Jet-JWBS-18 bandsaw-Is $1100 to much?

[BoPerry]

Have the opportunity to purchase this for $1100 any thoughts? Pictures are not great but it looks really good except for the light rust on the table and dust.

 

[Oka]

Sorta Yes & No

If it has a brake then yes, not bad, but some Jets have play in the upper arm that holds the guide so go through it to make sure it is in good shape. Should have a 3 + hp motor. The tires should be decent. Really depends. But Jet as a whole can be awesome or kinda flaky, their QC is inconsistent.
I have a 14" and need to change to Carter guides to get the saw tuned correctly. So +200 bucks, but now the saw is very nice.

 

[Roy G]

What does a new one cost?

Roy G

 

[Martin Roper]

This is a newer version with a 1-3/4 hp motor instead of the 1-1/2 hp one shown above.

To move up to a 3 hp capable of heavy-duty resawing you'd have to pay quite a bit more:

 

[Whitfield]

For what it's worth, I have the older model of this saw (blue body) and I found it to be shockingly underpowered. Even after really tuning it, the machine was worthless for resawing. I bought a 3hp Harvey 615 for resaw work and put a 1/4 inch blade on the Jet, which I kept for cutting curves. That said, the newer models may be better. But if this is to be your only bandsaw, I'd consider holding out for a machine with more oomph.

 

[Oka]

Get a Harvey 3hp 14 in saw 15-1800 depending on the sale. Nice saw has the safety features you will like... just a nice unit

 

[merrill77]

I sold my Jet 16" for >$1000 a little over a year ago. That included accessories and blades (incl 1" carbide Resaw King). Maybe that helps in terms of deciding what the market says.

But to echo the sentiments above, the 1.5hp was a little underpowered to resaw at the saw's capacity. I sold the Jet to buy a 3hp Harvey 615. It is a far superior saw, IMO.

 

[SabertoothBunny]

Because of the work to restore/clean it I would pay max $1,000. Semantics in the end but this isn't a bad price at $1,100.

 

[Wiley's Woodworks]

1 3/4 hp to power 18" cast iron wheels is a mismatch. Oka is right: a large capacity band saw (14" and up) should at least have a 3 hp motor running on 220v current. The model you're looking at will bog down when you try to resaw boards more than 6" wide.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

check the guides. Those look different than my Jet 18 had originally. Mine had bearing guides and they were terrible. I replaced with Carter which are excellent. Also the Jet fence is not much to write home about. I have not found a good replacement.

 

[Echd]

I really wish I had bought a 220V bandsaw instead of a 110. At the time I wasn't wired for it. Now I feel the regret whenever I do a mediocre job of resawing something. I have a laguna 1412 and for curved cuts and tasks other than resaw it is fine, but if you have a bandsaw you're going to need to resaw.

Don't be like me.

 

[Hmerkle]

I really wish I had bought a 220V bandsaw instead of a 110. At the time I wasn't wired for it. Now I feel the regret whenever I do a mediocre job of resawing something. I have a laguna 1412 and for curved cuts and tasks other than resaw it is fine, but if you have a bandsaw you're going to need to resaw.

Don't be like me.

Can't you upgrade your motor or wire the current one for 220?

 

[Hmerkle]

check the guides. Those look different than my Jet 18 had originally. Mine had bearing guides and they were terrible. I replaced with Carter which are excellent. Also the Jet fence is not much to write home about. I have not found a good replacement.

Did you look at the Kreg fence? Opinions?

 

[Echd]

Probably, but if I went to those lengths I'd just get a 3HP 18".

 

[rcarmac]

I have this same saw. The guides are discontinued. It is under powered if you are really putting it through some heavy resaw. I haven’t really had any issue with the power, but I am also not resawing 18” tall stuff. So it depends on what you are planning to do with it. For general use and some moderate resaw, I think it’s fine.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Did you look at the Kreg fence? Opinions?

I have thought about the Kreg, and Magfence just have not made the plunge. I built a wooden fence that fits over the Jet one for resawing. That seems to work.
The most useful accessory is the Bow products item for resawing.

 

[tvrgeek]

Get a Harvey 3hp 14 in saw 15-1800 depending on the sale. Nice saw has the safety features you will like... just a nice unit

Another vote for the C14. But, if you do a lot of resaw and want to run a 1 inch carbide tip band, then you want the 18 incher. if resawing, 3 HP for sure. I tried to resaw some 6 inch red oak on a little table top. It would cut but I don't think I could live ling enough. Harvey just chomps through it. I did some 8 inch Purple heart. Worked but was enough to kill the blade.
You can't ( or at least I can't) set once and forget as drift changes with tooth wear.