Thread: JET or RYOBI thicknesser

I have the Jet unit and have been fairly happy with it. Unfortunately I don't have a good location for it so it often ends up on the floor, or on the edge of a bench, which is less than ideal and makes me curse every time I use it but it is more to do with my set up than the unit itself.

Its a noisy bugger but does a good enough job. Ideally I would have liked to have gone a larger unit but I have been happy using it over the years.

I think that many machines are made in the same factory. Whilst people will comment that they have different specifications, or quality checking I am not so convinced. I would have thought that a Jet machine would tend to hold its value better than a Ryobi unit. It might just be me but I don't pay attention to Ryobi when searching for secondhand tools on Gumtree but I stop and have a look at anything Jet. I guess I just get the feeling that Jet is a set up and more or a serious woodworking tool (perhaps as it isn't found in Bunnings).

There's a Dewalt 735 on the forum for sale in market Place - He's asking $650 a little over budget but you could negotiate....

Jet gear is usually a step up being made in Taiwan rather than China and their quality control is good. Check where each is manufactured.

I ended up getting the Jet.It doesn't seem too bad for the price ,and what I want it for.

My main problem is that it will only plane to 5mm - so I have been reading about using a piece of melamine as a table to lift the work up higher -comments appreciated

I run some small pieces of Pine and Kauri through it - and it came up with a nice finish.

I have some rock maple that I need to dress - so I suppose that will be the test?

Thicknessers will not plane really thin wood. Even on a sled there is the chance of the thin strip being destroyed. there is a lot of force on the wood as the rollers push the wood forwards against the blades pushing back. At some point a strip too thin can not cope with the forces and breaks up. Some people use double sided tape to hold thin bits on a sled and there was a thread on here a few weeks back about a vacume sled to hold thin strips. For really thin stuff like 2mm or less a drum sander is a beter option.
By all means build a sled and experement to see how thin you can get. Different woods will get different results.
I can get reasonably thin slices off my bandsaw. Thickness first and run smooth face on bandsaw fence. You then only have one side to hand sand. Repeat process for more slices.
Regards
John

PS Really sharp blades will help a lot in the quest to plane thin strips. Help for every other thicknessing task too.

I have used a melamine sled to plane down to 3 mm. Below 3 mm all you get in most softwoods is shredded mess. At or about 3 mm most of the time I have not had a problem. The planer I was using at the time was an old and cheap 12 inch Carbatec thing. I see no reason why the jet would be any different.