14" bandsaw advice

[Randy Hermann]

I'd love to know your thoughts on the Jet after a few months use....

[James Biddle]

Randy, I sold the Jet. After the bandsaw tune-up class, we got our older Minimax MM16 running so well, we decided we didn't need two bandsaws in the shop (set up with different blades for resew and general cutting). That left us with a 7 year-old MM16 and the new Jet for me to take home to my garage.

We'd tuned both of those at the class as well. The class instructor commented that the Jet was much nicer than he expected. He was able to square the table to the blade and blade to the miter slot pretty easily, get a 1/2" blade tracking perfectly in the center of the upper wheel, and correct for drift (in about 45 min). He wasn't a fan of the guides, but since they are easily replaced, I don't consider them important in the decision process. He was able to tune it to the point of following a curve or straight line with one hand, which was better than I can do on any saw.

Personally, I really like having a foot brake on a bandsaw and the Jet did not have that. I opted to keep the MM16, but I had no issues with the Jet whatsoever and would still recommend it.