Changeover is where the Jet shines. It takes just 21 seconds to go from jointer to planer—fast enough that it no longer feels like a nuisance or momentum-killer to have to go back and mill one or two project parts. The main reason is that the jointer fence can stay attached when you raise the tables. Plus, the infeed and outfeed tables move as a single piece, making this machine the simplest of all five to use. Although its motor is smaller than that found on the 12-in. Grizzly, the Jet produced very good results without bogging down.

The Jet’s cutterhead is similar to the others: a three-knife cutterhead with blades that can be resharpened and are held in place with gibs and jack screws.

For its ultra-fast changeover time and overall ease of use, I named it a Best Overall choice. For the ultimate in convenience, you can buy the JJP-12 with a segmented carbide cutterhead, but that adds roughly $1,000 to the price.

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