# Jet JJ-12 Jointer Information?



## ORBlackFZ1 (Jul 14, 2011)

Does anyone have a Jet JJ-12 jointer? 

I purchased a Jet JJ-12 yesterday (11/13/11) from a retiring professional woodworker. It is in immaculate shape! It has a 3HP 220VAC motor with four (4) 12" knife blades. The table length is 84"! The unit weighs over 700 lbs. There is no rust on the unit. The tables are flat and coplaner. The motor belts need to be replaced, but other than that, I couldn't find anything wrong with it.

The sale included an extra set of blades and the original manual. The owner said that he purchased the jointer new in 1989. I don't doubt his word, but the manual looks like it was created on a typewriter! The manual doesn't even reference the NEMA plug requirements.

I found the ad on Craigs List on Saturday evening, so I knew I had to move on it if I wanted to get it. I had been planning on purchasing a Grizzly G0490 8" Jointer with Parallelogram Beds when my workshop gets finished next spring. But getting a used 12" jointer for less than the Grizzly seemed like a great opportunity. I have never seen a 12" jointer for sale on Craigs List before and I haven't found any new ones for sale for $1000, so.....

I researched the Jet JJ-12 jointer with Google before my visit to check it out, but I found very little reference to this model. The jointer was a 2 1/2 hour drive, one way. It was too big to fit in my pickup truck bed, so I rented a 5' x 8' enclosed trailer from U Haul for $18.95. The jointer just fit in the trailer. Good thing the trailer was enclosed, because, 10 miles from home, I hit an Oregon downpour.

I don't have room for the jointer yet, so I left it with a friend of mine that has been using a 4" jointer. He has a big project coming up that he just purchased 300 bdft of rough cut black walnut at $1.25/bdft to complete the project with. He was pretty excited to get the jointer. His wife wasn't.... Anyways the jointer has a great home until I finish my workshop.

*Anyway, if anyone knows anything about this jointer, please post here. I would like to know more about it. *

Thanks in advance,
Eric


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi Eric,

Sounds as if you got a bargain.

Not to hijack your thread, but I was intrigued by you comment "so I rented a 5' x 8' enclosed trailer from U Haul for $18.95" - is this per hour ? per day?

Here in Sydney to rent an open 6 x 4 trailer is $38 for 1/2 day. (4 hrs)

Have fun with the jointer...


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Jul 14, 2011)

jw2170 said:


> Hi Eric,
> 
> Sounds as if you got a bargain.


I don't know about a bargain....but I think it will keep me from having to upgrade to a larger jointer in the near future.



jw2170 said:


> Not to hijack your thread, but I was intrigued by you comment "so I rented a 5' x 8' enclosed trailer from U Haul for $18.95" - is this per hour ? per day?
> 
> Here in Sydney to rent an open 6 x 4 trailer is $38 for 1/2 day. (4 hrs)


$18.95 per day with no mileage cost. I thought it was a very economical way to go. It sure saved us from having to lift 750 lbs into and out of my pickup bed. The height difference between the ground and the trailer was only about 12". 


Wow, I am surprised that no one has the Jet JJ-12 Jointer or has had one. I guess that it is rarer than I thought. Com'on, someone has to know something about this jointer!


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## woodfish (Dec 8, 2005)

*Jet 12" jointer*

Eric - I just picked up a Jet JJ-12-3 12" jointer. The shop isn't finished yet but I have a place to store this and work on it (sound familiar?). Mine is a 3 phase so I'll be looking at a new motor or maybe a ph converter for the shop ?? Mine came w/o any manual or any thing. Are there any good sources for info, parts, things to avoid, etc. etc? I figure you're a good deal farther down the rabbit hole and might have a few guide points to spare. Mine was a little rusty but is cleaning up nice and is only missing a blade guard (hence the need for parts info). Thanks in advance for any tidbits you can throw. - Jim


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## Sawdust Don (Nov 1, 2012)

It appears Jet is owned by the outfit that has Powermatic.
I was looking for a 12" jointer, came across a Jet 12", but found a Northfield closer to me.
Jointers are simple machines, I doubt you will have any problems.
There is lots of info on setting the blades out there. Just keep sharp blades in it, and it will be a great tool to have.


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Jul 14, 2011)

woodfish said:


> Eric - I just picked up a Jet JJ-12-3 12" jointer. The shop isn't finished yet but I have a place to store this and work on it (sound familiar?). Mine is a 3 phase so I'll be looking at a new motor or maybe a ph converter for the shop ?? Mine came w/o any manual or any thing. Are there any good sources for info, parts, things to avoid, etc. etc? I figure you're a good deal farther down the rabbit hole and might have a few guide points to spare. Mine was a little rusty but is cleaning up nice and is only missing a blade guard (hence the need for parts info). Thanks in advance for any tidbits you can throw. - Jim


Woodfish:

In Jan. 2013, I finished enough of my woodshop to move equipment in. A friend of mine had been using my JJ-12 in his woodshop for the past year. He really didn't want to let me have the JJ-12 back. (He has a 4" jointer, that he will be storing away, now that he has been spoiled using the JJ-12. He has decided to modify his Woodmaster 18" planer with helix heads, to work as a jointer.)

The mobile cart that came with the JJ-12 was showing it's age, so I built a new one by gluing two (2) 3/4" thick pieces of plywood together and mounting two (2) Grizzly G8168 4" Heavy-Duty Fixed Caster w/ Brake and two (2) Grizzly G8176 4" Heavy-Duty Swivel Caster w/ Brake on the bottom. The casters are excellent. The jointer moves much easier on my vinyl floor. I also bolted the Jointer to the cart, which the previous owner did not do for some reason.

I cleaned the dust collection shute and put a coat of regular wood wax on it. I found that the wax really helps with keeping the shute clean. I also added some weather stripping on the dust shute cover to keep the air flow coming from the bottom of the knives.

I will be changing the drive belt to a 1/2'' Power Twist Plus Link V-Belt that I picked up at Rockler for $15 last year.

My friend was kind enough to sharpen the blades and align them, while he was "storing" the JJ-12 for me. He showed me some of the planing he did with it. It was very impressive.

Anyways, to get to the point of this post....There is not much that you need to do to the JJ-12, if it has been taken care of. I am looking forward to transferring it to the next owner in my will!!!:laugh:

If I come up with any other suggestions, I will post them here.

Enjoy your JJ-12! They are very impressive jointers!
Eric


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Jul 14, 2011)

*Update*

Ok, I have been using the Jet JJ-12 jointer for about a year now. It is a wonderful jointer. I don't have any other jointer experience, except with my friend's 4", so I am by no means a "jointer expert".

Here are some of my thoughts, recommendations, upgrades, etc.

1. Upgrade - The 4" dust port had to go (See Photo #1). Even with the cleaning and waxing, wide boards created too large of chips and the chute would clog. Every couple of boards, I would have to remove the hose and stick the piece of oak, you can see in photo #4, into the chute and remove the clog. 

I removed the complete pan and port. I replaced them with a 1/2" x 15.5" x 20" plywood that I had mounted a 6" diameter HVAC (Lowes) port on (See Photo #2). Much to my surprise, the HVAC port accepted a 6" O.D. coupler. Temporarily, I ran a 6" flexible hose to the JJ-12 directly from my Jet DC-1100 to see if it would work. It worked great! I had an extra 5" flexible hose that I ran from my Top Hat Separator and I have had no clogs since!

2. Recommendations - Keep the simple maintenance on schedule and the JJ-12 just keeps on working. I had set the tables for level and cross-level when I first got the JJ-12 in my shop. They were out a little bit from the move. One bolt needed a 1/4 turn on the in-feed table to be perfectly in line. Periodic table waxing or applying the Dri-Coat stuff, keeps the table nice and slick for those 6" x 8" x 10' timbers that I have been jointing before resawing.

3. Thoughts - I am really glad that I purchased the JJ-12. It is well made and will probably outlast me. I don't see how I could have gotten away with less than 12" width. I sometimes wonder if I need to go to a 16". I have 600+ bdft of rough cut maple that is waiting to be jointed, re-sawn and planed...many of the boards are wider than 12", which means that I will have to first saw them to fit the JJ-12 and then probably glue them back together for table tops.

Here is a sample of the lumber that I have used on the JJ-12 so far: myrtle wood, douglas fir, philippine mahogany, flowering plum, maple, oak & cherry.

If you have a Jet JJ-12, please post your comments. Maybe we can get some enthusiasm going for the JJ-12:dirol:


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## Bill Laymon Sr (Apr 15, 2021)

ORBlackFZ1 said:


> *Update*
> 
> Ok, I have been using the Jet JJ-12 jointer for about a year now. It is a wonderful jointer. I don't have any other jointer experience, except with my friend's 4", so I am by no means a "jointer expert".
> 
> ...


I just purchased a JJ-12 jointer (along with several other old Jet machines) that has been in storage for about 20 years. I am reassembling the jointer and am missing the connection from the fence adjuster to the fence. I am trying to find a copy of the manual to see what the parts look like so that I can fabricate a new one, but I can not find a manual or even a picture to give me some direction. Do you have a manual I can get a copy of, or take some pictures of yours to guide me in the right direction?


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