Jet Bandsaw

[eagleone]

I have been looking for a bandsaw and came across a jet jwbs-1205 for sale at a fair price. It has a 1/2 hp motor and I assume the 12 in the model number stands for 12". Anybody got any input?  I was originally looking for a craftsman 12" with the 1 1/8hp but I hear a lot of good things about jet products. 1/2hp jet vs 1 1/8hp craftsman?

[milehi101]

Jet makes good products but I think 1/2 hp and 12inch is smaller than I would want.  I think a 1 hp and 14 inch at least.

[vanillabear?]

[Dave Bowers]

I have been hearing bad things about the craftsmen saws. Too many internal plastic parts. Anyone hear anything like that?

[eagleone]

Thanks for the advice- as much as I would like a 14" grizzly its just not in the cards. Interesting point about craftsmans power ratings-

[Diamondback59]

every tool in my shop is jet  wont touch a grizzly them are all plastic part,, some delta tools iv had were fine  sold em replaced em with jet ill swear by jet any day you wont be dissapointed brock

[jonathan creason]

I absolutely love my 14" Jet.  You could probably do a lot with that 12"er, but it's going to have it's limitations.  I was really fortunate to find mine on craigslist, barely used for a very good price.  Watch craigslist religiously for a month or so, and I'm pretty sure you'll stumble on a bigger one.

[Bradford]

Dave.. like anything it's all about how you take care of it.

Yes, Jet is the bomb.. but you pay for it.  I bought a 12" Craftsman used and it works awesome.  There really is not to many parts at all.  I find the blades are a snap to replace and I have cut 7" boards to make lams out of...

Sooooo.. eye of the beholder.  I do feel that grizzly is the same stuff they sell at Harbor Frieght.. I have done a bit o' investigating.  If you look closely, you will see the same exact tool but in different color.

Here is the way I have researched:

Harbor Frieght / Grizzly tools
Skill / Ryobi / Black and Decker
Delta / Craftsman / Rikkon
Jet and others for professional use.

[Diamondback59]

ya hit it  right on the nail bradford   brock

[eagleone]

I should have asked this a few days earlier- 12" jet GONE from craigslist.... booooooo- oh well I guess I keep looking.  Thanks for the input guys

[Diamondback59]

eagel  take a look on flea bay ha  iv seen a lot of thetre just be carfel  what  ur buyin  brock

[8Charles]

I have the new style 12" Craftsman.  Model 22400  Didn't like the older ones.  I can't think of any plastic parts in it, although I did not specifically look for them.  This one has 6 roller bearings.  Three above and below the table.  Easy to adjust. I just looked at an expensive one at Woodcrafter and it didn't even have roller bearings, just those slabs of material the blade rides against.  Looked cheap to me.

[don s]

Originally posted by Dave Bowers:
I have been hearing bad things about the craftsmen saws. Too many internal plastic parts. Anyone hear anything like that?

i just bought an older 12" craftsman bandsaw/sander on craigs list. no internal plastic that i can think of. the only plastic i can think of is the removable housing and the on off switch. the stationary part of the housing is metal. i checked out a lot af saws on craigs list before i bought this one. some were newer models but were not taken care of. the one i bought may be an older one but it was very well taken care of. the owner even vacuumed out the inside on a regular basis.