JET JJP-12, 12" Planer/Jointer Combination Machine

[Archer Yates]

I am looking and planner / jointer combination machines because of space and the desire to have a 12 inch wide jointer . The Jet machine claims that you don't have to remove the fence. There are only a couple of reviews and both very positive. The machine is now on sale from CPO for $1995 with free shipping and a 5 year warrantee . It also has a model with a helical head with the carbide cutters for an extra $1000. Ouch!
Grizzly is now offering a similar machine but I have a local Jet dealer in case of problems. I looked at the Hammer a nice machine for $3200 on a limited sale. MiniMax is at about $4000 . But how nice does it need to be?
Have any of you seen the Jet JET JJP-12, 12" Planer/Jointer Combination Machine
Have you heard of any reports of this unit?

[Mike Zilis]

Archer,

There are a number of us here who own the Jet combo machine. I've had mine for about 18 months. My first hand report is that it is a rock solid machine. The switch over from jointer to planer takes about 45 seconds. Dust collection is good for both operations. The only compromise, in my opinion, is the aluminum fence. I like its width and length and it adjusts easily, but a cast iron fence would be better.

I don't have the helix cutter head - which would be nice for figured woods, but the 3 12" blades do a fine job.

-Mike

[Gary Benson]

Archer,
I love mine, works just great. Like all machines it required a little fine tuning, and then normal upkeep (don't you hate the fact that those blades get dull eventually). I also have the straight knives, perfect finish off the machines is not important to me since I tend to finish via hand plane anyway.
Good luck with your decision.
Gary

[Rob Wright]

Archer,

It's $1899 with $6.50 residential liftgate shipping from tools-plus right now. http://www.tools-plus.com/jet-708475.html standard head
http://www.tools-plus.com/jet-708476.html helical head
you need to add it to your cart to get the deal and see the price. I went back and forth for the last 3 or 4 months on what one to get - the jet, the jet w/ helical head, or one of the 2 grizzly's.

I have a bunch of grizzly green and have been happy, but did not have a 30amp breaker in my shop to run the 5hp motor in the grizzly. Because of this, not having to remove the fence, the favorable reviews, and the 5-year warranty I decided to go with the jet.

I ordered the jet this last weekend with the sale that was on jet and powermatic tools - I saved about 5% off of the cost in the tools-plus shopping cart with this deal.

I had a very difficult time talking myself into the shelix-type head. I know that the straight blades would have been hundreds less and made it more palatable to my bank account, and I said to myself that I could upgrade later. What it has come down to is that I just don't want to fuss with changing and setting the knives - so the knives might be $90 for 3 new ones x 4 sides on the inserts almost $400 plus the headache of setting them. Others may be able to set knives quickly and accurately - I know that I can't! so it came down to me spending $300 more (in my mind at least )for the same machine but with the convenience of quick changes of the knives.

There is a 2-month backorder right now on the HH - mine won't be delivered until May sometime

[Rod Sheridan]

Rob, it's funny that you mentioned the hassle of changing knives.

For years I had a jointer and planer that used conventional knives, and I had to adjust them whenever I exchanged them for fresh knives.

I'm not that fast at it, and probably spent half an hour on the jointer, about an hour on the planer.

Now I have a combination jointer/planer that uses Tersa type knives, and wow, is it ever great to only spend 5 minutes, with no adjusting required.

It's funny, it's not that often that I change knives, however it sure seems like a big improvement now I have a quick change knife.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. When I was shopping for a combination jointer/planer, I found that although they all share common features, some of the design choices weren't optimal for someone looking for space savings.

I found that some machines had fence mountings that projected out the back, maybe 10 or 12 inches, which meant that the machine couldn't fit against a wall.

Other machines had tables that tipped towards the front of the machine, which I found to be in the way when planing.

Just another consideration (as if there weren't enough already).

[Dave Lee NC]

I bought the JJP-12 last month from Amazon for $1806 shipped. They also had it in stock. No one else did.

[John Coloccia]

I've had mine for a while now, and it's a nice machine. I agree with others about the fence. It's a minor ding, but a cast fence would be nicer. The European style blade guard is so much nicer than the pork chop, in my opinion. With proper adjustment, I get pretty much no snipe on the planer. It's a great unit for the money.

[Rob Wright]

Rod - I agree with the statement on the Tersa knives. I have read here on the forum as well as witnessed the use of them in a professional shop and that is how easy knife changing should be!

John - I also liked the Euro-type blade guard. It appears to be a safer option to keep your hands away from the blade.

As far as the fence goes - I also guess it could be better. 99.5% of all the jointing I will be most likely be doing will be at 90-degrees. If I find that it is as stiff as I remember it being when I looked at the jjp-12, I am just going to mount a piece of 80/20 aluminum extrusion to the table at 90-degress and use that.

[Archer Yates]

My concern is the fence won't hold 90 degrees to the base. I often make wooden planes and am working with thick stock say 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Its a real pain if you can't joint it to a true 90 degrees.
Will the fence hold to 90 degrees and will it keep it if you move the fence?

[John Coloccia]

Getting the fence to 90 is a little bit fiddly. Once it's there, it stays. I don't ever move it to anything but 90, so it's okay for me. If I was moving it around all the time, it would irritate me. I didn't even bother settings the "stops" as I found them to be useless for precision work. I set it, torqued it down, and don't touch it. I do check every now and then, but it's held.

[Alex Silva]

i use mag switches to add more strength to the aluminium rail of my Hammer JP

[Curt Harms]

Getting the fence to 90 is a little bit fiddly. Once it's there, it stays. I don't ever move it to anything but 90, so it's okay for me. If I was moving it around all the time, it would irritate me. I didn't even bother settings the "stops" as I found them to be useless for precision work. I set it, torqued it down, and don't touch it. I do check every now and then, but it's held.

The fence is different than the traditional jointer fence but it seems to hold its setting while being moved. I've checked mine different times and it has held its setting. I did modify the tilt setting mechanism. If you search using my name and 30 days posts, you can find it if interested.

[Joseph Tarantino]

i can't comment on this particular tool, but if dealer support is one of the considerations swaying your choice, i'd proceed with caution. my dealings with two separate authorized jet dealers were, to be kind, disappointing. and if you experience any problems with a WMH tool group product that involves anything other than replacing a faulty part, you are on your own. although polite and well intentioned, my experience with their technical support staff has been decidedly below average. i own one jet product that is approaching acceptable performance with the assistance of non-WMH tool sources and i will never purchase another one.

[John Coloccia]

My experience is exactly the opposite. I had an outfeed table that was out of tolerance. They didn't have another outfeed to send me in stock, so they sent me a brand new machine. They also replaced the conveyor table on my sander when we couldn't get it to track. And then he sent me a "Jet Truck" toy that I gave to my local Woodcraft, and they gave to one of the local kids and made their day. So my experience with them has actually been pretty good.

[Joseph Tarantino]

john, that supports my previous comments. they are well intentioned and polite, but they are only good at replacing defective parts/tools. i am encouraged to hear they addressed your issues, but i assume your experience was for tools that were still under warranty? my experience relates to a tool that is out of warranty where the parts all work but the tool needs to be adjusted to factory specs. and their dealers' service abilities, at least the two i dealt with, were limited to acting solely as "new parts installers". where they are seriously lacking, in my experience, is in the skill and experience necessary to facilitate optimizing the performance of a tool. they are weak at the tune up aspect of their tech support and, again, in my experience, woefully inadequate in tech support communuication. so my comments are not addressing WMH customer service. they are addressing my opinion that their dealer and tech support are inadequate and that anyone contemplating a purchase and hoping to rely on either of these for support could be in for a disappointing experience.