Jet 18" bandsaw motor upgrade

[steve rose]

Well I decided to downsize my shop. Out with the 5 hp MM 20 and in with the Jet 18" 1 3/4 hp. This is a piece of junk in comparison. I want to up the motor hp to a 3. Im trying to save money and dont want to spend to much for a factory Jet 3 hp. Any suggestions on motors that can be used I could pick up used? Any help is appriciated.

[Joseph Tarantino]

no help on the motor issue, just a sympathetic lament on 18" jet band saws. had a "used off CL" 18" unit that i got for $40 (no typo) and when the opportunity to sell it and replace it with a rikon 10-340 came along, i jumped at it. rikon offers owners motor upgrades for what appear to be reasonable prices. i'm pretty sure jet doesn't do that. good luck with your search. what do the vaunted jet customer service and technical support areas offer in the way of assistance?

[James Conrad]

I think you are going to wish you hadn't done that. The Jet's don't have that much smaller of a foot print than the MM20, you may want to rethink this one since you are already trying to upgrade the Jet before getting it in the door.

[Curt Harms]

I think that if you look at the Jet motor's data plate, you'll find a field called"Frame" with some numbers in it. I hadn't noticed how the Jet motor mounts but I suspect it just bolts to the saw's frame with bolts through the saw into the motor. That's called a "C" frame afaik. If you can find a new motor with the same frame, it should mount fine. Here is a site with different style motors. The Leeson "C" frame is about 2/3 of the way down.
http://electricmotorwarehouse.com/woodwork_motors.htm

[steve rose]

Thank you for the advice

I think that if you look at the Jet motor's data plate, you'll find a field called"Frame" with some numbers in it. I hadn't noticed how the Jet motor mounts but I suspect it just bolts to the saw's frame with bolts through the saw into the motor. That's called a "C" frame afaik. If you can find a new motor with the same frame, it should mount fine. Here is a site with different style motors. The Leeson "C" frame is about 2/3 of the way down.
http://electricmotorwarehouse.com/woodwork_motors.htm

[ken carroll]

I wonder why the Jet 18" is so disliked? I have one with I think a 1-1/hp motor and Euro guides and like it a lot. I can resaw very thinly if need be, and don't find the 10" or so resaw depth a limitation.
Power seems adequate.

I did see a magazine test where it got poor marks for backbone stiffness, which I thought was a pretty irrelevant test for a bandsaw. Adjusting the lower guides is a hassle but that's true with a lot of machines.

What's the problem with it?

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I agree. I have enjoyed my saw. Most say it cannot properly tension wide bands. They are probably right. But I am happy with a 1/2" band. I also think a product can easily get a bad reputation that is hard to shake in the digital age.

That being said I agree with the poster who said a 20" BS doesn't take up significantly more room then an 18"!
Happy saw'n!
Salem

[Joseph Tarantino]

I wonder why the Jet 18" is so disliked? I have one with I think a 1-1/hp motor and Euro guides and like it a lot. I can resaw very thinly if need be, and don't find the 10" or so resaw depth a limitation.
Power seems adequate.

I did see a magazine test where it got poor marks for backbone stiffness, which I thought was a pretty irrelevant test for a bandsaw. Adjusting the lower guides is a hassle but that's true with a lot of machines.

What's the problem with it?

i would reply to this, but i don't want to hijack this thread. pm me and i'll gladly fill you in on the issues i had with mine.

[Chris Parks]

I don't get why it is so disliked either. Mine has been more than satisfactory but it could do with a bigger motor if I were inclined.

[steve rose]

Ya kow I just resiized my Tri Master bands for my new Jet 18". Its not a bad saw. I made a hefty living In the early 90s with a Delta 12" toy from home Depot. It did what I needed to do. It depends on how hard you try. The problem with me is that the first real saw I bought was my MM 20". After you run a real quality Italian machine you can understand the difference. The motor power and the shear weight of the flywheels. Once you get the MM 20 going its like Ferrari has built a tank. There is no give in the saw whatsoever. There is a HUGE difference. It all comes down to your needs and your pocket book. I just really didnt need a Ferarri parked in my garage. I never drove it. Happy sawing.

[Dave Lehnert]

For the ones who dislike their JET 18" saw. Is it the old style or the newer triangular-design frame ?

[David Weaver]

There are two old styles. Pre-X, and X series.

I have an X series, and I like it OK (I have no 220 option in my shop). It's a $1070 saw, that's what I gave for it new, works on dinkyplug electric.

It does not like the 1" carbide resaw band that I got for it, though, which is too bad. I haven't tensioned it quite up to the 1 1/2" max on the machine, but that's probably at least what it would take for it to tension that band for resaw use. tensioned at the 1" setting, it just wanders all over the place.

The pre-X got a lot of bad press because of a magazine article, and there were probably a lot of people who never knew they had a problem using their saw for light duty work who all of the sudden decided it was no good because someone else told them it wasn't.

15 years ago, or 12 years ago or whatever, there weren't really too many great 18" saws on the market, at least not like the explosion of decent saws in recent history.

[Chip Lindley]

Keep that MM 20 if you have not already sold it! Why mess with success???
~~Chip~~

[Joseph Tarantino]

For the ones who dislike their JET 18" saw. Is it the old style or the newer triangular-design frame ?

my 18" jet was a square column. it was hard to figure out which was worse, the saw or the company that sold it. it was my first, and last, jet tool.

[Chris Parks]

my 18" jet was a square column. it was hard to figure out which was worse, the saw or the company that sold it. it was my first, and last, jet tool.

My experience was polar opposite, the tool is great and so is the service. Just for a balanced view of course.