Power and production are what you get with this beauty of a planer from Jet. The 3 horsepower, single-phase, 230-volt motor gives you 5,000 rpm for a total of 20,000 cuts per minute via the four-knife cutterhead, turning raw lumber into smooth, ready-to-work boards in minutes. Professionals will love this planer’s fantastic capacity, with a full 20 inches of width and 6 inches under the cutterhead and a full-width max depth of cut of 3/32-inch.
The gear box has two feed speeds, easily set by pulling out or pushing in a lever while the planer is running. There are three rugged steel infeed rollers that grab hold of the stock for you, paired with three rubber outfeed rollers that won’t mar your piece. Anti-kickback fingers operate by gravity, keeping stock from being thrown back at you.
A large handwheel makes depth changes an easy task, turning smoothly and moving the table surface is .059" with each complete revolution. Yes, the table surface. Instead of the cutterhead coming down to the work, the work moves up to the stationary cutterhead. It seemed a bit unconventional, but the end result is flawless, so we have no beef with it, except for the fact that it makes difficult the job of building auxiliary feed tables. The depth scale is clear and legible, marked in increments of 1/16-inch. We like the sturdy return rollers mounted on top, giving you a great place to rest the stock and giving your arms and back a break on the trip back to the infeed side.
This is a beautifully made machine, with the fit and finish you’d expect in this price category, form the one-piece welded base to the serrated infeed rollers and the glass-like table surface. To keep the tables pristine, you’ll want to apply talcum power with a blackboard eraser once a week – use plenty of elbow grease. The table will stay slick and protected, and your workpieces won’t pick up any discoloration from the powder.
This is a dream planer for the home woodworker, and it will be the staple in any professional’s workshop. Well done, Jet.--Kris Jensen-Van Heste
What's in the Box
Includes 24-volt magnetic controls, four high-speed steel knives, dust hood, extension rollers, two-speed gearbox, return rollers, knife-setting gauge, and one-piece welded base
