Jointer/Planer combo's suggestions

[Aaron Beaver]

I have been contemplating buying a jointer and planer for a while now. I have read lots of old post stating to buy the biggest you can. So in doing that I had at one point decided to go with a 10” jointer and 15” planer. After pricing both of these I was close enough in the price range that I am going to get a combo machine. It will be a huge space saver in my basement shop, plus my wife said she would rather have one machine instead of two.

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Now that I have decided to do that I have a question: Which Combo to get around the same price as the two machines separately. Here is what I found so far:
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Mini-max 12” but for around the same price I could get a Rojek 16” or for a little more the Hammer 16” is available. Around the same price of the Hammer is the Mini-max 14” but is there any reason I would not want two more inches for the same price.
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I have been leaning more toward the Rojek because it the widest at the lowest price any comments on this machine or any of the ones I listed. Are there any considerations about getting a combo machine that I may have not thought about, powering it, dc hook up, etc. Thanks for any information or tips on deciding what to get.

[Mark Pruitt]

Aaron, here is a thread currently "in progress", dealing with this and similar issues:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=38227

[Jim Becker]

I own and use one of the Mini Max 14" (actually...350mm) J/Ps. I felt it was a good compromise between capacity and cost when I bought. Would I like to have the bigger 16" machine? Sure. But the 14" machine had enough width on the jointer to make me happy along with more bed length that was a must-have for me. The 12" J/P machines (from virtually everyone) were too short for my liking.

Buying tools is always about managing features, capacities and cost.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

examine the function change.
some tops remain parallel and lift easier.
How well do they come back to the same spot?
As usual, weight means alot.
Tersa knives are no big deal, dust collection is.

fwiw
mike
combo user

[Paul B. Cresti]

Aaron,
J/P's are great. In my opinion the greatest of the combo machines because they offer two functions (in some cases three) that work hand in hand. Assuming you get a quality machine, the performance they provide in a small footprint are excellent. Also consider a machine that has the ability to add a horizontal mortising attachment as this will add another great function.

As far as size, I have a 16" MM j/p, if at the time I knew they had a 20" I would have gotten that one. Even though a 12" j/p provides a great jointer size I think the planer is bit limiting. I would suggest a min of 14". Since this is going to be very important machine in your shop do not shop on price alone. Look at features but also the company behind the machine.

[Aaron Beaver]

examine the function change.
some tops remain parallel and lift easier.
How well do they come back to the same spot?
As usual, weight means alot.
Tersa knives are no big deal, dust collection is.

fwiw
mike
combo user

I will have to look into those options more. Right now I was pretty much just pricing and wanted to see if anyone had any reviews of the Rojek or Hammer brands as I know Mini-Max is good but the 14" was just as much as the 16" so I will have to see if features or quality would make loosing 2" worth it.

[tod evans]

Tersa knives are no big deal, dust collection is.

fwiw
mike
combo user


i`ll argue this point.....tersa heads are the best thing since sliced bread. never in my life had i been able to change all four knifes in a head dead on accurate in less than 10 min. the cut is every bit as good as the ol` ground in place powermatic planers. i feel the tersa head is really a great selling/buying point on any of the machines you`re looking at...02 tod

[Jim Becker]

Tersa knives are no big deal,

I'm with Tod...they are one of the things I really love about my MM J/P, although I'm not disagreeing about the importance of good hood design for dust collection. It's truly important.

[Charlie Plesums]

Me, too. I was ho-hun about the Tersa knives until I got them. I can change them so fast that I use different knives for different purposes... one for dirty rough lumber, and a different set for fine hardwood.

I have the older 3 knife head, and can change all three in three minutes. The newer MiniMax machines (at least some of them) have 4 knives, so I probably need to allow 4 minutes on those. Tod.... 10 Minutes:confused: :confused:

A friend has a MiniMax combo like mine, and has a roll-around dust collector. Once he added a trash can separator to keep from plugging the blower with that 16 inch jointer/planer, he was in business. Would a big cyclone be better? Sure, but he is operational.

[tod evans]

sorry charlie! 10 min is going way long! i`ve never timed changing all four knifes but i feel very safe saying a total idiot could open the planer i have, remove the shroud, knock the jibs down and change all four knifes, reassemble the planer and be back at work in less than 10 min. if they had never done it before!
and jim, i agree with you too that dust collection is really important also:) ..02 tod

[Mark Singer]

I am kinda new to the Tersa heads having just gotten my 16" Elite S from MM....I do love those Tersa heads and the dust collection is excellent as well

[Jim Becker]

While one CAN change the Tersas with about a minute per knife...going a little slower isn't a horrible idea...those suckers are SHARP!! ;)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I haven't yet stumbled across any thing that requires a large planer or a jointer over 12"

For my money I'd rather have a 48" wide drum or belt sander thant a 15"or 20" planer. If I were running a production shop I'd have very different needs.

The sander will take whole assemblies the planer will only have to cope with a couple boards at a time.

A production shop will need a bigger planer as the time & money saved shoving many sticks through at once is important. The artist or craftsman won't likely have that as an issue simply because they aren't trying to earn money on the thin margins that all too often plague anyone making custon furniture. The custom cabinet shops can be behind the Eight-Ball on so many issues among them paying salaries and overhead while their customers are whitholding as much as 10% of the contract while they wait for every single tradesman on a job to finish their work. Years can pass ouch.

So they absolutely need machines that minimize time invested allowing them to get on the the next job.

Because of those distinctins between the avocational tradesman earning a living and the guy in his home shop enjoying his private trade-craft I submit that you might never need a planer wider than 12" and 12" in a jointer may do you very nicely also.

[Steve Wargo]

While my Inca 10" jointer/planer is a little smaller than many of the newer J/P combos I must confess that I purchased it and drove 800Miles round trip to get it because it was the only one I could find with tersa cutterhead. As everyone else says, takes about 2-3 minutes to change all three knifes... And that's taking a minute to make sure that power is off and disconnected. Quick and easy, and I don't think I would ever own a jointer without them now.

[Brian Buckley]

Aaron,
I must warn you about something that will put a HUGE dent in your retirement account. About a year and a half ago I decided I NEEDED a combo jointer planer. I drove to Austin, Texas to inspect the 14" MM . After trying both the 14" and 16" combo JP, I naturally decided the 16" best suited my purpose. Then Sam and Michael showed me the 20" band saw. You know, they where just being nice guys. On the way from the show room to the office they just happened to have a 410 Elite Combo with an eight foot slider hooked up and running. I thought to myself, this is the reason I have been unable build quality furniture. I have not had the proper equipment.
As I was driveing back to Houston with a receipt for the 410 Elite and 20 " band saw I realized there where a few more things I would need to become a first class furniture maker. Approximately $10,000.00 worth of shaper tooling and an auto feeder with Aigner fence (over the last 12 months) would fix me up.
For what ever reason, my wife is still with me and I have one hell of a shop.
Set for life, right? O no, now Cali. Boy has to go get a 16" Elite S JP with all kinds of automatic gizmoes on it. If only I had those gizmoes I would be that much better of a furniture maker.
My wife has taken my car keys away from me. However I checked Grayhounds schedule and they do go to Austin.

Brian

[lou sansone]

for new machines, the mm line of equipment seems to be pretty well made. you get good, no nonsense design without a lot of hype. the tersa heads seem really nice. I happen to have seperate a jointer and planer that have traditional knives. while I can change them fairly fast, they are no match for a tersa head. I would think that for most applications a 14" jointer would be just fine. If your budget allows, then it may be worth going larger if some of the features common to both machines seem much better designed in the larger machine

best wishes
lou

[Aaron Beaver]

I haven't yet stumbled across any thing that requires a large planer or a jointer over 12"

For my money I'd rather have a 48" wide drum or belt sander thant a 15"or 20" planer. If I were running a production shop I'd have very different needs.


I haven't looked at this option but I did measure some things around the house and did notice that some things were just under 16" wide (armoire, dresser, end table) and if I had to glue up boards I could then run them through the planer afterwards to make an even thickness in case they slipped during glue up. Some things are larger than 16" so those would have to be dealt with accordingly.


Aaron,
I must warn you about something that will put a HUGE dent in your retirement account. About a year and a half ago I decided I NEEDED a combo jointer planer. I drove to Austin, Texas to inspect the 14" MM . After trying both the 14" and 16" combo JP, I naturally decided the 16" best suited my purpose. Then Sam and Michael showed me the 20" band saw. You know, they where just being nice guys. On the way from the show room to the office they just happened to have a 410 Elite Combo with an eight foot slider hooked up and running. I thought to myself, this is the reason I have been unable build quality furniture. I have not had the proper equipment.
As I was driveing back to Houston with a receipt for the 410 Elite and 20 " band saw I realized there where a few more things I would need to become a first class furniture maker. Approximately $10,000.00 worth of shaper tooling and an auto feeder with Aigner fence (over the last 12 months) would fix me up.
For what ever reason, my wife is still with me and I have one hell of a shop.
Set for life, right? O no, now Cali. Boy has to go get a 16" Elite S JP with all kinds of automatic gizmoes on it. If only I had those gizmoes I would be that much better of a furniture maker.
My wife has taken my car keys away from me. However I checked Grayhounds schedule and they do go to Austin.

Brian
I like that story, my wife actually wants me to get the 16" just in case I glue up a panel for larger projects. I hear what you are saying but I have already been taught in this hobby and from other people "sayings" around here, that you will end up spending more in the end if you have to upgrade because you out grow or didn't buy big/large/powerful enough machine and thats probably my biggest concern. I have bought one piece of equipment when I first started and wished I would of used that advice but didn't because I didn't want to spend a little more. I am not saying that I want the biggest most gizmoed machine out there I just don't want to short change myself and in the end saying I wish I would of done something else.

I have looked at the 14" MM but it looks like you have to take the fence off when you raise the table since it splits in two where the 16" is once piece. Is that correct?

[Charlie Plesums]

While one CAN change the Tersas with about a minute per knife...going a little slower isn't a horrible idea...those suckers are SHARP!! ;)
Which is why I won't start the job without my heavy leather gloves on. 14 or 16 inch DOUBLE edge razor blades... in simple terms, they drew blood every time until I made the leather glove rule.

No joy in this race, but anything is certainly better than the many minutes (or hours) to get precision alignment of conventional blades. I wouldn't have considered having different knives for different uses until I got the Tersa system.

[Charlie Plesums]

...I was driveing back to Houston with a receipt for the 410 Elite and 20 " band saw ...
I had to get the MM24 to go with my 410 elite.


... has to go get a 16" Elite S JP with all kinds of automatic gizmoes on it. ...My wife has taken my car keys away from me. ...
I live in Austin, and avoided going to the MiniMax office anytime they had an Elite S on the floor. But the last time, I forgot to check, and not only did they have the 410 Elite S full combo, but they had it powered on (they knew I was coming). Sweet machine. As a service to your wife, I would be glad to check any details you want to know about, so you don't have to drive to Austin - gas is so expensive these days.

[Brian Buckley]

Thanks Charlie, I appreciate your help. The price of gas would be the small part of the cost if I go to Austin. MM will have a 410 Elite S at IWF in Atlanta. I need to bypass their booth. My luck, I would pass the Martin booth going around theirs.

Brian