Request for Minimax C26 owner comments

[Ralph Okonieski]

I'm considering purchase of a Minimax C26 or Hammer C31 combo machines. A search here and the web including the Yahoo discussion group has turned up little. Any owners care to share their experiences? Both Minimax and Hammer have very good reputations here.

I'm also considering separate machines but not sure there is enough room for a jointer/planer and TS with some working space.


The Minimax is the front runner primarily because the Hammer combo may not fit through the doorway. I really do not want to rip out the doorway and rebuild. Any machine is going to be a challenge to get to the basement.


All configurations are still on the table so any other ideas would be welcome.


Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Jim Becker]

I have not seen any comments from folks who have purchased a C26 since it's been available...meaning only I haven't seen any comments, not that they don't exist. You might ask whomever you're working with at MiniMax for customer references you can contact which they often have available. I've often been contacted by folks who are considering the MM machines I own.

[Richard Coers]

I've owned a Minimax Lab 30 for a lot of years, and have a Felder combination machine at work. I have a problem with the rip fences and sliding table fences on all the combos. I custom fit a Beismeyer on the Felder, and the Lab 30 was fitted with a Beismeyer knock off from Eagle Machinery in Ca. before I bought it. That makes them a lot better, since I like to rip and join in one operation when making door stock or face frame stock. Impossible to do with the stock fence system. Also the stock fence is way too tall for comfortable ripping. I have yet to work with a sliding table fence that I absolutely trust to remove and replace when doing ripping, then going back to crosscutting. I added a custom built adapter to let me use an Incra miter gauge on my slider at home. I never have gotten used to the jointer to thickness planer conversion. You have to crank on them for a while to lower and work with the dust hood. I picked up a Dewalt lunchbox planer on a deal so I can use it for small jobs. So just some considerations for buying a combo, sorry no direct information on the C26.