JET 13-Inch Planer/Molder, 3 HSS Knives, 1-1/2 HP, 1Ph 115/230V (JPM-13CS)

I wanted to add a planer to my small garage shop, but I had limited space for it. I decided I didn't want a bench top planer so I looked for something in between those and the heavier duty (15" and up) models. For context I make custom doors and windows for historical/older homes. I havent used it to do any molding and have strictly used it to plane down rough stock after jointing two edges. It has performed perfectly after adjusting both internal infeed and outfeed rollers according to the manual. A little tip; go ahead and make the setup blocks and keep them for future adjustments. Also adjust the external support rollers (which are sold separately, but I highly recommend) with a good straight edge, and check them periodically. If either roller pair is off it will exaggerate snipe. Doing these setup steps properly will ensure that you get nice results. I suggest the external rollers because the table (not the cutter head) is moved up and down with each pass. If you plan to use one of your shop feed rollers you will need to continuously adjust it for every adjustment made at the planer. 4" dust collection is a must with this machine, although the airflow makes it operate at higher decibels. After now using it for almost a year I can say with confidence that it is a strong performer. I haven't even sharpened the knives and it produces an excellent finish, very little chatter or waves. I still send everything through the Jet 16-32 drum sander after it comes out of the planer, but I can use fine paper to get the desired finish. There is a spiral cutter head available for this unit, but I don't really see the need unless you work with figured/pattern woods. I really like the integrated locking casters for mobility, a must for a small shop. Its mobile, but its very solid/stable when working with long and heavy pieces. This is not going to outperform the 220V 15-20 inch planers on the market, but it will beat the pants off all the bench top models. Overall it fits nicely into a small niche between the two extremes. I can't comment on the molder functionality, but it is a nice feature to have for the future. Jet and Grizzly molder knives will fit this machine based on the limited research I did before I purchased mine.

Came damaged not allowed to say more if I want to get this to be allowed.

The unit has a severe feed problem requiring me to push material through the machine. I checked the alignment of the rollers which were set to factory specs. I readjusted the in feed and out feed rollers to provide more pressure. That improved performance but not entirely.

I've been in the market for a planer for my small woodworking business. So, I have been comparing the various brands out there. It seems that all the planers are now only made by a few companies. The changes between brands are mostly cosmetic. Even the favorite brand of a lot of woodworkers, Powermatic is made over seas now. So I could not justify the extra cost. This Jet planner I bought is the same,one the Grizzley tools sells. But it has a few options that I preferred over the simular Grizzley. The Jet has a enclosed stand, and does not need to be assembled. The Jet has a built in castor wheels. You have to buy a seperate rolling stand for the other planer. And,finally with free shipping not just to my house, but brought into my shop... the Jet was the better value. As for set up and operation. All I basically had to do was install the lowering/lifting crank, and install and properly adjust the infeed and outfeed extensions. It took me less than a hour to get up and cutting. I had no snipe on long boards and when I checked for level of the cutting surface with my dial calipers, the difference was only .01 from one end to the other. Also with the 2 separate feed rates and the three cutting knives. The finish on my lumber was more than adequate. As for noise... this this is not nearly as loud as my 20 year old benchtop planner with the universal motor. Size wise this planner is very compact, and does not take up much space In my shop. It would be nice if there were some handles to move the planner around, but I can live with that. I am planning on getting some moulding knives in the future, so I will update my review after setting them up.

I do like this planer but have not had a lot of time to get down dirty with it. What little time I have had with it I do have some complaints and why I don't give it 5 stars. First it is very difficult to see how much I am taking off of a board when first starting to make a cut. My old Ridgid had a gauge when you stuck the board in you could see how deep of a cut you were making on a board. the only other issue I have seen is I get chunks ripped out of thin lumber I am trying to plane. I plane mainly for resawn lumber and this is an issue with me. I am going to try to use carpet tape and a support board to see if it prevents this. It could also be the blade just causes a vacuum on the board or I need to run at the lower speed for molding. Will try these when I get to my next project. The good it the planer is much quitter than my Ridgid. I like that it came all assembled except for the table extensions and handle. It has much more power than my old planer and the dust collection seems to be better too. The wheels on the base make it easy to move and clean around. I do wish it had supports on top for placing planed boards to pass through again. i have a small shop and have no place to set these boards as I prepare to run them through for another cut. I will probably build some kind of stand on top for this.

I ordered this machine for two reasons. 1. To plane boards and 2. to make molding. I run a small cabinet shop and thought it would be nice to have the second ability. The planer performs its function as a planer poorly at best. There is very evident snipe on both ends of the boards that pass through. Being that this was the primary function of this machine in my shop it was very disappointing. After more than a dozen adjustments per the manufactures manual, through experimentation, and the recomendation (singular) of Jet tech support it could not be adjusted out. After further inspection it was found that the planer's table actualy had 1/32nd to a 1/16th of an inch movement vertically on the infeed end and outfeed end. I figure that is the reason for the snipe on every pass. The other major disappointment of this purchase is Jet technical support. Don't bother calling them for help. I asked about the snipe problem and they answered "yeah, all of these machines do that". When they were told about the movement in the table they had no response and had to go find an engineer to find an answer. I had no response in 3 days, and had to call them back to try to get an answer. But there was no answer except that the guy who knew about this was away from his desk and they would need to call me back. This was 2 days ago. Maybe I received a machine that was built on Friday right before quiting time? I would not recommend buying this machine to anyone at this point. If you want a planer, buy a planer. If you want a molder, buy a molder. But don't buy this planer/molder.

Its alright if you are planing wood that is not very wide, other than that it doesn't feed well and you have to push it the whole time. I have tried taking less, adjusting rollers, etc.

Very nice unit for the price. I have run about 200 Bdft of rough sawmill cut curly cherry through it today with minor problems. The finish cut was impressive and the feed it positive with little or no binding. I would suggest grinding a small chamfer on the front edge of the feed table if you will be feeding rough cut mill lumber. The rough surface can cause minor catching on the sharp lead edge of the table. I also note a noticeable vibration that comes and goes. Investigation narrowed this down to the drive belts that start to oscillate in and out as it runs. Belt tension seems OK, so I am going allow in to run in the belts before I pursue this further. In either case, this does not affect the operation or the quality of the cut, but could affect bearing wear over time. Given the length of the belt, an idler wheel might be a good idea or perhaps a segmented belt. All in all I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend this unit for small shops, jobbers and serious home woodworkers. Hope this helps...j Have run several hundred board Ft now, belts have worked in and vibration is gone. The more I use this unit the more I like it, good purchase. The leading edge chamfer has ended the binding on rough lumber. I have it on a separate 20 amp circuit. It pops the breaker on start up, Found that if you leave it plugged in this problem goes away all together, must be a start up cap or something. With the problems gone I would up it to 5 stars...