Combination machine question

[Hunter Wallace]

I know very little about the names of all the manufacturers of
combination machines...in particular a planer/jointer. I do know
of Rojek and Felder, but does anyone have any other recommendations???

Thanks

[Michael Ballent]

I know very little about the names of all the manufacturers of
combination machines...in particular a planer/jointer. I do know
of Rojek and Felder, but does anyone have any other recommendations???

Thanks

Some more names that you will want to investigate in no particular order are Mini-Max, Hammer (baby Felder), Laguna, Knapp (big bucks), Robland, Hitachi (this is probably completely different than what you are looking for). All of them have their good and bad points... In this board it seems that Mini-Max seems to get the most kudos, and there are quite a few folks that have what you are looking for a planer/Jointer combo. Good luck in your search :)

[Michael Perata]

I have a MiniMax CU300Smart. I like it, use it alot, would buy it again, and I can afford a Felder combo.

[Dan Forman]

Jim Becker has one, reviewed it on his site. Here is a link.

http://sawsndust.com/index.shtm

I just ordered the more recent version, FS35, should arrive next week.

Mini-Max is well known for great customer service.

Dan

[John Renzetti]

Hi Hunter, In the 12" range of J/P's they are all good-Knapp, Felder, Hammer, MM, Robland, Rojek. Best bet is to take a look at the machines and see them run. I've had Felders for about 8 yrs. They are great machines.
take care,
John

[Richard Wolf]

I own some MM machines and have looked a their jointer/planer 16". It is almost $8,000 and their 16" jointer alone is about the same price(much big and heavey than the combo). If space is a concern the combo may suit your needs, but I just could never justify the money for those machines.

Richard

[Jamie Buxton]

In addition to the brands Michael mentioned, Rikon is just introducing a small combo jointer/planer. It looks very much like the Inca machine which is no longer available. http://www.right-tool.com/rikrp10plan.html is a picture. I've heard that Woodcraft is selling these too. The good things about the Rikon are the compact size and the more-affordable price. The downside is that I don't know of anybody who's used and reviewed it.

[john lawson]

I have owned a Rojek KPS 300 V for about 4 years. It is a very good machine and a great value. It is made in the Czeck Republic and many of the component parts are Italian. Tech support has been great when I have had a question about adjustments or operation (no real problems so far). Rojek does not have the volume of sales of some of the other machines but if you spec the machines the same and compare the price you will probably be interested.

All the machines mentioned previously are good or great compared to what most Americans are used to using, it usually comes down to a value proposition or the fact that a friend has one. Good luck, any way you go you will probably be happy.

john in Birmingham

[markus shaffer]

I've been using a couple Felder combo machines for year now.. I have a 20" jointer planer combo. Like John, I can say that Felder makes great machines. It takes some getting used to in terms of the changeover, but it happens in less than a minute. Forces you to think about your work a little more. But the accuracy is amazing. After having the Felder technician set up my machine, I have not had to adjust it any further. Snipe is a thing of the past from the planer. I added a power feeder to the jointer and the difference is amazing. I recently built a bar with a solid mahogany top. Literally cut the top to 19 1/2 inches wide. The power feeder pulled that board through with no problems. this was a huge board too. 12/4 and ten foot long. I'm not sure on other brands, but whatever you look at, be sure to get a power drive for the planer. When switching from the planer back to the jointer on the Felder, you have to lower the planer bed all the way down. Doing that with a hand crank every time is a real pain so I've heard.

I'll add a couple photos so you can get an idea of what one of these things looks like in a shop. Note that with the power feeder the machine has to sit away from the wall. Without the feeder bracket, you can have it pretty much right up against the wall. I would highly suggest adding a feeder. I can't imagine having to push anything like the abovementioned board through without help. Something else you should think about is dust collection. I have a cyclone in one corner of my shop. With this machine, I had to run two drops from the ceiling for each function. I have added a photo so you can get a sense of what I am talking about.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

-Markus

[Ken Waag]

Hunter,

Lots of good info here already. All I can add is that I got a tour of the MiniMax combo machine at their Austin site. I'm not sure if you are looking for a combo of planer/jointer only? I was looking at the MiniMax Smart that someone else has mentioned, but that is a TS, Pl,Jt,Shpr combo.

For that combination and if it's in a person's $$ range it was a beauty. Smooth sliding table, easy and fast change overs, and lots of neat features. Of course their site or a phone call will give you more details, and they have a video they'll send out.

[Jim Becker]

I'm particularly fond of the Mini Max (http://www.minimax-usa.com/index.html)and Felder line-ups...I own Mini Max as it more than meets my needs and I really like the company. If I needed more bells and whistles (at a price, of course) I'd consider Felder, too.

[Nick Mitchell]

Hard to make a recommendation without knowing your budget, but all the major players have been mentioned already.

For a 1 man shop a combo J/P makes a lot of sense. It's pretty easy to adjust your work habits so the changeover is not a factor, the space savings are considerable and meaningful and with a combo you invariably get a much bigger jointer than if you were buying separates.

The best deal in J/P's has to be the Robland xsd310. For under $3k you get a 12" jointer and a 12" planer.
The Rojek units, while a little lacking in jointer table length are also a good buy. For a reasonable price you could move up to a 16" combo with Rojek. While this may be more than you need for a jointer, the extra planer width will be much appreciated. Tech-Mark does a good job by most accounts.

Hammer is just coming out with a new 16" J/P and it looks like it will be worth checking out. Slightly longer tables and a new beefier fence. I would consider this before the MM personally.

I'm a Felder fan myself and am currently saving up for their 20" Dual 51 unit. It's very pricey but the quality is getting close to Martin territory. The so called "bells and whistles" on Felder machines are there for a reason; accuracy.

Good luck with your choice.

http://www.pbase.com/nicholasm/image/41640056/medium.jpg

[Martin Shupe]

I've been using a couple Felder combo machines for year now.. I have a 20" jointer planer combo. Like John, I can say that Felder makes great machines.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

-Markus

Markus, you've got an awesome machine there!!! After using Felder machines at Kelly Mehler's School, I am convinced that their level of quality, ease of use, and accuracy justifies their price.

I don't know if I could ever afford a 20" combo, but if I ever won the lottery, can you give me a ballpark price on what that beast would cost? Are we talking ten grand, or twenty? :eek:

Hmmm....maybe I can make my 1991 Ford Ranger last forever, and just buy one of those instead of my next car! :rolleyes: Not sure I could get that idea past the wife! :D

Congratulations on owning what I know must be a fine, fine machine.

[Greg Mann]

Hmmm....maybe I can make my 1991 Ford Ranger last forever, and just buy one of those instead of my next car! :rolleyes: Not sure I could get that idea past the wife! :D

Martin, If you want to get the idea past your wife, just show her how much value the machine will have when you're gone. :D The Felder at 15 years may be worth more than you paid for it. The Ranger, well, we all know that story.:rolleyes:

Greg

[Jim Becker]

Martin, If you want to get the idea past your wife, just show her how much value the machine will have when you're gone. :D The Felder at 15 years may be worth more than you paid for it. The Ranger, well, we all know that story.

I think Martin should trade in his "hail-mobile" on the J/P combo...and keep the Ranger to haul wood to the tool!

[markus shaffer]

Martin

I had originally wanted to get a 16" model. I went down to the showroom in Delaware and looked at the machines. This was September of 2003 maybe. Took me awhile to really decide if I wanted to spend so much money. Two machines pretty much emptied my bank account. The reason I got the combo jointer/planer is becasue I wouldn't have room for separate machines given that the sliding panel saw has such a big footprint. Anyway, they were chaging the models that year. The newer machines have the green and grey color scheme. Maybe some different options as well, I don't remember all the details. They didn't even have the new j/p combo machines on display at the showroom yet. They did have the older 20" though Basically a new 16" model was going to cost me more than the one they had on display there. If I remember correctly, the one I got was about $8000. Perhaps a couple hundred more. But this was the floor model from the previous year. I got them to add a powerdrive to the planer bed for free. I think the cost difference was going to be about $1000 or so for one of the newer 16" models. Just made sense to me to get an extra 4" for less. Still came out ahead after I added the power feeder. It makes things a bit tight in my shop having such big machines, but they are definately worth it in my opinion.

I imagine with the exchage rate these days that the prices are higher. I know that there have been at least a couple price increases since I bought mine. If you're interested, I think they have used machines from time to time. Might be worthwhile to contact one of the showrooms and see what they might have in stock.

Good luck with the 91 Ford. I'm hoping to get a few more years out of a 95 Honda. If I can get another year or two perhaps I can then afford some accessories from Felder..

-Markus

[Pete Lamberty]

I have an old Inca jointer/planer. It is a really nice machine. Problem now would be the fact that they maybe hard to get here in the US. I think they may only have a distributor in California. Not sure about that. It is great for my shop because I don't have a lot of room and it is small in size. It is a 10 and 1/4 inch jointer/planer.