I agree for the most part, as soon as I have enough space I will have separates again there are also other reasons as most combos don’t have proper pressure bars, chip breakers ect, however it’s really not a huge pain if it’s a hobby or even part time. I don’t get the bending down part, I don’t need to do that and don’t even notice it also I do not have to lock a lever but I have a powered table which doesn’t require it and it’s a snap to repeat a dimension exactly. The alum fence doesn’t bother me, most folks that complain about that (not saying that is you) do not have the right technique and are applying too much pressure to the fence causing deflection which doesn’t cause an issue in itself but can make the machine feel cheap but i get what you mean coming from using big old iron.

That said I would not want a combo without powered table, dro and a 4 post planer table, i had an FS350 for about 30 years in my home shop and i can tell you the the powered table makes all the difference in the world for a combo.




Quote Originally Posted by Robert Mayer View Post
Unless you have space constraints I see no reason to get two different machines. While its true the changeover only takes a minute and a half or so, its still a pain. Its a real pain when you convert it all over only to realize you forgot to do one board and have to go all the way back. Also bending way over to use the planer kinda sucks. I prefer planers that can be raised and lowered on the fly, without have an unlock lever on it. I also am not a fan of the lightweight aluminum fences most combo machines have.