Thread: New Combo Jointer/Thicknesser

I have the JET JPT310-HH. It works, it makes timber square and straight. I bought it because they actually had some idea about the extra power needed to plane timber with helical heads and as such had reduced the thicknesser feed speed to 3.5m/min from 7m/min. and i didnt like the look of lifting the infeed table and outfeed table independently of one another like on some other machines.

setting the tables to be coplanar to each other and the outfeed to be appropriately set to the cutter head isnt great. but it does allow you to move the tables around on all planes, so there is no reliance on perfect engineering from the manufacturing plant. mine came pretty close to coplanar and the cutterhead was close to the outfeed table height. was a nice gesture that they tried i guess. once the tables are set, you can lock them down tight, though im not sure this is what they intended. i tightened down two bolts which seems to me should be left adjustable...but that just allows the table to lose its position...my jointer tables remember there locations pretty well.

the thicknesser table was perfect for me out of the box. no side to side variance (well...maybe 0.1mm, but im only planing timber, not a V8 engine).

some bad stuff that I got with mine. the drive chain which drives the head and rollers was installed in the factory without enough tension. it slipped off after a few meters. easy to fix. just a /rolleyes moment at the guys in the factory.
both the jointer tables and thicknesser table was very poorly machined. imagine a table designed to have timber slide over it with ease when the surface is similar to 180/240grit sandpaper. I smoothed it down and it doesnt give me any issues with feeding the timber now.
the jointer fence is very flimsy. a real pos. i knew this before i bought it. i figured i would just set it in one position on the table, make it perfectly straight and square to the tables and never move it. this is exactly what i have done and it works for me.

once it is all setup properly, it is easy to use and gives good enough results. the only thing that annoys the hell outta me is the 3.5m/min feed rate coupled with the limited ability to take deep cuts in tough timber. this is a very expensive 'toy' machine. suitable for hobby and light commercial work.

Thanks Kuffy,

That is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. It will help me to make the decision when the time comes.