JET - JJP-12 Planer/Jointer combo (Rating: 4)

Here are several pics of the Jet planer/jointer combo machine in planer mode. Conversion from jointer to planer is really very easy. Loosen 2 lever locks, lift the beds ( which move in one piece with fence), swing dust shroud into planing position, then finally activate the feed rollers. The only time consuming part (20-30 seconds) is raising the bed up to desired position. The bed has to be lowered to about 6 inches for the dust port to clear, so to plane 1 inch stock, you have to raise the bed 5 inches or so. The bed was not quite parallel to the knives from the factory, but easy to adjust to plane to a uniform thickness. Dust collection was very poor initially, until I learned that my 5HP cyclone tends to pull closed an internal baffle, but after placing a small bolt to hold the baffle in place, the dust and chip collection is excellent even taking very thick passes. Given the time for raising the bed, the dust collection issue, and the fact that the planer is only 12 inches wide, I gave the planer mode a 4 out of 5, but actual function seems to be a 5 out of 5, no snipe and a very uniform surface.

This machine is a quantum leap from my Dewalt 735 planer (much, much quieter) and my Jet 6 inch jointer. I really appreciate the space savings (both the space of the machine itself and the required work space around it for stock to pass). I feel that is an excellent value at around $2000, as I would have never justified the cost of a 12 inch stand alone jointer, but some might argue that a 12 inch planer is on the small size.

Overall, I am very happy with this addition to the shop.