The crank handle itself is plastic, but well-made and it should outlive me. Machined rod is perfect.

This is a replacement. Original lasted a few years. Steel should be stronger. Value compared to alternatives superior.

Used this on my jet 12 just like a previous reviewer. Nothing was wrong with my original but you certainly smack your hand and can't get a decent turn. Enter the new tensioner. I read the previous reviews and noticed that I didn't get any instructions with mine, so I made it up. First of all I couldn't use the original nut as it did not thread smoothly on the new tensioner and forcing it is not good. Therefore I picked one of the two nuts that came with the item and then used a good amount of WD-40 to make sure that things operate smoothly. I'm sure I could've used different lubricant but it's what I had on hand and I continue to use it. So that is my advice, a good lubricant, don't use the original nut, pick one of the two nuts that the tensioner came with. We'll see.