Thread: Leadacraft SW-1041A. or JET JWBS-14DX

Had a quick look for you Toni and the main things that I found were that the Jet has cast irons wheels as opposed to aluminum, bigger motor and enclosed sturdier base

DJ would you say that was worth the extra $200

I would go for the bigger motor, I do know that some people have the smaller motor and it can struggle with some of our timbers.

Have you looked at Brisbane Carbatec, they have this one on special for $629. I have this one and it's not a bad machine for the price

thanks DJ much appreciated
Toni

Jet, in general, are a step above the generic Taiwenese/Chinese machines and are worth the extra money. I have never regreted buying mine.

You can get the Jet for $770 online - check out http://www.gregmach.com/new_machiner...s/bandsaws.htm

or for $775 here http://www.northwoodtools.com.au/categories.asp?cID=353

Hi Toni
I compared the Leda SBW-3501B 14" to the BAS350 14" last year.

I ask a lot of questions to find out why the why the SBW-3501B is nearly twice the price, & I was shown a lot of answers.

In the end, I decided that While the SBW-3501B is in my opinion, worth more than the some other 14" bandsaws, I still felt that it was too much money for a 14" bandsaw. I decided to wait another year & get a 17", & I will probably end up with a Leda SBW-4300 17".

I have a few Leda machines, & I am not bagging Jet, but generally speaking, I recon Jet owners are about as 1 eyed about their machines as I am about mine.

Good luck mate.

Steve

Originally Posted by djstimber

I would go for the bigger motor, I do know that some people have the smaller motor and it can struggle with some of our timbers.

Have you looked at Brisbane Carbatec, they have this one on special for $629. I have this one and it's not a bad machine for the price

Toni, I also have the same BAS350 bandsaw with the 1500W motor, at $629 it is very good buying. I have re-sawn Grey Box logs to the full capacity of the saw and it didn't struggle.

I looked at more expensive machines, but in the end decided that this one would do everything I needed.

The only thing I have done to it is bought a bigger fence from Timbecon when they had it on special a couple of months ago.

Hiya Toni - members of this forum often hear from me when another asks for an opinion about a Jet product. I have the JWBS14CS which is the less solubrious cousin to the one you're looking at. It has served me well without a hitch since new. I am such a fan of the quality of Jet product that everything I have is Jet except my dust extractor (purchased before I came across the Jet brand) and my Makita Sliding Compound mitre saw which I have had for many, many years. I don't think you can beat Jet quality for the price and i would always recommend the brand. I have Tablesaw, band saw, belt/disc sander, lathe, mortiser, spindle sander, air filter, planer, drum sander(powermatic) and jointer - all Jet products and I have not had a moments problem with any of them. That's why I am very, very one eyed and ... one branded.

Cheers,

I suspect owners of Jet equipment sing their praises for one good reason. We all have little choice in major equipment purchases such as bandsaws because 99% come from Taiwan/PRC, with a smattering of European. Nearly all the Taiwenese/Prc stuff is mostly generic, no matter what the brand and they all have a similar performance, acceptable is what we would term it I guess. The new owner of a piece of Jet gear is always surprised at how well it performs above his/her expectations and that is why they are all very enthusiastic about their purchase.

Nothing wrong with being one eyed about your choice of machines, after all, it is a poor tradesman that blames his tools.

I am happy with the quality of the work that I am turning out of my workshop now, but I, like most of us I suspect, strive for better results next time.

My skills & Knowledge of woodwork are way short of a lot of the forum members, but I can confidently say, that having more expensive machines would not make me a better woodworker. A nice drum sander would make life easier, but not better than the results I am getting now.

I can not say if your Jet tablesaw is better than my Leda, only that my leda has also never let me down, & cuts straight. the rest, is pretty much up to me I suppose.

At the end of the day, we all need to do our own research & this forum is one tool to that end, but I like to do most of my reaserch at the WW show. It is the ideal place to compare products.

One eyed is good.

But 2 eyed & 10 fingered is the order of the day, every day.

Steve

I have the Leda brand table saw, planer/thicknesser, band saw, mortiser, drill press, dust extractor, and have had to tune or modify them all slightly to suit my needs.

Never having used a bandsaw before I couldn't get it to work properly until I got some extra blades and a book from the library on tuning it.

All the machines were bought on price as I couldn't justify the more expensive machines against the amount of use.

I did however reject the likes of GMC as not solid or accurate enough.

After 4yrs I have no regrets and all the machines have been doing everything I have asked of them and in some cases more,( like ripping old 90x290 permapine sleepers into 42x19 battens).

Originally Posted by lubbing5cherubs

HI can you please give me an honest appraisal on these two machines. and why is there such a large price difference? Which would you recommend?
The ledacraft sw-1041A is Leadacraft SW-1041A. It is priced at $594
JET JWBS-14DX deluxe bandsaw $860

they are both 14" so can anyone please help me out with this?
thanks toni

Hi Toni,
they are both very similar machines and of equal quality but have a look at the Woodfast BS-350 and give us a call.
Cheers and best wished
www.woodfast.com.au