As far as I know, the fellow who bought it a few years ago is still sawing away with it.

[Michael Fross]

I have had this saw for about 6 months now. I really like it. I got it from Woodcraft when they had their last big sale and it even included the raiser block.

I agree that it's a bit underpowered, but has done everything I asked of it. If you are going to do much resawing, make sure you get an approprite blade. Also, the blade that comes with it is not very good. I picked up a timberwolf resaw blade and have been happy.

It comes in 2 pieces, and I made the mistake of putting it together by myself. There are a few points where it would really help having a 2nd person.

Best of luck.

Michael

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have had the Jet band saw for a couple of years. I have it equipped with Timberwolf blades, and have had no problem with power - yet. If you plan to resaw, I would recommend the riser block kit - 6" of resaw capacity is pretty small. I added a Shop Fox mobile base and a crank from Rockler to replace the blade tensioning knob. I replaced the standard belt with a link belt, which might be part of the reason I have no power issues. The link belt reduced vibration as well.

[Warren White]

Thank you each for your replies. Your excellent suggestions will help me in this and future purchases. I am anxious to have a band saw in my shop and don't have the desire to make a mistake in what I buy, even if it is a modest band saw.

Thanks again!
Warren

[Kyle Kraft]

I have the Jet saw, and have been pretty pleased with it. As others have said the OEM blade is junk...keep it for a beater. Otherwise, I've been pleased with it. Lots of aftermarket goodies are available to pimp it out!!

[Mike Cutler]

Warren.
I've owned this bandsaw for a number of years. It's a fine bandsaw, but it is inadequate for any long term resawing. The motor is just to osmall, and the size of the enclosure inhibits you from installing a bigger one. You can change it to a 1 1/2 hp, but a 2hp is too big to install without modifying the cabinet.

I changed the OEM guide bearings and thrust bearings out to the Carters. I further modified the Carter's by installing a spacing block on the lower assembly to get the bearings closer to the underside of the table, similar to the Delta configuration, to provide more support on the back of the blade by diminishing the distance between thrust bearings.
I also have the Jet riser kit installed on mine for additional height, and the Itturra spring.

I had problems with the tension assembly on mine. The threads on the tension rod stripped out and I had to change out the tension rod. I went to a 5/16 threaded rod and had to make a square nut. One more problem was that the original tension rod had a fairly pointed tip where the rod made contact with the saw. Over time this pointed tip started to bore a hole through the casting.

The saw worked fairly well for resawing thin veneer. What I could never get it to do with any consistency was to resaw an 8/4 board into 2 bookmatched 4/4 boards. I think the blade was able to deal with minimal pressure of slicing thin veneer, but not the thicker material.

Dust collection is virtually non existent on this bandsaw. If you get one I would recommend looking up Dominic Greco's dust collection solution for the Jet 14".

I know this post seems to be somewhat negative, and in conflict with my opening sentence calling this a "fine" bandsaw. It is a fine bandsaw though, it just has limitations due to it's size, and many time people have somewhat higher expectations for it's overall performance than may be realistic.

I have an 18" bandsaw for resawing, but my Jet is still in the shop. It's too nice a bandsaw to kick to the curb. It's also very convenient to have two bandsaws, one for resawing, and one for finer work.

[Warren White]

Kyle,
I will keep an eye out for the aftermarket goodies you an dothers have suggested. Thanks!

Mike,
I did a quick search for Dominic's article, but couldn't find it. I will do a better search tonight. Thanks for the head's up on the tension assembly and the Carter add-ons.

I appreciate all of the help that has been offered. I will let you know when it comes home.

Warren