Minimax FS30 Initial Setup and Review

[Patrick Harper]

The Hammer Jointer / Planers seem to be really popular right now, but I don't see as much written about the Minimax equipment. I felt like it would be useful for others considering these combo machines to hear a bit more about the Minimax. I made my decision based on several factors. Everything about the Minimax seemed top notch. Minimax's USA headquarters are just a few miles from my house. And most importantly, Eric Loza (a SMC member) was quick to answer all of my questions. I just got the machine up and running, but everything seems perfect right out of the box.

For the complete, initial review check out my blog post: Minimax FS30 Initial Setup and Review (http://wp.me/p5P6LK-fa)

I'll follow this up with a more thorough review in the following weeks. Let me know if you have any questions about the machine.

[Patrick Harper]

Speaking of questions...I almost forgot to ask mine. For any existing owners, what are you doing for dust collection? I think the ports are 120mm. Having a hard time finding adapters.

[Rod Sheridan]

Speaking of questions...I almost forgot to ask mine. For any existing owners, what are you doing for dust collection? I think the ports are 120mm. Having a hard time finding adapters.

Thanks for the review Patrick, I'm sure you'll be very happy with your new machine.

I have a J/P and the adapters are available from your supplier, or you could do what I did, I used a 5" elbow and slightly crimped one end until it a friction fit on the machine port.

Regards, Rod.

[Chris Merriam]

I was told to use a Fernco rubber 4in coupling available from either big box store. It was a hair too small to fit over the dust fittings, so I had to shave down the inside diameter until I got a nice slip-fit. I can't remember how I shaved it though: sandpaper, rasp, or OSS??

at the other end of the coupling i slipped a 4in light duty PVC coupling inside. This provides resistance so you can affix your flex hose with a band clamp.

[Joe Mioux]

I just stick in a 4 inch flexible hose and it works .... doesn't work great but it works good enough for me not to change. It is a really quick connect.

[David Kumm]

One of the many uses of duct tape. Turns 120mm into 5" and has just enough fraction to hold together yet pull apart when needed. Dave

[Rod Sheridan]

One of the many uses of duct tape. Turns 120mm into 5" and has just enough fraction to hold together yet pull apart when needed. Dave

Red Green Award winner!

And you're not even Canadian..................Regards, Rod.

[Phil Thien]

I just stick in a 4 inch flexible hose and it works .... doesn't work great but it works good enough for me not to change. It is a really quick connect.

LOL, it doesn't get any quicker than that.

[Patrick Harper]

I was told to use a Fernco rubber 4in coupling available from either big box store. It was a hair too small to fit over the dust fittings, so I had to shave down the inside diameter until I got a nice slip-fit. I can't remember how I shaved it though: sandpaper, rasp, or OSS??

at the other end of the coupling i slipped a 4in light duty PVC coupling inside. This provides resistance so you can affix your flex hose with a band clamp.

Erik mentioned the Fernco fittings, but I can't find any that are 5". I think 120mm is roughly 5". I measure the outside diameter of the dust ports and they're roughly 4.75" or so.

[Patrick Harper]

I just stick in a 4 inch flexible hose and it works .... doesn't work great but it works good enough for me not to change. It is a really quick connect.


My 4" hoses won't fit over a 5" port. :D

[Patrick Harper]

One of the many uses of duct tape. Turns 120mm into 5" and has just enough fraction to hold together yet pull apart when needed. Dave


Haha. I'll use this as a last resort.

[Rich Enders]

Patrick,

Please note the attached photo. I picked up water heater vent reducers at the Borg. These are 5 inch to 4 inch sheet metal reducers. I crimped each end down a bit with a needle nose pliers, painted them blue and then attached them to the machine dust port with a couple of small nuts and bolts. I bought the black plastic quick disconnect from Rockler, and secured it with a hose clamp. So now I move the 4 inch hose to the scene of the action.317454

[Patrick Harper]

Rich, that's not a bad idea! Thanks.

[David Nelson1]

One of the many uses of duct tape. Turns 120mm into 5" and has just enough fraction to hold together yet pull apart when needed. Dave

Exactly what I have done.

[Peter Kelly]

I think 4" is correct Fernco boot size for 120mm OD dust pickups. Remove the metal straps, fold it in half and slip it fully into your 5" flex hose. Small amount of grease on the pickup helps getting it all together.

[Patrick Harper]

I think 4" is correct Fernco boot size for 120mm OD dust pickups. Remove the metal straps, fold it in half and slip it fully into your 5" flex hose. Small amount of grease on the pickup helps getting it all together.

No, the dust ports on the machine are 5" OD. There's no way a 4" boot would fit over them. There are vanes on the inside of the ports, so you couldn't slip them on the inside either.

[Peter Kelly]

The dust port(s) on your machine should be 120mm / 4.72". The ID of a 4" Fernco boot is 4.58". Once you remove the metal straps from the fitting, it should be able to stretch over the port no problem. Worked perfectly for my FS 41 Elite.

https://www.fernco.com/sites/default/files/dimensional-drawings/pdf/1056-44.PDF

As I mentioned, use a bit of grease to help it.

[Erik Loza]

A customer emailed me once the actual PN for the Fernco fitting that fits perfectly on any of the MM J/P's but I'll be darned if I can find that email now.

I think there are so many different brands of rubber coupler out there that there could be some slight variation, even if advertised ID or OD is the same, among them. I'll keep hunting for that email.

Erik

[Patrick Harper]

The dust port(s) on your machine should be 120mm / 4.72". The ID of a 4" Fernco boot is 4.58". Once you remove the metal straps from the fitting, it should be able to stretch over the port no problem. Worked perfectly for my FS 41 Elite.

https://www.fernco.com/sites/default/files/dimensional-drawings/pdf/1056-44.PDF

As I mentioned, use a bit of grease to help it.

really? I thought I had measured one at the Borg, but I'm sure I'm wrong. Couldn't find a 5" one. I guess I'd still need a 4" coupler for my 4" hose. I just try a 5"-4" reducer with the weather stripping I have left over from the DC.

[Patrick Harper]

A customer emailed me once the actual PN for the Fernco fitting that fits perfectly on any of the MM J/P's but I'll be darned if I can find that email now.

I think there are so many different brands of rubber coupler out there that there could be some slight variation, even if advertised ID or OD is the same, among them. I'll keep hunting for that email.

Erik

i can't believe no one makes at 120mm->4" adapter. The euro machines are getting quite popular.

BTW, I've already purchased some m42 knives from one of the sources you provided. Thanks again for all of your support.

[Peter Kelly]

The OD for 5" Schedule 40 pipe is 5.563" so a 5" Fernco fitting wouldn't work on your 120mm port. 4" is the correct one.

Oneida makes a 4" - 120mm adapter: http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=SCOLLECT13&CatId={F2C7C33A-47C2-4769-A100-AD04D1A1BF86}

4" ducting isn't a real optimal size for large chip collection from a j/p though.

[Patrick Harper]

Thanks again Peter! I know 4" isn't ideal, but it's all I have at the moment. I could take the dual hose adapter off of my Delta DC and run 6". The inlet is a little short though. On the plus side, I'm only running about 6 ft of 4" hose. It seems to pull in the big chips fine. I'm more worried about the fine dust. It does have a Wynn filter and Thein baffle.

[Erik Loza]

I ran a 4" hose with the old el-cheapo, single-bagger DC units we use to tote with us back in the trade show days. It did a decent job on the jointer/planer for me. Planer chips are big, so it's not like running MDF on the table saw or something. Actually, more like little curly-ques, off the Tersa head. The trick I found was to keep the DC as close to the machine as possible. But it worked fine for me.

Erik

[Patrick Harper]

That's what I'm thinking. I keep the DC directly connected and it pulls in big chips no problem. The shavings are very nice off the tersa knives.

[Rod Sheridan]

i can't believe no one makes at 120mm->4" adapter. The euro machines are getting quite popular.

BTW, I've already purchased some m42 knives from one of the sources you provided. Thanks again for all of your support.

My Euro machine have a 120mm port.

I tried the J/P once with a 4" hose, spent 5 minutes unclogging the J/P.

I think most people use a 5" hose with the Euro machines................Regards, Rod.

[mreza Salav]

I have a 6" hose running with a 6-->5" reducer at the end of it, a couple of rounds of duct tape on the hood on my J/P and the 5" metal reducer fits nicely on the 120mm hood of J/P.

[Chris Merriam]

Here, I took pics of my set up. No need for duct tape that might wear out, just use a razor blade to bevel the inside of the Ferno coupling a bit to allow the slip fit to start.

This is 6 in PVC main, to a 6-->5in HVAC reducer, to 5in flex tube. Also note the 1/2 pvc coupling inside the Fernco, to allow the hose clamp something to register against.

317570

317569

317571317572

[Scott Allen27]

I would recommend going with the fernco , I tried the same size coupler from another brand but it was much stiffer , slightly smaller and didn't fit without carving the inside edge out like the above poster.
also it's best to use 5" hose with this coupler - the hose fits nicely over the coupler , and the coupler fits nicely over the ports of the j/p.
I don't have the j/p , I have the cu300 but the ports are the same I believe .
If you need to move down from the 5" hose to 4" , that's easily done by adapter.
good luck!
Scott

[Darcy Forman]

I use a six inch flex hose to connect to my machines. On the end of the flex hose I have a norfab six inch by 4.72 straight reducer. I had it custom built to my exact specs by norfab. The machine end has a slight taper and it slides over the dust port for a snug fit. I use it on my mini max jointer planer and my felder table saw. Works like a dream.

[Patrick Harper]

I ended up getting a 5->4 inch reducer for now. It actually fits perfectly over the ridge on the dust port. It's a pretty tight fit and seems to work well with my dust collector so far.

[Joel Daros]

Hi Patrick. Next time you can talk with your Minimax salesman, can you ask him about non Tersa cutterblock in FS 30 Genius.

I thought the Tersa comes with default with all J/P combos, but seems that it's a option. The salesman said me the default is a standard cutterblock with 2 knives (non Tersa) and Tersa will be avaliable as a option. I ordered the machine and just realized this after the order be placed, and now he asked me more few bucks to add the Tersa curtterblock.

I'm from Brazil, I didn't known if they have different machines for each market.

[Patrick Harper]

Joel,

I think this might vary, country to country. In the United States the Tersa head is standard. However, we get a porkchop guard instead of the Euro-guard.