Mini Max owners, 5in1 combo owners, questions

[Craig Behnke]

For those mini max owners out there. does mini max make a fair amount of add-on features for their products like table extensions for their bandsaws or jointer/planers similar to what Felder and Hammer do, or handwheel dials for the planer, etc. If not, do you wish they did? Do you buy aftermarket solutions for your machines?

When I was looking at a J/P combo purchase a year ago, it seemed like Felder/Hammer made a wide range of add-on features compared to Mini Max (not many i found). Not that one is better or worse, but it seemed like I had more flexibility with Hammer vs Minimax so I went with a Hammer J/P.

I'm contemplating buying a used 5in1 combo, a 2006 model year CU300 Smart to replace my current Sawstop and Hammer A3-31 J/P. It's priced at what i think is a very attractive level and it's very tempting given that I'm pressed for space. I'd gain a shaper and likely have out of pocket cost of about $750-$1,500 (after selling my equipment and buying/transporting the CU300). I'm just so cramped right now that i'm seriously exploring the possibility of freeing some space up with a 5in1.

I'm a hobby woodworker, the vast majority of what I make is basic stuff for my home and small furniture pieces for my family (hall table, simple stands, etc). I want to start a long term project to remodel my house at 1 room per year in each of the next few years. Plan is to start off small with a bathroom and build up to a whole kitchen re-model a few years out...so a shaper would be very nice to have.

I'd appreciate input/thoughts from people that, in order to gain some room, gave up separates to get a 5in1. Regrets, advice, other things to consider?

[Erik Loza]

Craig, I cannot tell you whether or not to buy that machine. That decision is yours alone.

To answer your question about add-ons, "not really". SCM Group and its various divisions (such as Minimax) has always been focused primarily on machinery R&D and sales rather than "value-added" sales, such as accessories. Depending on what the customer is looking for, that may or may not create appeal and I get that fact. When I worked for Felder, there were months where my sales commisions from tooling and accesories exceeded those of my machine sales. One thing I would point out is that Minimax machines for the US Domestic Market are imported with most all the popular options and accessories as part of the factory composition code. In other words, the owner will probably be getting things like mobility kits, extension tables or extra fences, and so on, as part of the price they pay. Again, this may or may not have appeal to the customer but that is their choice.

All that being said, I have seen owners customize their machines with all manner of aftermarket digital readouts, extension tables, and so on. Brands such as Wixey, Accurate Technologies, etc. There are plenty of options out there, we just don't sell them. You buy them from their respective companies. My colleague, Sam, for example, has outfitted his CU410 Elite-S with SIKO digital readouts on the crosscut fence, Aigner extension tables, and uses Aigner fences on the shaper. There are plenty of options out there beyond what this or that mfr. sells as specific for "their" machines...

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Minimax%20sliders/001Stops_zps17f3dcbd.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Minimax%20sliders/002UpClose_zps0369e225.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Combo%20Seminars/011ShortRip.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Combo%20Seminars/012LongRip.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Combo%20Seminars/Mortisingtableoperatorview.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Combo%20Seminars/Installingshapertools.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/erikloza/Mini%20Max%20Combo%20Seminars/Aignerextensions.jpg

Best,

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Frank Martin]

I have recently purchased a 2006 CU300 Smart with a 5.5 ft slider. I upgraded from a Unisaw and a Grizzly J/P with spiral insert cutter head. I really like the sliding saw, all the adjustments available to align things to almost perfection. I do miss the spiral cutter head on the J/P as mine is Tersa. However, would not ever consider the Grizzly J/P anywhere close to Minimax in quality, in fairness it is also a lot cheaper than Minimax. What I would really like to add is a digital height gauge to my J/P. I would have loved to have the digital J/P handwheel Felder / Hammer offers. Minimax does not have one like that. Obviously there are other alternatives, but I have not seen one that is as well thought out yet.

I like what I see in pictures Eris posted. Biggest problem for me and a lot of other people who do this for hobby is that I have no idea where to buy the accessories Eric posted and how to install, which ones work with my machine vs. not. It will require quite a bit research and learning to get there. With Felder / Hammer, despite being very expensive, you know what you are getting and that it will work fine. However, as Eric said, the Minimax already comes with all the basic requirements and I believe is higher in quality than Hammer. So, seems like you can add whatever you want to Minimax, but it will take you time to figure it out.

Eric, it would be very helpful if you can post links to where to buy these accessories from with model numbers, etc. This would have been well covered in the Minimax forum on Yahoo but that forum does not accommodate pictures well. I think this would be a very good service to current and prospective owners.

[Ian Wormsbecker]

I have the CU300 Smart with the 8ft slider. Apart from very simple little modifications, I have yet to desire anything beyond standard given that I am a hobby user. The only thing I wish the CU 300 had was a tilting spindle shaper. Beyond that, I have a pair of calipers I keep by the J/P for thickness testing and I am good to go.

I guess the one thing I have bought was a power feed. I actually bought the Felder feeder.

In my experience, the Felder price truly is the starting price. You then have to add on substantial accessories to get up to the same type of equipment as the MiniMax comes with stock. I am not clear if it is the same with the Hammer line however. The MiniMax prices I was quoted were an all-in price. You didn't have to add the mortiser, or the shaper hood, or the upgraded motors, etc...



Ian

[Richard Coers]

I can't speak to newer machines, I have a old LAB 300, I think that is the number. I've never liked the european rip fences that double as the jointer fence. I've always had the habit of ripping a small piece off a board and then jointing the edge to freshen it up for the next rip. One fence will not make it easy for operating like that. When I bought this machine from Eagle in California, they made up a Beisemeyer clone for the saw. I retrofitted a Beisemeyer on the Felder CF371 at work. I just like the 2 fence system. I can't get myself to trust removing the fence on the slider, and putting it back on with 100% accuracy. I always have to test it as insurance. Dropping the planer table to get be able to pivot over the dust shoot is always annoying, and I've never gotten over not having miter gage slots in the table saw table. I do like having a 12" jointer, a sliding table (most of the time) and the compactness in my basement shop. In all honesty, it would be a tough decision to do it all over again. I do love a traditional table saw.

[Craig Behnke]

Craig, I cannot tell you whether or not to buy that machine. That decision is yours alone.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

Thanks for the comments Erik. I've read a ton of your posts on multiple different forums and I've learned a lot from them.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'd appreciate input/thoughts from people that, in order to gain some room, gave up separates to get a 5in1. Regrets, advice, other things to consider?

Craig, I sold my seperate conventional tools and replaced with a Felder CF741 combo machine. Two car garage type shops until just recently, transitioning to a bigger space soon hopefully, but space was a concern. My machine is a full size 8' slider, with a lot of bells and whistles. I ended up with far more capable tools, and it did use less space. A slider takes an enormous amount of real estate when in full swing, but so does a conventional table saw processing big sheets.

There are some tradeoffs in a full combo I suppose. For instance, most of the cuts on a slider have the cutoff falling right of the blade. If you have the planer setup, and your cutoff is bigger than 20" or so, the jointer table is in the way. It's not a big deal to drop the table, but its a lot easier with the power tables on the planer. Most of the tradeoffs can be minimized by options or planning.

There are some benefits as well. Space savings for one, it allows the core tools to be on an island in the center of the room. Plan for dust collection to that spot though. I have a power feeder for the saw and shaper. It also swings over the jointer outfeed table, and makes a really sweet tool for face jointing. You mentioned a shaper, it is an enormously useful addition to a combo machine.

You will probably hear more people say they would keep separates, but for me, the combo really works well. Now if only I could get more time to use it...

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Erik, thanks for the eye candy pics, they are worth a pile of words. Sam has a very nice machine.

[Erik Loza]

...Eric, it would be very helpful if you can post links to where to buy these accessories from with model numbers, etc. ..

Frank, these are some of the add-ons that we and and our customers have used with good success on the various Minimax machines...

http://www.wixey.com/planer/fit/
http://www.proscale.com/products/woodworking.htm
http://www.siko-global.com/en-us/products
http://www.martin-usa.com/cms/_main/aigner/catalogue.html


Thanks for the comments Erik. I've read a ton of your posts on multiple different forums and I've learned a lot from them.

Erik, thanks for the eye candy pics, they are worth a pile of words. Sam has a very nice machine.

:);)

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Larry Edgerton]

I am not all that easily impressed, but that friend of yours Sam,. ya, he impresses me. And he has all the cool toys.......

Larry