Thinking about getting a Minimax FS 41ES - Thoughts?

[Phil Gaudio]

Xylent all the way.

So Tersa or Xylent ??? Tersa is about $250 less...

[Peter Kelly]

So Tersa or Xylent ??? Tersa is about $250 less...

I’d get the Xylent head if you’re going to be planing lots of highly figured wood and are worried about tearing or chipping. Tersa is fine for 99% or other woods, can even get carbide knives for them these days.

[Jim Becker]

That's encouraging, Jim. If I do end up going with the combo, I'm very much looking forward to the jointing width. Never had anything close. Will need to grow in discipline in my milling plans, as the changeover looks likes a bit of a bottleneck if repeated too often (hence the question about the powered lift.)

Changeover takes me like a minute...and mine is hand-cranked. But good planning is certainly very helpful anyway and a good practice even if one has separate machines. I do most of my face jointing first and most of the time, my J/P is in thicknessing mode. (I don't normally do much edge jointing because my slider takes care of that well enough when ripping flat and thicknessed material.

[Adam R Johnson]

Thanks, all. Brian, I'll see if I can get the same powered lift option with the 1ph package. If not, I may give Bernie and Phil's idea a try.

[Albert Lee]

So Tersa or Xylent ??? Tersa is about $250 less...

I had Tersa before on my Robland 16 inch combo, I now have Felder's Silent cutter block. pros and cons. for production and if you are not worried about noise, Tersa. for professional hobbist, Xylent.

[Brian W Evans]

Timely thread for me, as I'm considering this same exact machine. New forum member here. Setting up a garage shop in the Seattle area and for the jointer/planer decision, I'm trying to decide between 'forever' machines (which would be separates) and a combo machine that I'd use for the present but sell when I get a bigger shop space. As a general rule, I'd far rather get the crying over with early, but I don't know if separates are practical right now.

You could always get the combination now and turn it into a dedicated jointer or planer later by just leaving it in one mode or another. It doesn't take up any more room than a stand-alone jointer. Possibly less, in fact.

[Peter Kelly]

One note - the FS 41ES and likely the Felder equivalent are extremely top heavy and awkward so a lift gate would be a no-go. You’ll definitely want a fork lift to unload it from the trailer once it arrives. You’ll also need a lift to remove the machine from the pallet as well.

[Phil Gaudio]

So there may be an advantage to the plain old FS41E as my machine was delivered via liftgate with no issues and I was able to roll it off the pallet with a quickly constructed ramp.

[Todd Solomon]

So Tersa or Xylent ??? Tersa is about $250 less...

I've owned both and love both. Tersa is a fantastic cutterhead, I had one in a Mini Max and then a Felder. Also had an Oliver 20" with spiral cutterhead, it took too much space in the shop so I went back to a combo J/P. But for that small $250 price delta, I'd get the Xylent.

I just took delivery of a Hammer with a spiral cutterhead, but it was not an easy decision. Really, you'd be happy with either, I suspect.

[mreza Salav]

I have the same machine as Jim (FS-350 with Tersa) and I am quite happy with Tersa. Minimum amount of sanding required.

[Brian Holcombe]

I have a Tersa and I like it a lot. Given the choice I'd stick with Tersa.

[Brian Cox]

It is done! I put down a deposit for the FS41ES today! Now I get to wait for my Christmas present... Real question is why does it take longer to build one of these guys than my 2021 F150...

[Max Neu]

It is done! I put down a deposit for the FS41ES today! Now I get to wait for my Christmas present... Real question is why does it take longer to build one of these guys than my 2021 F150...

Be patient, it will be over a year before I get the machine I ordered,even though I was told 3 months.

[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...