Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a 15" or 16" planer. I see that delta has the
DC-380 15" planer and Jet has the JWP-16OS: 16" planer. Both of these
planers have overhead motors so the feed table is stationary. It seems that
both manufactures are no longer offering under mounted systems in the 15"
range (at least on their web sites). I looked at the 20" models and they
all have under mounted motors where the feed table moves.

Here are a couple of questions :

- I had seen a couple of posts related to the JWP-16OS. Does anyone have
any more feedback on this planer (This is the one I am leaning toward;
should I be looking at something else)?
- Does anyone know why these two companies discontinued under mounted motors
in this size range of planer?
- Is the overhead mounted motor system a bad choice?
- Does anyone know of any recent reviews on this size of planer (I have been
searching on the Internet but have found nothing so far)?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

I bought my 15 from Leneave Machinery in Charlotte, NC...nice people.
They have both and discouraged me from the overmount because of the
difficulty of changing knives.
This is probably the right answer, since the boards are grabbed firmly by
the rollers as soon as they go in.
When they come out, I'm usually holding them.
The stationary table looks great and if I did large quantities and could let
the table catch the output I'd revisit the question. For sure, the knife
change with the undermount is a non event. The only thing to take off is
the dust chute plate on top and then the knives are in your face.
Wilson
wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a 15" or 16" planer. I see that delta has the
DC-380 15" planer and Jet has the JWP-16OS: 16" planer. Both of these
planers have overhead motors so the feed table is stationary. It seems
that
both manufactures are no longer offering under mounted systems in the 15"
range (at least on their web sites). I looked at the 20" models and they
all have under mounted motors where the feed table moves.

Here are a couple of questions :

- I had seen a couple of posts related to the JWP-16OS. Does anyone have
any more feedback on this planer (This is the one I am leaning toward;
should I be looking at something else)?
- Does anyone know why these two companies discontinued under mounted
motors
in this size range of planer?
- Is the overhead mounted motor system a bad choice?
- Does anyone know of any recent reviews on this size of planer (I have
been
searching on the Internet but have found nothing so far)?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

I had that same question when I was looking. I did much research and
found that most of the planers are distributed through the WMH tool
group. Jet, Grizzley, ShopCraft, Jet, Delta, Powermatic and many
others. If you do a search on line for the tool manuals you will find
the pictures the same with different part numbers. I found this out by
finding a shopcraft while looking at the Grizzley planers. I called
and talked to someone and he said they were all under the same tool
group. Then I talked to a ShopCraft person and found a little more. I
would not be surprised that even some of the General tools are from the
same distributor. I ended up with a Shopcraft with moveable table 15"
with roller cabinet for $729. One of the local stores was having a
tool sale with reps there and they had a 10% of sale on all tools.

There is a model with spiral cutter head which is more money. I
believe this is also available as a replaceable upgrade on some models.
I have also heard they are from the same factory and with different
casting metal or material. I fnd that hard to believe that there would
be that much difference in cost for the material.
Bill T

BT98 wrote:
I would not be surprised that even some of the General tools are from
the same distributor.

The "General" line is made in Canada. The "General International" tools
are imported.

Chris

wrote in message
.. .
Hi,


Here are a couple of questions :

- I had seen a couple of posts related to the JWP-16OS. Does anyone have
any more feedback on this planer (This is the one I am leaning toward;
should I be looking at something else)?
- Does anyone know why these two companies discontinued under mounted
motors
in this size range of planer?
- Is the overhead mounted motor system a bad choice?
- Does anyone know of any recent reviews on this size of planer (I have
been
searching on the Internet but have found nothing so far)?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

I went through this in January when purchasing my second planer. I bought
the Delta with stationary table for the single reason that I would be
lifting my infeed and out feed rollers much more often than changing blades
if I went with the under mount motor. The blades may be a bit more trouble
to change on the over head motor but not as much trouble as readjusting
infeed and out feed rollers if you choose to use them. A nice selling point
is that the Delta comes with fold down infeed and out feed roller extensions
that add about 4' to total length of the planer but really do not take up
much more than an additional 6" when not in use. I'd buy it again.

I've had the Jet JWP-160s about 5 months and have had no problems. I was
suspicious of the original blade quality since they seemed to dull quickly.
It must have been dirty lumber. The 2nd set of blades are still in it and
they have been through quite a bit of cherry, oak, and walnut. Blade
changing was pretty easy in spite of the motor partially blocking overhead
access. The extra inch (16) is great on a nice piece of cherry. Assembley
was straight forward, but it is a heavy sucker! The outboard rollers were a
pain to adjust. Takes 2 men to put it on the base. I had to get an 1100 CFM
dust sucker to keep up with the chip volume. That was an unexpected
expense, but I'm glad I got it. I highly recommend the JWP-160S.

Jim in the Bluegrass
wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a 15" or 16" planer. I see that delta has the
DC-380 15" planer and Jet has the JWP-16OS: 16" planer. Both of these
planers have overhead motors so the feed table is stationary. It seems
that
both manufactures are no longer offering under mounted systems in the 15"
range (at least on their web sites). I looked at the 20" models and they
all have under mounted motors where the feed table moves.

Here are a couple of questions :

- I had seen a couple of posts related to the JWP-16OS. Does anyone have
any more feedback on this planer (This is the one I am leaning toward;
should I be looking at something else)?
- Does anyone know why these two companies discontinued under mounted
motors
in this size range of planer?
- Is the overhead mounted motor system a bad choice?
- Does anyone know of any recent reviews on this size of planer (I have
been
searching on the Internet but have found nothing so far)?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike