Jet Mortiser Needs Better Table/Fence
I bought my JBM-5 last year, and have used it on a number of furniture projects. It was on sale at Menards for around $225.00.
Overall I am satisfied with the investment, but there is one shortcoming you should be aware of.
The fence is clunky and hard to fine-tune. The fence is attached to a heavy hex rod that extends at a 90-degree angle back through the machine's base. The hex rod is locked down with a thumb screw. There is no micro-adjust (like Delta's rack-and-pinion) control, and sliding the hex rod back and forth to position the cut is tricky ... it takes considerable trial-and-error to get the bit centered over the workpiece.
Also, the table is pretty small, so you either need shop-built extenders or an after-market table (like the one from Rockler) for larger workpieces.
On the plus side, the only hand tool you need when setting up and operating this machine is a screw-driver (to tighten the chisel). All other adjustments are done with thumb screws and levers (or the supplied chuck key).
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