Buy from Jet if you're a regular guy (or gal).I'm not a machinist, I'm just a regular guy, homeowner, woodworker, also I work with metal sometimes. Buy from Jet if you're a guy like me; also if you're a handy gal for that matter.I wanted a nice heavy-duty drill press that'll drill through 4 inches. I often want to drill sideways through a 2x4 or 4x4 and most drill presses just don't do that, I don't know why. This seems like a very common thing to need. Drilling twice from opposite sides is a bad solution as you know if you've tried it. Raising the table-mid-drilling is another bad solution.I decided to buy the Jet JDP 17 and I am glad I did, for two reasons. First is the drill press itself - a great big beast of a thing, and it drills well over 4" - plenty of room to spare.Second reason and this is more important - Jet has great customer service/technical support. This is why I chose the Jet brand - Amazon reviews said that Jet's staff were very helpful. That is true!I started out drilling wood and it all worked fine, but I noticed that the tips of the drills were off a little. I learned the term "runout" from YouTube and proceeded to diagnose. I'll skip the details, just say that Jet's tech support folks were a great help. Before calling them I tried using more than one drill bit - I had a whole set of DeWalt brand-new never-used nice black anodized wood bits. Every one had a little bit of wobble at the tip - about 2 mm. Since these were brand new drill bits I figured, they can't all be off by the same amount - must be the drill press. For wood working it didn't matter but when I get into drilling through big metal pieces with big bits, it will.Jet was patient with me, teaching me how to use my own drill press. After doing some measuring with a dial meter (I bought the dial meter from Harbor Freight) and doing some measuring, taking the measurements that Jet's (excellent) customer service folks explained to me, I found that the drill press is perfect. Chuck, spindle, quill, arbor - all of it, perfectly machined to within about 1/1000th of an inch. In other words, less than 1/8th the wobble I'd noticed.I tried using another set of drill bits (Harbor Freight actually) and they are perfectly straight, no wobble, no runout.Now, a machinist wouldn't have made the dumb mistake I did. I thought by trying 4 different drill bits, all DeWalt brand, that was a good enough test. Not so - I should have tried more/other drill bits before calling Jet. Also, if I were a machinist, I'd probably have a precisely milled straight rod on hand - clamp it in the chuck, use the dial meter to measure the runout.I'm not a machinist, I'm a "regular guy" like I said. So Jet was and is the perfect company for me. I recommend buying from Jet if you're the kind of person who knows where he/she wants to get but is no expert, at least not yet. Jet can help you get there. And, the tool, the drill press, is great.
June 20, 2024
Rating
100%
Leo Hesting
Recently purchased Jet 16-32 wide belt sander via Amazon. Just wanted to compliment your company on a superb machine at a good price. I use the machine for sanding segment rings for my segmented bowls. Couldn’t be happier. From machine arrival in a well packed carton to setup via good instructions, the machine has functioned flawlessly so far. Previously I used a sanding disc on the headstock of my lathe to sand panels flat. The process worked but was very time consuming and dusty. With the jet attached to a 1 hp dedicated dust collector I am free of dust and my sanding time is reduced considerably. This is my first Jet tool but won’t be my last. Sincere thanks for delivering an excellent tool for the home craftsman.
February 6, 2024
Rating
100%
Jerry Rudolph
After months of research I decided to purchase the Jet 16-32 drum sander with stand. I cannot express how pleased I am with the machine. Right out of the box it ran perfectly with no need for adjustments. I whole heartedly recommend this tool for anyone thinking of getting a drum sander.
January 30, 2024
Rating
100%
Jerry Hines
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