Does anyone have any advice for quickly tracking down and acquiring parts for older Jet tools? I have a (mid 90’s blue vintage) 15” Jet Planer (JWP15HO). Unfortunately, during my recent move from VA back to Ohio, a lumber rack collapsed on top of the planer while in transit. When unloading the mess into storage, the planner appeared fine. Today, when moving my equipment into the new house, the height adjustment knob fell off. Upon inspection, it appears as the worm drive shaft sheared off slightly inside the worm drive casting. I have found the part number (JWP15H-055) but have not had any success finding the part readily available. The part is out of stock directly from Jet. eReplacement parts has them listed on their site as being available to ship in 9-14 days, however, once placed in the cart the item is listed as backordered with no estimated release date. Any other reputable sources I should be looking at?

I’m in a time crunch, next week I’m picking up some wormy white oak that I had sawn and kiln dried specifically for our stair treads, I need to finish the stairs soon as we are on a tight schedule to finish the house as we will need to be moving in four weeks time. I’d love to buy a new helical head 15” planer but I’m not sure that’s in the cards at the moment. I hate to buy another 15” straight blade planer over a $20 part. Would any lunchbox planers be able to handle 10’x13” wide roughsawn white oak?

Thanks for any advice that can be provided,

Andrew