MiniMax FS41e

[Izzy Charo]

Hello,
I'm in the process of setting up this machine, which came with the orange pork chop guard...I've already ordered the European guard, but meanwhile I need to get this orange guard in place, and the instructions are useless. If anyone has done this I'd love to know which screw hole on the jointer table to use (they don't say) and whether the nut on the underside of the guard has to be removed first to expose more threads....I can't find a way to get the guard to move in and out smoothly and not get hung up on the table edge... why is it so hard for manufacturers to provide clear instructions!?
Thanks for all help-
Izzy

[Jebediah Eckert]

Izzy, I have a FS 30 but they have to be similar. My instructions were garbage as well. The guard also hit the table on mine. What I did was put a washer under it to raise it up a touch and it worked fine. In the picture I use the hole the bolt is in.

I put the washer over the hole in the table and thread the bolt through the guard from above. Hold the guard closed against the fence and tighten the guard bolt down snug. Once it is snugged down the spring return should work. That works on mine.

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[Jacob Mac]

I have a FS30 too, but my guard cracked and it was such a pain I don't use it.

[Ian Guy]

Izzy— i just had an FS30 delivered. A couple questions: where did order the euro guard from? Does your machine’s cutterhead freely rotate? I am in the process of cleaning my machine and I can’t rotate the cutterhead in order to clean the packing grease from it and install the tersa knives. Is there a locking mechanism that is engaged so that the head doesn’t move during transit? Thanks, Ian

[David Publicover]

Hi Ian,
I got my new FS30 in the fall and found the cutter head stiff as well but it does turn. I’m not aware of any locking mechanism. I have the Tersa head as well and really like it. I got my blades from Tersaknives.com. They were excellent to deal with.
I did ask about a euro guard but was told they weren’t available from SCM but I’d be interested if that is no longer the case.
Best regards,
David

[roger wiegand]

Izzy— i just had an FS30 delivered. A couple questions: where did order the euro guard from? Does your machine’s cutterhead freely rotate? I am in the process of cleaning my machine and I can’t rotate the cutterhead in order to clean the packing grease from it and install the tersa knives. Is there a locking mechanism that is engaged so that the head doesn’t move during transit? Thanks, Ian

Yes, there's a locking mechanism that prevents rotation whenever the head is not under power (a least on my FS41SE). Look in your manual to see how to unlock it (I don't remember, it's been so long since I had to do it)

[Phil Gaudio]

I never installed the pork chop guard, as I ordered the bridge guard. However, the pork chop is is installed in one of two threaded holes on the outboard side of the infeed table. See picture. Hope this helps. Instructions say nothing about removing anything from the guard.
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[Izzy Charo]

Hi Ian,
You're a step or two ahead of me in setting up the machine, but my cutterhead also doesn't rotate so I emailed Sam Blasco (AKA: The "Lifeline" of MiniMax Owners!) and he replied that there is a magnetic release that needs to be turned off, and it's controlled by a switch that should look similar to what's shown below, the switch should show yellow when the cutterhead is free, and machine should not start with switch in this position, he says ..of course none of this was in the useless manual. I am still struggling with the pork chop guard, but managed to order a Euro guard from Professional Machinery Group, in Tracy CA (209-832-0100). Hope this helps--- I'll post again after I hit the next major snag in the setup...I've come to believe that SCM doesn't really sell machines...they sell kits!
Good luck,
Izzy
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/26e22d1c-cae5-4b65-8d39-f17aa35659a6

[Chris Groer]

I got mine about a year ago and the manual is indeed a mockery. Mine is in the rightmost hole as you face the machine.. Don’t force the guard counterclockwise or the plastic will break... I’m on my second one. Once you get it set up it is a fantastic machine though. Hope this helps

[Izzy Charo]

Chris- do you have the FS41e or the FS30?
Thanks,
Izzy

[Chris Groer]

I have the FS41E. I took it off and heard the spring pop loose and it reminded me how much I despise this part. The guard on my old powermatic 54 was vastly superior. Anyway here are 2 pics. To install move the fence all the way back and align the pork chop as close to perpendicular to the guard as you can. Then tighten the bolt in the rightmost hole. Now when you turn the guard counterclockwise away from the fence you should feel some tension from the spring. Let me know if you still have questions. I will say that it works fairly well once installed with the right tension and you will quickly get the hang of switching to planet mode. Like others have done, I modified the planer crank to accept a big square drive. It’s kinda fun then using a drill to raise and lower it very very quickly 456119456118

[roger wiegand]

I got mine about a year ago and the manual is indeed a mockery. Mine is in the rightmost hole as you face the machine.. Don’t force the guard counterclockwise or the plastic will break... I’m on my second one. Once you get it set up it is a fantastic machine though. Hope this helps

I'm wondering if you guys have the full manuals? For the FS41SE there is a ~400 page manual and second, substantial parts book with exploded diagrams. The information about the interlock was certainly in the manual. To date I've found what I needed in the documentation; the translations aren''t perfect, but they're plenty good enough. They are available for free download, though I did have to phone SCM and ask for a link to the most recent version of one of them,

[Chris Groer]

Thanks Roger that’s good to know. My manual has a yellow cover and is only about 20 pages. Do you happen to have the link from SCM?

[Izzy Charo]

I also could not find a real owners/users or service manual on the SCM website for the FS41e...I have the same useless yellow "manual" that others have. Appreciate the help from others on this Forum, and would love a link to a better manual- Thanks!

[Izzy Charo]

Not sure what this piece is, or where it goes on the machine.... Thanks!
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[Ian Guy]

Izzy, i think that piece is to make a push block for use with the jointer. I plan to just use some regular push pads/blocks that I had from my old jointer.

[David Publicover]

Ian nailed it; it’s a handle for a push block.

[Peter Kelly]

Not sure what this piece is, or where it goes on the machine.... Thanks!
456182Since I have about a dozen of these I'm guessing someone's brother has a factory in Rimini making 'em.

[roger wiegand]

Thanks Roger that’s good to know. My manual has a yellow cover and is only about 20 pages. Do you happen to have the link from SCM?
I misremembered the source. I got it from Scott&Sargeant in the UK. https://www.scosarg.com/manuals-for-machines They charged 5 pounds for the download (easy with Paypal) I now remember I had no luck getting it from SCM.

[Izzy Charo]

I may have missed this in the "great" manual... regarding the planer speed: is that switched from slow to fast (or vice versa) while the motor is running or when it's off? And does it matter which position it's left in while in jointing mode? Thanks!

[Phil Gaudio]

I may have missed this in the "great" manual... regarding the planer speed: is that switched from slow to fast (or vice versa) while the motor is running or when it's off? And does it matter which position it's left in while in jointing mode? Thanks!

Izzy: I switch when machine is not running, but I don't think it makes a big difference. I leave it in off position when jointing: no point having the whole planing transport mechanism operational when you don't need it. FWIW I never use the high speed planing setting. Phil

[Izzy Charo]

Many Thanks to all! Getting close to firing it up....very exciting!