Folks,
I just got two new tools and figured I'd post my experience here in case it helps anyone else with purchasing decisions, moving heavy tools, 3 phase power and anything else. Also, thanks to this group for all the great feedback that helped me along the way.
We recently moved from Colorado to PA and I used the opportunity to upgrade my shop. I ditched my old jointer and lunchbox planer as well as my cheapo bandsaw.
Decision process - I knew I wanted heavy duty machines that I would not have to replace so I got my decision down to MM and Felder. I own a MM slider and have been happy with their product and services. Since I moved to Southeastern PA, Felder has a showroom less than an hour away so I figured I'd visit them and actually see the tools they had.
J/P - On the combo, I narrowed down my search to the Minimax FS 41 Elite S and the Felder AD 941. I went with the Felder for several reasons. I really liked the idea of the spiral cutter head. I know Tersa owners love theirs but I was convinced that the spiral would be quieter. Given my shop's in the basement of the house, noise is a big factor for me. Also, I liked the idea of local support. Felder even went as far as to help me move the gear into my basement shop, which was a huge factor. Lastly, the had the equipment available which meant I could have it up and running in my shop immediately. I am sure I would have been happy with the Minimax, but ultimately, I bought the unit that I thought I would like better.
Bandsaw - This was a bit easier. I was looking at the MM20 originally but moved up to the 24. I have had cases where I needed that "extra few inches" for a given cut and figured I'd buy as much saw as I could to future-proof the purchase. I looked at the Felder FB 640 as well. If Felder had had one in stock, it may have made the decision tougher, but since they didn't and I liked the heft and resaw height of the Minimax, I went with that.
I'm sure the sales folks would have liked me to buy both tools from them, but I figured that since I was spending a lot of money, I'd get exactly what I wanted. That's what I ended up doing.
Delivery - This was the part that had me sweating it out. The J/P weighs 1300 lbs and the bandsaw weights 1000 lbs. I had to pick up the J/P at Felder's Delaware site. I rented a trailer drove down and picked it up. I had one of the Felder guys meet me at my house to help me move it. I actually drove the trailer right up to my basement door in the back yard. Originally I was going to use an engine hoist to move it the 20' from the trailer to the basement but that didn't work for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, the pallet jack ended up being the best way to do this. We just carefully rolled it down the trailer ramp and into the basement. To get the J/P off the pallet, we made a small ramp and used the pallet jack.
On the bandsaw, I had to pick it up from the FedEx freight center near my house. This time I was on my own but was armed with the experience of the J/P. This time I did not drive around to my back yard but just parked in the driveway. I used the pallet jack to get the tool off the truck where about 1/2 the pallet was supported by the forks of the jack and the other half hung over. On the flat parts, I put a dolly on the far end and rolled it with the pallet jack. When we got to the hill in our yard, I ditched the dolly and had the far skids of the pallet directly on the plywood we laid down. Using gravity and the leapfrogging plywood method, we got it down the slope and into the basement. I did this with 2 helpers but they didn't have to do too much. The pallet and gravity did most of the work. The harder part with the bandsaw was uncrating it and getting it from it's spine to the upright position. This is where the engine hoist did a great job. I simply used the hoist holes in the top and cranked it upright using the engine hoist. The hoist also came in handy mounting the 200 lb iron table into position while I installed that.
Here are the two tools in their final spots...
AD 941 Jointer.jpgAD 941 Planer.jpgMM24.jpg
3 Phase Power - Lastly, I decided to take the plunge into 3 phase power given the J/P needed it and I liked the features of the 3ph J/P's. I was a bit intimidated by this but ultimately bought an American Rotary 15hp RPC. It was pretty easy to install. The only pain is working with 6, 8 and 10 gauge wire. But setup and connections were pretty easy. I went with an RPC because I plan to have multiple machines on it at some point and I didn't want to spend too much on a Phase Perfect. I find the RPC is very quiet and works great for my needs.
Anyhow, that's about it. If anyone has any questions on the tools, moving large equipment into a basement or anything else, I'm happy to share my experience. I will say, I could not find really good videos or detailed info on either tool. I will probably do a review and potentially a video on one or both tools in the future. But that's for another day. I still need to make some sawdust with these first!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Steve Wilde
