My JP-1250 is in and I've run a couple hundred feet through it (nothing exotic as yet), I know Shane and the boys at Baileigh are anxiously awaiting some feedback, so I thought I would get a preliminary review out there.
The machine was nicely packaged with a decent crate and entirely bubble wrapped inside the crate (the skid wasn't quite up to the task though).
To get the machine down my steep/narrow stairs single-handed, I broke it down into smaller pieces. It was surprisingly easy to dismantle, I only had to remove about 30 bolts.
4) table pivot bolts (2 each)
5) moving gear cover bolts
4) cutterhead/drive roller hold down bolts
4) motor access door bolts
5) motor mounting bolts + cord
4) wheel axle bolts
4) planer table bolts
With the machine broken down as above, the largest/heaviest component was the base cabinet w/planer elevation column and moving gear - maybe 200lbs: easily slid down a couple 1x6 runners down the stairs with the aid of a come-along.
I was able to get it uncrated, dismantled, transferred to the basement and reassembled (w/cleaning and tuning) in about 4 hours.
https://plus.google.com/photos/11571...CO7Eov39kOrMDA
Fit and finish is quite good, the table surface grind is close to polished, the iron appears to be finely grained, there were a few sharp edges on the ground areas of the casting that I knocked down with a file: the paint is nearly perfect. I borrowed a 4' machinist's straight edge and checked the tables. I could get a .002 feeler gauge under the edge in a couple of places but couldn't get a .003" in anywhere. This is quite acceptable to me and, quite frankly, better than I expected.
After I got the machine re-assembled I found that the tables were a bit out of co-planer (maybe .015" across the 4' straightedge, I didn't check them before I broke it down, so can't say how it was as delivered). This is pretty easy to tweak by adjusting 2 stop bolts on the front edge of each table. I found that I couldn't quite get the table entirely dialed in with the 4 adjustment bolts alone so I resorted to shimming one of the table mounting pivot points (one thickness of aluminum can) and was then able to make the tables satisfactorily co-planer (the most I can get under a straightedge in any orientation is .005").
There are non-swiveling wheels integrated in the legs that run parallel to the tables. This is a great feature, but unfortunately, I need to move mine perpendicular to the tables. It should be quite easy to rotate the wheels in the rear of the machine, but the front ones are going to be more of a challenge: it would be great if the wheels could "go either way" from the factory. The wheel locking mechanism is far from elegant but I suppose it works: providing a bolt that was a more reasonable length and maybe a bushing to take up the wheel/axle slop would show more attention to detail.
This machine comes stock with a "Warrior Machinery Spiral Tech" helical head. This head looks like a total knock off of a Byrd Shellix. It's super quiet which is critical in a basement shop, the finished surface off of this head seems to have less parallel scalloping than the surface off of the Byrd Shellix on the Grizzly 0609 at work. This machine comes with a 3hp 220v 1ph motor (one of the reasons I got it rather the the Grizzly with the 5hp which would have tapped out my panel) - It demonstrates no trouble planning up to 1/8" off of 8" wide hard maple, if I go much beyond that depth, it does seem to start struggling. I'm not planning on using this machine for massive stock removal, so I don't expect the relatively low power to be an issue for me.
The conversion from jointer to planer and back is a simple 30 second process. Remove the fence, unlock the outfeed table, flip up outfeed table, unlock infeed table, flip up infeed table, flip dust collection shroud, switch hose: it takes much longer to describe it than to do it.
front lft closed.jpg front lft open.jpg front rt closed.jpg front rt open.jpg back open.jpg back closed.jpg
Dust collection is quite effective in both positions. I jointed and planed 3) fir 2x8x10's down to 1" and was left with maybe a gallon bucket of chips to sweep up. I'm hooked up to a 1-1/2hp Grizzly cyclone on a 12' x 6" run with a wye, a couple long 90's then a reducer to 4" and, until I nail down machine location, 10' of 4" flex hose.
If this machine has a weakness, it is the fence. The fence slides parallel and perpendicular to the beds easily, but angle adjustment leaves much to be desired. At the moment the fence is not consistently perpendicular to the tables (~.050" difference from the leading to trailing edge) and there is no apparent adjustment mechanism. I discussed with Baileigh and they had some helpful suggestions, but no definitive answer. I think it is going to require some subtle filing of the fence pivot points to dial out this issue. While there are stops for 90 and 45, I don't know that I will ever have any confidence in them, I think there will always be a square or bevel gauge nearby. In addition to the twist, the fence itself is FAR from flat. With a machinist square and feeler gauge, I was able to find numerous hills and valleys of as much as .008" just in the 6" vertical height of the fence. Perhaps this is simply the nature of an aluminum extrusion vs a ground, cast surface, but it is going to bug me. I think I will probably hit it with a fly cutter on the CNC router at work to flatten it out. Of course the fence has to be removed to switch from jointer to planer but it is easy to take off and does seem to be accurate and repeatable (within the fences own limitations). Overall, I think the fence on the similar Grizzly G0634 seems like a better solution (though I haven't used it and it may certainly have issues of it's own).
The work surface is higher than I expected, it's going to take some getting used to. This might actually work well as I have it configured as jointed boards will easily clear the extension table on my tablesaw and I can get short boards through the planer without moving the machine out from the niche between the tablesaw extension and outfeed.
The cutterhead gives away the manufacturer, so I looked them up.
http://www.warriorchina.com/Product....e=COMBINATIONS
While there I noticed that the four threaded inserts on the front of the machine appear to be designed to accept a slot mortising attachment. Cool, I make mortises! I pulled the cover off of the end of the cutterhead and sure enough, there is a morse taper there just waiting to have a chuck slapped on it.
I found a couple of European and Aussie vendors that sell what appears to be the same machine.
:
From one, the mortising attachment can be had for $247 AUD.
http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W615
I sent an inquiry if they would sell/ship to the US but haven't gotten anything back as yet. I'm sure shipping would be more than the attachment itself, still... I asked Baileigh if they had any plans to carry the mortiser or if they could get me one, but they didn't seem too interested. I might have to add some tool shopping/shipping to my next travel plans.
All in all, I am very please with this machine. A great alternative to separate machines with a very compact footprint. Baileigh shipped quick, offered good value for the dollar and has been responsive to inquiries thus for.
If you've got questions ask, I'll try to update this thread as I get some more time on this machine.
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I'm flying out of Ontario, CA today, I'm going to stop by their show room on my way to the airport.
Originally Posted by Omar Lazo
