JET 13-Inch Benchtop Planer, Helical Style, 18/26 FPM, 120V 1Ph (Model JWP-13BT)

The media could not be loaded. Feb, 2023 There are 26 cutting heads on a six sided spindle, secured by 52 hex head bolts. I spent almost two hours replacing all of them. The 26 cutters are arranged in 6 groups of 5,4,4,5,4,4. Rockler now sells carbide cutting heads in pkgs. of 10 at a cost of 30% more than the steel heads.This is an update to a previous review of the Jet Planer.When the machine was new it could plane teak stock with ease on a 15 amp breaker because the knives were sharp and perfectly aligned. After using it for a day or two the rubber feed rollers had trouble pulling the stock through the cutting head and the 15 amp fuse began to blow repeatedly. The stock was also being pulled in at an angle where when the knives were sharp the stock went through straight.To fix the problem, I switched to a circuit with a 20 amp breaker and used the included hex tool to unscrew and rotate all of the knives 180 degrees. (The knives are reversible and have two cutting edges.) This returned the machine to its original condition and it planed teak as it did when I first took it out of the box.I attached a video showing the six sides of the cutting spindle and the way the knives are attached to it. Unscrewing and rotating all of the knives took me an hour. There are also pictures of the crank that adjusts the cutting head up and down and a picture of the wheel that makes it possible to precisely adjust the thickness of the finished board.Final thoughts on the Jet Planer. This is a good tool that has sub standard steel knives. It works longer on soft wood than it does on teak. But for my teak planning jobs it is only good for small projects. For about $180 I can buy a full set of knives, but it takes an hour to install them. Carbide knives are not available. The De Walt planer does have carbides blades available.

The media could not be loaded. I was astounded at the ease that this planer (& helix blades) dressed my 2x10 ash lumber. I have a 16” floor planer (220v) but needed a smaller planer. This bench-top unit out performs my larger planer hands down. Helix blades eliminate the sniping and chipping of grain seen with standard straight blades, plus there’s less down time due to blade sharpening. Also, this planer is MUCH quieter. Lastly, the dressed lumber requires very little sanding. I should have made this purchase long ago.Update June 2024. Still 5 Stars. I’ve routinely ran lumber 12” wide x 12 feet long, including Ash, Oak, Mahogany & Maple. The planer performs exceptionally (despite my lack of consistent maintenance). It is important to secure the planer and provide solid level surfaces for inbound/outbound feeds.

The planer was working great until it wasn’t. I was planing a bunch of wood but not aggressively. I make shallow passes so I don’t get any tear out. Anyway, I’m using the planer last week, turned it off to gather my next group of boards, flipped the switch and nothing. Resent the breaker and nothing. I would like to think that the “quality” that Jet touts would last longer than 8 months. I had an inexpensive Wen planer that I used for 5 plus years that worked great- apparently I never shouldv’e gotten rid of it. Extremely disappointed.

Plastic housing and motor housing have cracks.Runs well. Tables level.

Not much setup at all before I did my first small job. I’m ready to tackle a larger job in the near future.

Bought this to replace an old Delta bench-top planer. I think the spiral design with segmented cutters reduces tear-out and provides a smoother cut. It also creates much smaller chips, which should minimize clogging. I've been using it to plane 12' lengths of white oak and it has pulled the boards through with ease. There is some snipe at the beginning and end of the boards, but that is to be expected on pieces that long and heavy. The chip chute did a great job of directing the chips to the dust collector.

Poor quality. The motor struggles to pull any wood through

Works great, bit of trouble setting up the in- and out- feeds. Very happy.