An Inexpensive and Space Efficient Combination Jointer/Planer

We are a Jet dealer at my job, and I always wondered how well these little machines worked! Great review!

-- Matt, Houston Texas

Nice review : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Great review Tom, thank you.

-- Powered by Smith & Wilson~~~

Not the exact model I keep drooling over, but I totally understand wanting a combination machine… I have been drooling over the JJP-12… It is good to hear an actual owners perspective instead of the magazines….

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

Thanks for the review. It’s nice that they make tools like these for people like you that get a multipurpose tool.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I too was thinking about buying this machine and talked to a Jet rep and he said Do not by this machine they were having a ton of issues with the beds being coplanner and there was no adjustment for this machine I guess they got that figured out… Glad it worked out for you…

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

That is cool. I have never seen that one before.

I imagine that it would be perfectly suited to a shop the size of yours.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

neat

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

thanks for the review – this looks like it might work pretty well for me further on down the road.

how have the size constraints of this little bugger gone for you? that is, the 8” for jointing is good, but the tables are short, and 8” is kind of narrow for a planer. what say you?

AaronK: There have been a few times when a wider planer would have been helpful. Often after I glue up some boards side to side, even with cauls, the result may be cupped or not perfectly aligned. With a wide planer it might be possible to run it through and solve the problem. I generally resort to hand tools (e.g., hand plane, scraper, sand paper). So, I try to be really careful when I do this kind of glue up.

There is a 10” version of this product as well. It cost a bit more and takes up a bit more space. But, it might be helpful at times.

Tom

Thnaks for the review—I have the 10” being delivered on monday and hope that I have as much luck with it as you seem to have had

Jeff

-- Jeff - Dayton, OH

Thanks for the preview!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

I too have the 8” version after having debated over the 10”. I tested mine out on some purpleheart and it worked great. I too thought it was limiting to have a narrow planer, but I’ll be working with boards less than 8”, so it really doesn’t matter. Infeed/outfeed could be longer, but is suiting my purpose so far. All in all, I’m more than happy with my purchase since I get unsurfaced white oak and ash for free.

having a small 8 in jointer is good but a 8in planner is to small for me

-- kosta brownsville brooklyn my home

thanks for the review. I was thinking about the 10” model. I have a 12 inch planer (Delta tp-305) with only the bare essentials. Haven’t used it yet. I was thinking the 10” Jet jointer would match up will with the Delta and I would also have the Jet 10” planer. Point being, I’ve looked at 6” jointers and eveyone tells me to go bigger— like 8 inch. But those machines are 220V so I need to run electrical…. this Jet is still 110v at 10”.

But then, everyone tells me to go with long infeed tables which this jet doesn’t have… HELP… I think I am going in circles over this stuff…

-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPFfmGO2dxs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdPT4Qdg8mo

Here is a two part video that is on youtube. It features the 10” Jet jointer/planer. Like I stated earlier, I have the 8” and it is working great. It was easy to set up and use out of the box. I had very little snipe. Yes, the planer is only as wide as the jointer, but it works great. The switch over between the two tools takes a few minutes, but is very simple. Plus, I have to share my “shop” with two vehicles, so you can’t be the capabilities of an 8” jointer in a compact tool. In the video, the infeed and outfeed isn’t any bigger in the 10” compared to the 8”.

Overall, I’m more than happy to be able to surface my own lumber in my garage with this tool. Most of my tools are portable or bench top models. As my space grows, so will my stationary tool collection (the 12” Jet jointer/planer makes me drool).

Man I’d buy anything Charles Neil tells me to :)

Wasn’t that the guy who did the video about a dovetail saw jig you make yourself from a chop saw…”Smart Tails” he called them?

Might have to get me one of these…

-- Oakland, CA

Thanks for a great review. I was looking at this today and I thought it would be a good purchase for my shop. It is on the small side like yours. With the free shipping offer from Jet, really can’t beat the price.

-- Fish 22, South River, NJ

Good review Tom, thank you for sharing. I recently bought this model. There is a way to make both the outfeed and infeed tables coplanar. There are two bolts that can be removed to form a pivot point for adjusting the outfeed side. Jet does not include these in the initial instructions but will email a diagram to you if you contact them. I had a bear of a time with chatter when I first bought the model and I attempted to readjust the knives probably a hundred times until the coplanar issue was explained to me. I agree with you on the knives and have had some success using Freud 8” blades instead of the Jet blades. Jet only recommends their own brand though. I did experience some issues with blade movement on mine. I think it is because of the stand I had it on and the fact it was sitting on a cement floor. The vibration can be pretty heavy and I think that is the culprit behind some of the bolts loosening. I did get some smooth cuts with it and I can’t complain about the end result of the boards.

-- There is little that is simple when it comes to making a simple box.

Hi David. I also got the information on adjusting the outfeed table and have not had any problems since.
Can you tell me more about which Freud blades you used and how they worked for you? Thanks.

Tom