Adding a minimax c26 genius combo (mini euro combo machine) to a shop full of tools

[John Strong]

Hi everyone,

I have come across an opportunity to add the minimax C26 genius to my shop from only $500, but already have a shop filled with individual tools. I spend most of my time in the woodshop slowly making mediumly sized pieces of furniture for myself, friends and family members. (stools, dressers, coffee tables, etc) My current setup is as follows:

Sawstop PCS w/ cast iron router extension (no lift)
Dewalt 13 in planer
8 in long bed Rockwell jointer (mid 1980's)
Laguna SUV 3hp bandsaw
Harvey G700 dust collector

It seems that given the C26 more hobby size, I would be sacrificing jointer bed length, and planer width if I were to replace my jointer and planner with the combo machine. That being said, my jointer would increase by 2 inches in width. The C26 has tersa blades, which would make changing blades less painful. I have no plan to replace my Sawstop for rip cuts, but taking advantage of the euro slider for cross cuts would be a pretty cool. But again, I have a homemade crosscut sled which works pretty well.

The shaper, and mortiser are really the only tools which I don't have. But in my small furniture projects have yet to come across a need for one.

Do I pass on this ridiculously good deal in favor of practicality. Or should the shaper, mortiser, and cross cut functionality earn itself a space in my shop?

Let me know your thoughts.

Best,
John

[Greg Quenneville]

John, I would jump on the chance for the following reasons:

A slider is better than a crosscut sled.
The shaper is a valuable tool to have, doubly so if there is a router spindle included.
There should be jointer table extensions available which fix the bed length issue.
Tersa knives are great
You can always resell it at no loss.

Having had Felder mortisers I wouldn’t get too excited about that particular feature. In fact I gave one away when I bought a domino XL. They are better than nothing certainly, but not great with larger workpieces.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Assuming you can find the physical space, I'd jump on it. People spend way more than $500 trying to outfit a semi-functional sliding table on the left of North American-style tables saws all the time.

The short jointer tables are a non-issue.

Seems like a very low-cost way to dip your toe into the euro machine world. To me, this would be worth at least $500 of education/entertainment value.

[Jacques Gagnon]

John,

I will echo the comments made by Greg and Dan. This is a nice opportunity presented to you and I see no downside for you to go ahead.

Having made the switch to both a slider saw/shaper and jointer/planer combination machines a couple of years ago I am sure you will appreciate the safety, ease of use, versatility and performance of the combination machine. Even though you would lose some width capacity on the jointer function, you would gain on the jointer function all the while having a more powerful machine. I am not sure whether the machine you are considering comes with an outrigger but if it does, that in combination with a home-made Fritz and Franz jig will open possibilities for your projects. Although the shaper is a great addition to your current equipment be aware that some of the tooling can quickly get expensive. The worst case scenarion is that you would not use the shaper function if acquiring new tooling is not feasible at this time.

If this expenditure is not problematic budget-wise for you, I see no downside to going for it, but then I have been told that I am really good at spending other people's money :D.

Regards,

Jacques

[Erik Loza]

In my experience, that machine is for the craftsperson who is doing small, solid wood projects. Shadow boxes, little display boxes, picture frames, etc. It’s tiny, but seems like you aready are aware of that. If it’s in good shape, then $500 seems like a bargain. If nothing else, you wouldn’t be able to get a Tersa-head jointer/planer for anywhere near that. Let us know how it works out.

Erik

[Aaron Inami]

It seems like a really cheap way to get a decent 4 foot cross-cut slider (it is $1400 to as a sliding table to your SawStop). However, keep in mind that the motor is only 2.5 HP, so you are looking at smaller material thicknesses unless you want to slow down your cuts. Your first project should be making a set of Fritz-n-Franz jigs. That will make your cutting life even better!

This can replace your 8" jointer and be an improvement. Although, it will limit your planer operations to a 10" width which may be a problem with some of your material. The 13" Dewalt may end up staying for those "just in case" scenarios.

The shaper will be quieter than the router table when using larger type cutter head. However, the shaper motor is also only 2.5HP, so you are not looking at super huge profiles either.

[John Strong]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I'll most likely go check out the machine this weekend.

@Erik, Do you agree with Aaron that I may be able to replace my 8 in jointer with the 10 in short bed jointer on the Minimax. it looks looks like the bed is pretty short at 41 inches. Do you think the tiny combo adds utility for larger furniture projects, when paired with my Sawstop? Or will I only find my self hopping over to that machine when making smaller pieces?

@Aaron, I like the idea of getting rid of the jointer, and holding onto the planner. (especially since my Dewalt has a Byrd helical head.)

Best,
John

[Jim Becker]

John, just how often do you need to joint long boards? I avoid that like the plague by cutting down material just oversize for components and then milling them. It's rare that I need to joint something longer than 5'. There are a lot of folks who could benefit by working this way no matter what kind or size of jointer they have in their shop. Milling shorter stock also preserves more material in some cases because you're cutting off "less bend", as it were.

[Curt Harms]

Jim is right about flattening long boards, cut them to rough length first. One of my first uses after I got my Jet J/P was to flatten a bowed poplar board, about 7' long. When I got done it was flat and the center was about 3/4" thick. The ends on the other hand were about 3/8" thick:o. A cheap lesson learned. If you need long stock as in a door or bed frame longer jointer beds are certainly helpful. A rule of thumb I've seen is you can joint stock 1.5x to 2x the length of the jointer beds. My J/P beds are 55" so 82" to 110" long. For me 110" would be pushing it without additional support on either end.

[John Strong]

Very good point Jim / Curt. I do typically break down all my stock ahead of milling. And while I do have a bedframe project coming up, after that, most components will be topping out at 5 ft.

Best,
John

[Dave Sabo]

I get a chuckle every time I hear someone muse about “short” jointer beds…………….usually because they’re repeating some chant they read or heard, or thought them remembered reading on the interweb about how bad they are.

Now , don’t get me wrong , there are some instances where long beds are advantageous , but those times are really few and far between for mosts hobbyists (and many professionals). Plus there are simple , fast and inexpensive workarounds.

I wouldn’t get all hot and bothered bout “losing” three inches…………..from your planer anyhow . Besides , the biggest limiting factor is your jointer width anyway. And in the case of the c26 they are the same size. We can debate all day / week / month / year about whether straight knives are better or worse than a segmented head.

I agree with the slider being better than any crosscut sled you can make.

Also agree with the mortiser being basically a freebie wall ornament. If you have need for one , a domino or dedicated router setup is usually more efficient.

[Warren Lake]

Chain side of the Robinson will cut a mortise faster than either mentioned. At 1,800 lbs you better have strong walls. Maka as fast or faster and neater. Small jointer as long as you have infeed and outfeed support then its feel. There were certain jobs where 10 foot material would have been faster to leave and joint in one piece but still cross cut 1" over, a bit more time then easier jointing.

[Ron Selzer]

If that combo unit was a lot closer to Ohio, you would not have to worry any longer about buying it. I would have it at my house and be trying to get it in the basement.
I started with a 4" jointer that was less than 30" long, edge jointed 12' stock on it as needed. I then moved up to a 6" jointer with 7' aux outfeed table and an 8' aux infeed table was used as needed. only room enough to edge joint 8' boards.
Now have a 8" helical head jointer that is pushing 7' with no aux tables at this time. I am now trying out face jointing for the last 3 or 4 years after 40 years of using a 12" planer with short infeed and outfeed to prep rough sawn lumber.
I have a MiniMax 12" combo machine almost together, need to slide motor back in and wire from scratch. Then mount the mortiser and try it out. Just need to stay healthy long enough to get to it.

Saying all this to tell you if you have enough room get this machine, IF still available, DON'T get rid of anything for a year. See what works for YOU in YOUR SHOP, BUILDING what YOU WANT, HOW YOU want to build it.
Good Luck
Ron

[John Strong]

If that combo unit was a lot closer to Ohio, you would not have to worry any longer about buying it. I would have it at my house and be trying to get it in the basement.
Ron

Hi Ron, thanks for the comment. Out of curiosity, what would you use this mini combo machine for if you had the opportunity to snap it up? It sounds like you have no need for its jointer / planner function. The sliding table saws stroke at 1200mm (3.94 ft) is just shy of being able to cut a sheet of plywood in half, in the short direction.

My shop is a little small, so I'll have to get creative to make it work. And as one of the earlier commenters alluded to, it is going to simply be fun to try out euro machine (regardless of how small it is) for $500. Whether or not it makes the cut long term, only time will tell.

Best,
John

[Ron Selzer]

"And as one of the earlier commenters alluded to, it is going to simply be fun to try out euro machine (regardless of how small it is) for $500. Whether or not it makes the cut long term, only time will tell."

Point I was trying to make is ONLY YOU, know what will work for you. For $500 and some time I would have to find out what it would be like to have a slider combo machine. If at all possible, space wise I would have to try it out and see if I liked it as much as the guys on here like theirs. If not, then list it for sale for $1000 and the first $800 would own it.

Two years ago I ripped out a wall in the basement, removing a bedroom and expanding my shop. Since then I am seriously considering taking over the last of the basement for my shop. already have about 800 bd ft of popular, cherry and rift sawn white oak stored there. SWMBO never uses that side that she claimed 14yrs ago when we got married, except to store more junk in there. I would set the combo machine up there and see how I liked it. As to cutting sheet goods, there is a 60" panel saw in the garage, a 48" compact panel saw in the basement, and a 48" panel saw in the daughter's garage.

I just would have to try it out myself. I am not retired yet, however all kids are out of the house and in their own. So SWMBO gets the main house and I get the basement, I only do woodworking as I want and am physically able, health issues. Did with not much for too many years and yet had to do woodworking to have anything for the kids. Then quit for 15-20 years due to burn out. Now I enjoy collecting tools and building furniture at my speed. SWMBO stays happy because she knows where I am and she or the kids get new furniture.

Ron

[Jacques Gagnon]

As mentioned a few times a key factor is the type of work you are or will be doing. While this machine has modest proportions it is nonetheless capable of handling many components for furniture projects. The ability to easily produce a straight line from a curved piece is one key advantage of a slider. Creating perfectly square crosscuts is never frowned upon and the slider saw makes this very easy. The ability, with the help of a Fritz and Franz jig, to safely produce items as small 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 inch is also valuable when working on small boxes. It all depends on the work you do. Bottom line from my perspective a small ma hine can be a very nice addition to your shop.

[Warren Lake]

type of work always has a relation to the machines. If you do custom you will get lots of variety and need to be able to do more. I can think of past being hampered by the Excalibur sliding table on the General saw. That now would have been fine on this SCM slider. There are always ways to work around just less convenient. I was thinking both the two best germans I know had combos and both their kitchens were mortise and tennon and they worked that way till they died. They ran shops that were based on a larger combo at least their own shops, in industry one had off the map level of machinery. Unheard of these days.

[Richard Coers]

Depending on the age, really check the switches. I bought a Lab 30 in the 90s that was sold as a Euroshop. The on/off rotary switch went bad. It is a stack of wafers with all plastic parts and replacement cost was quoted at $400. I bought a similar switch on EBay and with hours of reverse engineering got it to work. But a $500 machine is no bargain if it needs a $400 switch that is very likely not available any longer. The parts gal at Minimax was surprised she could get one, and that was probably 8 years ago.

[Richard Coers]

I think the one thing you won't like is the rip fence. When I'm making furniture, I don't want to take the setting off the jointer to use the fence on the saw. On my machine, the Euro Shop, the American importer added a Biesmeyer clone rip fence on the saw. So when my day job added a Felder, I put a Biesmeyer on the saw too.

[Jim Becker]

For $500, I'd buy it just to have a second machine. LOL

[Ralph Okonieski]

I have the C26 which was purchased new more than a decade ago. I paid a lot more than $500. Anyway, it has been a great machine. Only real issue was sourcing a capacitor for the saw motor; SCM did not have any and claimed they could not locate any. I did find a source in England so bought a few extras.

As far as the jointer bed length, it is only an issue if you let it. I use roller stands when necessary and have jointed many long boards. I am a hobbyist so setup with the roller stands does not impact my timeline for projects. I would buy a C26 again without hesitation; it is a quality machine and performs very well.

[Warren Lake]

richard made a good point I have two Invincible combos. Wiring on one was toast and new switches SCM was know past like 60 years ago for some bad wiring my view the wiring took out the switches as when I checked it I found wiring casing so broken down I have not idea how it had not shorted out in different places it crumbled in my hand.

the other one original wiring and original Danfoss switches that look Art Deco they are so old. These machines saw tons of use so much so that there is wear in a spot or two from having passed so many boards worst place start of infeed and end of outfeed just one more reason to get people to use support each side though few will put the use on a machine they did.

[Erik Loza]

For $500, I'd buy it just to have a second machine. LOL

This ^^^

In the normal world, I would ask a LOT of questions of a prospective owner, since the C26 is such a tiny machine, but for $500, you can’t really go wrong unless there is something the seller isn’t sharing. Regarding availability of replacement switches, I wouldn’t worry too much abou that since the C26 still appears to be a current production machine. Even if you had to put another $500 into it, it’s still a bargain. That being said, I would make sure it’s not missing any fences or guards. Those can add up in a hurry. No lie: I’m not even a woodworker but if this were in Austin, it would be in my garage. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Erik