Thinking about getting a Minimax FS 41ES - Thoughts?

[roger wiegand]

I have basically the same machine only 3 ph. It's been about a year and I still can't believe how well it works! Enjoy! Having that wide a jointer is life altering-- though you will develop some upper body strength pushing wide boards through.

Mine (bought used) came with the pork chop guard, and I hate it. It doesn't work very well and it's constantly in the way. Some day it will irritate me enough that I'll spring for the Euro style guard. Really happy to have the powered bed, I wish it had a couple pre-sets so you could drop it down to the bottom and back up again with a single button push.

If the "mobility kit" means the tow bar I think that if I needed to move it a lot I'd opt for an aftermarket solution like Bora. I used the built-in wheels to move it while installing it and found them difficult to engage-- but I haven't had the opportunity to practice.

[Jens Hoffmann]

Are you sure the ES is available as 1 phase? I thought only the E was.

[Peter Kelly]

Are you sure the ES is available as 1 phase? I thought only the E was.

The FS 41 ES is available as 1ph but you won’t have the powered planer table as the up/down motor that drives it is only available in 3ph.

The OP might want to consider the FS 41 E if this is an issue.

[Brian W Evans]

Two other thoughts:

I was advised to stick with the Tersa head, and I am very pleased with it. 16" gives you plenty of room to skew most lumber to help avoid tearout and you can get carbide-tipped Tersa knives. I have no experience with the Xylent cutterhead but the results I get with Tersa are excellent.

I hate the porkchop. Aside from the size required to cover 16", it just doesn't work well IMO. I've never tried a european style guard but I can't imagine it would be worse.

[Peter Kelly]

Brian - there is an aftermarket bridge guard that fits the FS 41e for about $375 + shipping. Actually fits most larger sized jointers.
https://www.scosarg.com/cps-txf650-surface-planer-guard

cptxf6_l4002.jpg

The pork chop one on mine has sheared off at the pivot point so I’ll be ordering one of these soon.

[Brian W Evans]

Thanks for the tip, Peter. My porkchop recently required some epoxy to repair several cracks around the pivot point, too. Not thrilled with that.

Edit: I just looked at that aftermarket euro guard and it says "unsuited to machines with swing away top beds." I take this to mean that it doesn't work with J/P machines. I can't see why it wouldn't work, but that would concern me, especially since I'd be ordering it from overseas.

[Joe Adams]

I have an Minimax FS30c and for the smaller size, the porkchop guard actually works quite well. I use the Portamate PM 3500 base and it works for that weight. The FS41e is a lot heavier so you would have to take that into account. I actually chose the smaller machine because it would be easier to move around in my small shop every time I needed it.

Most importantly, I have the Tersa head and absolutely LOVE it. I had a 8" Powermatic jointer with a helical head before and it leaves subtle lines along the board. The Tersa blades are so easy to change (like 2-3 minutes total) that I switch between HSS, M42, and Carbide depending on the situation.

[Phil Gaudio]

I have the FS41E with the segmented head: very nice. I made a slight modification that makes the manual planer table elevation semi-powered: all you need is a cordless drill.

[Len Rosenberg]

Thanks for all the great ideas! Phil, how did you modify the turn wheel like that? Looks like you put a 3/8 or 1/2" drive socket in the center.

[Brian Cox]

Well my 41ES has arrived state side. It is in CA. They called me today. Funny thing is my 2021 F150 that I ordered the same time is being built this week. Now we will see which arrives first.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the tip, Peter. My porkchop recently required some epoxy to repair several cracks around the pivot point, too. Not thrilled with that.

Edit: I just looked at that aftermarket euro guard and it says "unsuited to machines with swing away top beds." I take this to mean that it doesn't work with J/P machines. I can't see why it wouldn't work, but that would concern me, especially since I'd be ordering it from overseas.

I have a standard Euro bridge guard on my FS350 and there's zero issue with it. It follows the outfeed side. I just flip it in the opposite direction before doing the pivot. So in this photo, a lever is released at the place where it attaches to the bed, the whole thing is pivoted toward that white door in the background and then re-latched. At that point, after pulling my fence forward, I can flip the bed back toward those shelves to convert to thicknessing mode. The FS-41 series should be similar If I'm not mistaken.

[Peter Kelly]

Thanks for the tip, Peter. My porkchop recently required some epoxy to repair several cracks around the pivot point, too. Not thrilled with that.

Edit: I just looked at that aftermarket euro guard and it says "unsuited to machines with swing away top beds." I take this to mean that it doesn't work with J/P machines. I can't see why it wouldn't work, but that would concern me, especially since I'd be ordering it from overseas.

Brian - I think the issue is with combination machines where the jointer beds swing forward rather than upward. Since the beds on the FS 41E & S swing up, installing the CPS bridge guard shouldn’t be an issue. Photos below illustrate what I’m talking about.

[Brian W Evans]

Brian - I think the issue is with combination machines where the jointer beds swing forward rather than upward. Since the beds on the FS 41E & S swing up, installing the CPS bridge guard shouldn’t be an issue. Photos below illustrate what I’m talking about.

That makes sense. Never seen one of those before...

[Peter Kelly]

That makes sense. Never seen one of those before...

Most all older mid-range SCM, Robland, Electra Beckum, Rojek combination machines operated like this. Pretty common to see in Europe.

[Jim Becker]

Both the infeed and outfeed sides on my FS350 J/P flip up individually, but they do so straight back, not on angles like in those photos. That's why the Euro bridge guard works perfectly well on my machine.