Jet Band Saw on sale

Warren White

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51
Location
Livermore CA (SF Bay Area)
Woodcraft has this band saw on sale now, and with the "March Madness" discount, I figure it will be about $425.00. Either figure (with or without the additional discount) is about what my budget will allow.

It is the Jet JWBS-14CS.

Three questions: If you have this saw, what are your opinions? Should I buy the riser as an option? What additional upgrades should I consider in the future?
 

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Before getting my MM16 that was the BS I used to have except the color change to white happened about 2-3 yrs after I bought mine (blue).
The other gizmos I had on mine were the riser kit, mobile base, Carter guides, magnetic base light, and Mark Duginske fence. IMHO the light is an absolute must. The mobile base too depending on your shop setup. If you're thinkiing at all of doing the riser kit - do it now before you get any money invested in blades. I've got mixed feelings on the riser kit though. I bought it with hopes of doing more resawing but just didn't have a lot of success doing that on anything higher than the non-riser block height. I know others DO claim good results, but I wasn't happy. Anything higher than about 6" and I started getting barreled or angled cuts. The Highland Hardware Woodslicer blades work very well with that saw.
 
I have that exact saw. LOVE it. L O V E it.

Riser? It CAN cut 12" thick with the riser, it may do it slowly. The right blade's a big deal there. But if you think you might need to cut thicker stuff fairly frequently and a taller saw isn't in the budget, get the riser now before you buy a bunch of 93 1/2" blades.

Accessories. Get the cool blocks. Roller bearings sound nice, but on small blades they're actually more trouble than chunks of wood. I'd rather have cool blocks than bearings.

Fence - you'll probably want a fence at some point. You can buy one, or you can build one. I built one and don't really mind if it gets chewed up or not.

Mobile base - If you need the room - this saw moves around nicely.

Zero Clearance Inserts - I haven't taken the time to make up ZCI's for my saw, i found some UHMW ones from PS Wood and they work nicely.

Tension Release - If it doesn't have a tension release arm, you can spend $150 to buy the Carter one from woodcraft. Or... You could hit up PS Wood for their replacement crank with a nice handle. It's not quite as nifty as the release arm, but it's really easy to just uncrank 5 turns and re-crank 5 turns. I'd argue that it's probably faster than fussing with the arm, myself. Plus, it's only like $35.

BLADES - I'm a die-hard Timberwolf fan. I also would never buy them from woodcraft. They charge almost twice what you can find 'em for from PS Wood or Suffolk Machine.

Blade Lube - if you do lotsa curved work, blade lube's handy to have.

Table Wax - good ole Johnson's Paste Wax will keep the rust away and lower the friction on that table.

Link Belt - I haven't done it yet, but i'm starting to consider replacing the belt that comes with this saw with a snazzy link belt. This is the only belted tool I have that I haven't done this with and probably will switch it out eventually. Just one less chance for vibration.

220v Plug - Since this saw CAN be wired for 220, I'd suggest you do. You may not notice much difference in performance (unless your circuits are loaded already), but it'll keep the motor running somewhat cooler and that can't but help it last longer :)

Dust collection - this is a real bear for these saws. Make sure the model you buy is the newer version with a 4" dust port right in the lower casting. The previous versions of this saw has a dinky non-standard plastic port screwed to the lower door that takes a 2" port down to about 1/2"x1" - useless as....

Tire Brush - Carter has this little $6 brush you can mount inside the lower cavity to rub on the bottom wheel. It keeps the dust off and helps keep that thing running true. I have found it's a little too light for my liking and will probably end up going to a tooth brush or something with some stiffer bristles instead.

I think that's all I can think of for now .... hehe.

Oh, folding the blades - real easy way to do it: You shouldn't need gloves for this operation. Lay the blade, teeth down, on your bench. Now step up to it so it meets your belly. Grab it with both hands, a little away from center (a little more than shoulder widths apart) with your palms meeting the flat side of the blade. Now lift the blade up off the bench, not tilting, just carry it. Like a hoola-hoop. Find a nice overhanging corner somewhere (The corner of yer bench, perhaps) and set the far edge of the blade (opposite your belly) under that corner and gently lift - like you're bending it. This will guide your hands toward the middle and you'll eventually have a taco. Walk foreward until you're about a foot from that corner and the blade will basically fold itself. DO NOTHING BUT SUPPORT THE WEIGHT WITH YOUR HANDS. You shouldn't have to exert much force at all, the blade will essentially do it's own thing here.

I wish I could find a video demonstrating this technique. Graham Blackburn shows it at some of the Woodworking shows from time to time and it's by far the easest way to fold a blade. :)

You're gonna like this saw :)
 
Sounds like a good price. :thumb: I don't have the Jet but I have a very similar Shop Fox, and I'll add in my suggestion to get the riser block. Even if you're not planning to do a lot of (or any) resawing, over time you will find times when that extra 6" is real handy.

Cutting 1 600.jpg Cutting 3 600.jpg

I like the Timberwolf blades (I get mine from Suffolk) for green wood, but the 1/2" Woodslicer from Highland Hardware is my choice for straight smooth cuts.
 
Doug, Jason and Vaughn

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. Jason, you really went the extra mile with your reply; I will give careful consideration to each suggestion. What do you suggest for blade lube?

I appreciated Vaughn's and Jason's suggestions of Timberwolf and Woodslicer blades. I went on the web sites and there are lots of choices. If you were to recommend a couple of blades for general use, what would they be?

I have decided to go with the riser, and I am looking for a mobile base. The link belt seems like a good idea as well.

Vaughn, I liked the pictures you added. It looks like you have made a homemade fence (or at least modified an existing fence). I would be interested in any details you might provide.

Again, thank you all. I really appreciate the time you took to enlighten a newbie regarding his first band saw.

Warren
 
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