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Hi folks,
Lots of reviews and comments about the Jet JPT-310 combo machine. I'm wondering if anyone has the Hafco/H&F PT-300?
They both look quite similar, have similar width capacity, but the PT-300 table is 110mm longer.
Keen for any insights into these two before I head into the store to check them out in person.
Thanks,
Af.
My brother has been checking out some machinery and he is of the opinion that the Jet gear is a cut above the Hafco.
I came to that conclusion years ago when I bought my Jet table saw.
The bandsaws from Hafco are the equivalent of the Carbatec BS and again the Jet seems to be abetter machine.
I know Hare and Forbes have also recently changed their supplier for smaller metal lathes, the reason being price. What does that tell you?
Thanks artme. That's quite useful. I'm hoping to check out some of these pieces in the coming week, but am already leaning towards the Jet because of various reviews and comments I've read about them.
H&F don't have the Hafco combi on display at the moment and won't have anymore in until mid July. If I can't wait any longer, then my decision might already have been made for me! :)
Cheers,
Af
Is quality more important to you than price or is price the controlling factor? I have gear from Hafco, it was well priced and have had good service from them. I also have some Carbatec machines and like that they give you a longer warranty, but sometimes it is clearly the same machine for more money. They are all Chinese, and give pretty good quality for the price, really, depends on what warranty you want to pay for. Though, some of the Carbatec X series spiral head machines seem just as good as the Jet to me (I have their 10 inch combo). The Jet gear is sold as being better, but is also Chinese I think. If quality is most important I suggest that you look at Laguna from Gregory Machinery or Minimax from iwoodlike (Gabbett Machinery). The Italian gear seems to be very well made (a surprise considering their cars!)
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Thanks for the thoughts Xanthorrhoeas. My controlling factor is budget. Looking at around the $2,000 - $2,500 mark.
I took a look for the Laguna and machine but couldn't find it on the Gregory Machinery site. Any idea what the rough cost would be for the Laguna or the Minimax?
Cheers,
Af.
I have Hafco machinery and the jobs they do for me are fine because I know my limits and their limits.
The people at Hafco in Bris are great to deal with so I have no complaints there. I sometimes feel pangs of guilt if I don't always recommend Hafco as i have personal connections with them.
My brother is qualified in several trades and was a maintenance fitter for a large concern in Brisbane. I trust his judgement as he has always been very thorough in anything he has ever done and he knows his way around machinery.
There have been a few threads this year about the tables on the Jet not being flat. Can't comment myself as I don't have one, but just giving you a heads-up.
I purchased the Laguna Fusion 10" about a month ago from Gregorys & base price was $1590...not sure if it is still that price.
Think there's some confusion, maybe I put this in the wrong forum. I'm looking at the Jointer/Thicknesser combo. Didn't find any of those made by Laguna.
Went in to take a look at the Jet JPS-310. It seems like a pretty solid machine and quite easy/quick to convert form one mode to the other. Have decided to purchase it so will have it at home later this week. :D Will definitely be testing the top for flatness and I'll report back for people who are interested.
Thanks for the advice and tips folks. Much appreciated.
Cheers,
Af.
Hi everyone,
My Jet JPT-310 combi arrived on Thursday and I've just unpacked it. A few unboxing pictured below. Haven't powered it up yet but spend some time adjusting the tables and checking for straightness.
Delivery
Carbatec Melbourne were great with the delivery. I called up on Thursday morning to check it was all en-route and they told me I'd be getting it on Friday instead. After asking them to check our delivery agreement they organised it for Thursday without any complaint. It did get delivered to the wrong address though (my old work address) instead of the other address I had on file with them. However, after another couple phone calls, they redirected it and I got it a few hours later. Andy (I think that was his name) was fantastic in organising the delivery and fixing everything when it went awry. No complaints or grumbles from them, and none from me.
Tables
Flat near the blades. Flat from end to end of each table. The centre of the table dips slightly. With the feeler gauges I measured a 0.002" dip so it's really quite negligible I think. Not nearly enough to impact the quality of a jointing operation.
Co-planer
The sales guy at Carbatec assured me that it would arrive co-planer, but I checked anyway. Following this Wood Whisperer video, I checked, adjusted, and checked again. Near the blade it was 0.003" lower at the front end. After getting this part right, I moved to the far right end of the table. The back was slightly lower so after a couple of adjustment I managed to get that correct as well.
The adjustments were reasonably easy to make using the instructions provided and following the procedure in the video. The only pain is to flip the table each time to access the adjustment bolts. All in all it took about an hour to get it to ~0.001" which I'm very happy with.
I did find it strange that the adjustment bolts for the far end of the table are located quite close to the blade end bolts. They're only a few inches apart. This means that an adjustment for the far end needs to be much slighter as the angle will increase over the length of the table. I guess this is one of the (minor) sacrifices you make with a combination machine where the base doesn't extend that far out beneath the tables.
Converting
It's quite easy to flip from one mode to the other. Only takes a few seconds. Once I got the vacuum hose connected up though it was a little more fiddly. The hose moves from the lower left in jointer mode, to upper right in thicknessing mode. I'll need to get a longer hose so I can flip it up and over the planer tables when thicknessing to keep them out of the way.
So far, so good. It feels very well built, is obviously quite heavy. Will report back in a week when I get a chance to adjust the knifes and give it a good running.
Cheers,
Af.
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