Jet 18" Bandsaw Caution

[Duncan A]

I've had a Jet JWBS 18Q bandsaw for some time but not used it for deep cuts until recently - whereupon it started making all sorts of strange noises.

This turned out to be due to the blade upper cover plate, which slides up and down to keep the blade covered. When the guides are raised to their maximum height the cover plate is lifted until it jams against the upper wheel tyre, damaging the tyre in the process. There is no built-in stop to prevent this happening so I've now put one on top of the height-adjusting rack - but surely I shouldn't have to do this on what is supposed to be one of the better home-user machines?

Other dislikes on what is otherwise a nice, well built, bandsaw:
- If the plate cover doesn't dig into the tyre, upwards movement may be limited by the wing bolt on the blade rear guide contactig the underside of the housing - and conceivably undoing the bolt in the process, so losing the support of the rear guide.
- The blade guides on my bandsaw are not parallel to the blade and there is no means of adjustment. Although there are ways of changing the angle (filing one seating face, masking tape etc) why should I have to?
- No indexing on the table tilt angle - and a pathetic angle indicator.
- The fence is poor.
- Many of the fasteners have UNC threads, making replacement or modifications difficult.

In short, a good machine compromised by poor attachments.
Duncan

EDIT - please see below for the outcome; very satisfactory, my thanks to Bob and Nick of Brimarc

 

[Nick.]

Hi Duncan, apologies for my delayed reply - it's a busy time of year with shows etc.

The blade cover issue is something I've never come across before and if you want to PM me your contact details, either myself or my colleague Bob will be happy to call in to your workshop at your convenience and see what was causing this problem - both of us are fairly regularly passing near Northants.

These are premium bandsaws and it's very rare we get any negative feedback and we'd like to do our best to sort out any issues.

Your comment about the fence and guides is also of concern, as they should all be accurate and the fence should be solid.

Let me know If we can help and we will

Best regards
Nick

National Sales Manager - Machinery Division
Brimarc Tools and Machinery

 

[paultnl]

Nice to see a supplier reacting well to complaints. Please let us know how this works out.

 

[Racers]

Same thing happens on a Startrite 352, as I have found out!

Pete

 

[Duncan A]

Nick - PM sent.

Yes, an excellent response from Nick; especially as I did not raise it through official channels. I'll post an update here after Brimarc have been round for a look.

Duncan

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Now that's what I call responsive customer service!

 

[Duncan A]

As promised, Bob from Brimarc turned up today to look at my bandsaw and spent nearly two hours with me. He was very helpful and managed to avoid laughing at a couple of instances of numptiness on my part, and kindly passed on a few tips once the main business was done - despite the fact that he still had a long drive ahead of him. Here are the results of his visit:

- Blade upper cover plate contacting the upper wheel when at max depth of cut.
Jet will be asked to look at this area to consider solutions. In the meantime, my mods of putting a stop on top of the rack and cutting a slot in the top of the cover plate in way of the wheel seems to have done the trick.

- Wing bolt on the blade rear guide contacting the underside of the housing.
I was wrong on this; it doesn't quite come into contact so it is quite safe from being loosened in this manner.

- The blade guides on my bandsaw are not parallel to the blade.
It seems that they are designed to be very slightly toed in to encourage them to rotate. Possibly *** paper clearance was asking a bit too much for this type of guide (rotating steel discs).

- No indexing on the table tilt angle - and a pathetic angle indicator.
An indexing quadrant and larger angle indicator would need a redesign of the whole area, and Jet considered the beefy trunnions of greater importance. That is fair enough - and the trunnions were one reason I bought this particular machine.

- The fence is poor.
I should elaborate here as I was comparing to the more common type of fence that runs on a bar, whereas the Jet runs along a fabricated channel in an arrangement that makes it very easy to remove, but sometimes moves slightly as it locks down. This movement is annoying but Bob explained that it is characteristic of this type of "three point" locking mechanism and can always be eliminated by simply pulling back on the locking lever as it locks down.
In other words, just a question of using it correctly. It has always been solid once locked in place.
The nylon (?) pad on the locking "cam" (a curved piece of steel) is glued on with a strange greasy sort of adhesive which doesn't last long, so it tends to move, thereby losing the cam action. Superglue cured this soon after purchase but if the pad had come off and been lost I would have had to find or make a replacement.

- Many of the fasteners have UNC threads, making replacement or modifications difficult.
A fact of our USA-centric world!

BTW, Nick (Jetman) was going to come, but had to change his plans at the last minute. At all times, though, I was kept informed of what was going on and when they said they'd phone they did so. I wish more were like that!

The bandsaw is working well and the response of Brimarc to my comments is all that could be asked of any supplier, so full marks to Bob and Nick for their helpfulness - it is this approach that makes all the difference between different suppliers.

Duncan

 

[woodfarmer]

I don't suppose Boche read this form by any chance ?