WEN JT833H 10-Amp 8-Inch Spiral Benchtop Jointer with Extendable Table

So, I recently purchased this planer and have put it through its paces for about 4 hours. br>Walnut and Maple are the most common woods, with some paduk, zebrawood, and purpleheart thrown in for good measure. br>br>The first impression is that it lacks the power to push quickly. That, and the fact that the blades are so far apart, I'm not sure it matters if it had a more powerful motor. br>In a previous review, four-sided blades were mentioned. They appear to be only two-sided, which is a major flaw. The four sides are why you purchase helix blades. I'm going to go out and get some replacement four-sided ones and hope they work. br>br>If you're planning a 5-day trip, On these 8" boards, you'll need to go very slowly and make 1/32" passes. That's how it's configured for me. It will work fine for you if you do it that way. br>It's a nice square that's simple to put together. br>br>Overall, the jointer meets my expectations. br>Benefitsbr>- Cost
- br>Helixbr>- br>Arms that extendbr>br>br>br>b -all metalbr> -all metalbr> -all metalbr> a good fencebr>br>contrary to popular belief, a good fencebr>br> Blades with a two-sided helixbr>- a motor that isn't powerful enoughbr>- Blades are too far apart (more needed).

Seth Holloway

| Feb 14, 2021

The extra two inches of width come in handy for me. Many of the competitors' tables are made of aluminum, whereas the tables are made of cast iron. It was in good shape when it arrived. The packaging was designed with great attention to detail. Styrofoam was used for the unit, which was double boxed with sturdy corner reinforcement on both sides. br>The tables were perfectly aligned when they arrived from the factory. I did make a minor adjustment to the infeed table because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. br>I was surprised by how inexpensive a jointer with a spiral cutter was, but here's why: When I think of spiral cutterheads, I imagine carbide blades that can be rotated to provide four cutting edges as they wear down. Carbide cutters are not included in this unit. Steel cutters with only two cutting edges are used instead. I'm not sure why this is an advantage over straight blades because I'd expect wear to be similar, if not worse, than a two or three cutter unit with straight blades. Because the blades are arranged around the cutterhead, only one cutter passes by any given point on the piece being fed per cutterhead revolution, I believe it will wear out faster. As a result, a slightly slower feed rate is required to achieve the finish quality of a two- or three-blade cutter or spiral carbide cutter. Of course, replacing the blades is much less expensive, and the finish quality of the boards I tested was quite good. br>The instruction manual that comes with the product is mostly adequate. It is compatible with both the 6" and 8" models. There are a few inconsistencies and omissions to be found. The part number for replacement cutters, for example, is listed on the inside of the front page. Despite the fact that the 6" version has 12 cutters and the 8" version has 16, both jointers share the same part number. If you have the 6" version, you might get four extra. While the reference on the first page is helpful, other replacement parts, such as motor springs and brushes, could have been included as well. For these, you'll need to look at the parts list. The most significant omission is the lack of instructions for adjusting the extension arms, which are only available on the 8" model. It took some time to figure out how to fix these because they weren't well adjusted from the factory. The extension tubes are adjusted laterally by loosening the screws on the end of the arms, allowing them to easily slide in and out of the table. Set screws on the underside of the end tube must be loosen so that the collar can be rotated to adjust the tube up and down. br>The unit's quality is satisfactory to me. It's well-made and produces nice, clean cuts as long as you don't feed it too quickly or make too large a cut. It's adequate for a home shop unit, in my opinion.

Isaac Atkins

| Jul 12, 2021

There may be one or two others, but they are nearly identical to this one (including the Rikon 8" which costs nearly $200 more). br>br>For a beginner woodworker, it's adequate. Don't expect perfection, though. To begin with, the fence is a blight on the neighborhood. Mine wasn't perfectly flat (it was slightly concave), and the mounting and adjustments made it difficult to achieve precision. I was able to get it really close to perfectly square, which is good enough for my needs, but it isn't 100% square to the point where there is no light under a square. br>br>Be aware that the motor isn't particularly powerful, so don't expect to cut through hardwoods as quickly as you can. Even in softer woods, any face cutting greater than 1/32" necessitates a slow push through. I keep it at 1/64" and flatten and square up the boards in multiple passes. This is an effective method. br>br>The cutter bits included with the cutting head aren't very good. Because they're made of HSS rather than carbide, a few of the bits dinged and dulled after only a few passes on various workpieces. Get a good set of carbide bits (the stock ones are 14. ) and do yourself a favor. However, it is only 14mm. 3mm bits work well and are more readily available). If you're short on space or cash and just want to straighten things out, this will suffice. Save your money and buy a higher-end floor model if you need to make deep cuts in hardwoods or need exceptional accuracy. If you're a home woodworker or weekend warrior, this is a great deal; if you expect more, you'll be disappointed.

King Hall

| Jun 17, 2021

This jointer is a fantastic buy. My unit was well calibrated when it arrived, and all it took was a quick adjustment to the extension arms and the installation/calibration of the fence. The fine tuning and leveling of both took only a few minutes. My only criticism is that the unit's fence should be made of cast metal. Because of the long-term nature of the fence, I took away a star. long-term viability I've milled over 20 bd ft of red oak and the unit is still square as it was when I first calibrated it.

Santino Rios

| Jul 24, 2021

So far, this has been a good little machine for the price; I haven't planned anything harder than oak with it, but it performs admirably. The "helical head" has a nice finish and cuts smoothly. This isn't a true helical cutting head, but it's pretty close. Although this is more of a skip tooth cutter, the principle is the same. You just have to feed a little slower, but it's still a step up from the single blades of the past. Some of the components are plastic and flimsy, but at this price point, what do you expect? In these reviews, some people expect a 1500$ machine for $300. This machine will get you by until you can afford a high-end stationary machine, but because of the short bed, you'll have to get creative with long stock. I'm happy with it so far and haven't encountered any issues. I've never needed to contact customer service.

Luna Forbes

| Jul 23, 2021