JET 708749 JWBS-16 16-Inch 1-1/2-Horsepower Woodworking Bandsaw with Guide Blocks, 115-Volt 1-Phase

Motor Voltage: 115/230V

This 16-inch band saw brings the high quality of construction and design found in JET's 18- and 20-inch resawing band saws into the price range of smaller shops and serious home woodworkers. This saw's most prominent benefit is the one-piece, dual tapered column design that offers superior rigidity and strength, minimizes vibration, and keeps cuts clean, smooth, and accurate. The saw has a powerful, totally enclosed, fan-cooled, 1-1/2-horsepower motor with a blade speed of 3,000 sfpm. There's a nice large cast-iron worktable (17 by 17 inches) that tilts 45 degrees to the right and 10 degrees to the left. There's also a T-slot for a miter gauge, and while a rip fence doesn't come standard with this model, JET makes a good one that can be purchased separately and easily installed. We like the smooth precision afforded by the rack-and-pinion upper-blade guide adjustment and the generous 10-1/4-inch-maximum cutting height it can dial up. While we'd prefer the roller bearing guides found on JET's 18- and 20-inch models (that guide set can be purchased separately and added later), the block guides used on this saw do offer plenty of support and low friction, and help fit the saw into shops with a tighter budget. This tool's versatility just keeps on going, accommodating 123-inch blades from 1/8 to 1-1/2 inches wide for equally smooth curve cutting or resawing. For the price, you'd have a hard time fitting more saw than this in your shop without making a serious compromise in quality. --Brian Trinen