Jonter/Planer Combo

[Patrick Walsh]

This has been discussed here. I think i have read through most all of it, along with anything i could find anywhere else on the interweb.

The topic jointer planer combo.

Hammer A3-31 or MiniMax FJ30. Silent power cutter head or Tersa?

My questions or inquiries go like this. I like most am inclined to think the build quality of the MiniMax machine is mildly superior.

On the other hand i did play with a Hammer A3 yesterday with the spiral cutter head and was very very impressed. That head is like a Ferrari! I ran some birdseye and mahogany through it and was like wow! Any irregularities i took care of with a quick pass of 220.

So the Tersa pro is ease of swapping blades. Spiral pro is finish quality for the most part. I have read and did see with my own two eyes on the wood i passed over the silent cutter head the very minor scalloping. Again 220 took care of it 1-2-3. I work in just about all hard figured wood. Think teak, birdseye, babinga so forth and so on. I almost never use anything soft or not figured. The silent cutter head left no tear out. My old Yates straight knife machine and Dewalt lunch box planer make a mess of the same material leaving major tear out!

I have read some stuff about people having problems with the tables on the Hammer machine not being flat. I found one complaint about the same on the MiniMax. So the question is to those who have now had the machines a while. Much of the info to be found is from years ago now. I wonder to these people how do you like your Hammer machine after having it a while. Have you had problems with the tables. Have you had problems with scalloping on the silent cutter head. If you have had problems how has dealing with Felder/Hammer been?

I generally like the MiniMax machine more but it cost $1100 more and that is without a spiral cutter head. If i upgrade that myself the machine is $2400 more. In the end if the machine is superior to the Hammer i am not worried about the $2500 as i plan to have the machine for many moons.

One thing other than fit and finish that i like about the MiniMax machine is the S/1 230 4.8 horse motor vrs the Hammers S/6 230 4.0 horse motor. As i understand it the Hammer motor only uses 40% of its horsepower while the minimax uses all 4.8. On the other hand the Felder or Hammer silent cutter head requires much less power to turn it than the Tersa or the comparable Byrd head.

Also has anyone experienced and problems with the MiniMax machine i should be aware of. I have read their customer service can be a nightmare. That is pretty scary as we all know sometimes machines show up and have problems right off the pallet. If you end up with a company that is not proactive and assuming all responsibility it can really stink!

Thank you all in advance for any insight you can offer. This is a big purchase for me.

i am also interested or really looking at buying the Felder RL 125 over the Onieda V3000. I recently read bad stuff about the filters clogging on the Felder machine. Anyone have any thoughts on that for me!

[Bill Adamsen]

If possible, compare the sound of the two you are considering with dust exhaust operating. My 16" has a four blade head (straight blades) and while it is pretty loud anyway, it just howls when the blast gate is opened (and dc is on). Important because it is the one tool that simply cannot be operated without dust collection. My 8" Powermatic would at least work without dust collection. Tersa blades are relatively inexpensive, typically come in a variety of flavors (carbide for instance) and are easy to change without making any jointer height adjustments. To my knowledge, none of the Euro machines support rabbeting, so if that is a requirement, look elsewhere.

[Chris Merriam]

Are you sure your pricing is accurate? I went through this a year ago and the hammer with spiral was roughly 4k, and the MM was 3400, but the price was going up soon to 3800ish I think.

one difference I didn't realize is the MM tables have to be lifted separately, and there is no spring assist like the hammer. Not a big deal just takes a second longer.

[Patrick Walsh]

Yup quoted $5300 plus $400 shipping on the MM FJ30 classic with the Tersa cutter head.

If the MiniMax was indeed the price you got quoted a year ago i would purchase it and upgrade the cutter myself without thinking twice about it.

[Patrick Walsh]

I wanna hear about problems with the Hammer tables not being flat.

That would be a big deal breaker on either machine for me. I'd be even more upset if the rep then told me to get lost and I was out of my mind for caring.

[Mark Carlson]

The hammer tables on my machine are very flat. I got the byrd head, so I'd get the silent power head if I was buying again.

I wanna hear about problems with the Hammer tables not being flat.

That would be a big deal breaker on either machine for me. Id be even more pissed if the rep then told me to get lost and i was out of my mind for caring.

[Jim Becker]

Run at least a 6" line out to the J/P from the DC. You can reduce to 5" for that last piece of flex and then use a Fernco rubber plumbing boot from the home center to attach to the 120mm port on the MM. Hammer is likely similar if you go that route, but I don't know what their port size is. And again, you do need your DC to be in place before you can operate these J/P machines. They will clog in about a half second without DC. Nature of the beast...

[Jim Andrew]

How wide is your old Yates jointer? You might check on woodweb to see if there is a used machine close to you. For me the cost of driving half way across the country to get a used machine would cost more than just buying new. But I see some great deals in the east and north parts of the country.

[Rich Riddle]

Glad to see you considering Felder. Felder is more in line with MiniMax as parity goes. Hammer is the hobby line but still good. I chose the MiniMax FS35 with the Byrd Shelix head. It works great. It certainly makes up for the wood butcher's inadequacies in the hobby.

[Chris Padilla]

I have the FS41Elite J/P. That is 410 mm wide or 16" with a 3-knife Tersa head. Works great, easy to change, cheap to pick up more blades. I was quoted $1200 for a Byrd Shelix head for it a few months ago but decided to pass on it. Mine has done everything I've ever asked of it and I don't see a reason to change anything. Oneida makes a transition from 6" to 120 mm for the dust collection port. If you don's see it on their site, jet them an email about it and they'll whip one up for you.

[Patrick Walsh]

I considered a old machine. I already purchased that Yates machine form the 30-40's and the fence has some twist in it. No big deal bit also not ideal. I really don't want to have to or cant move a 2000 lb machine into my shop. Plus all those machines are 3 phase. At least the good ones and i don't want to do the phase converter thing. Rather just have a shiny new machine if its not a Grizzly or Jet hobby machine.

How wide is your old Yates jointer? You might check on woodweb to see if there is a used machine close to you. For me the cost of driving half way across the country to get a used machine would cost more than just buying new. But I see some great deals in the east and north parts of the country.

[Jim Andrew]

I was not talking antique machines. A couple months ago I was looking for a slot mortiser, and saw a Hammer K3 winner, 7948, a combo jointer surfacer, and a hammer bandsaw. All advertised by one seller
and only about 3 years old. And at half the price of new. But it was in one of the east coast states.

[Chris Merriam]

I get snipe with my FS30, but I'm not ruling myself out as the cause LOL! It is quite easy to adjust both the infeed and outfeed roller pressure, it just takes an allen wrench in two bolts, one on either end of each roller. The bolt heads are easily accessed just by lifting the tables to put it in planer mode - they're right there in plain view.

This is my first full size planer, prior to this I had a lunchbox so there were no adjustments to make at all, so I'm still learning how to tune the machine for best performance, and unfortunately I'm self-taught and there's no documentation on the proper tension/pressure each roller should have. I'm pretty sure I've been running with too much pressure, the board was getting jerked out of my hand on the infeed side, so I've recently dialed the pressure back but I'm not in the middle of a project so I haven't even bothered to see if that solved the problem or not.

[Patrick Walsh]

How about with dust extraction do you still have clog problems.

One of the things the Hammer rep os claiming is that although the minimax machine has two dust ports thus not having a mess of hoses the ports are smaller and like to clog.

Anyone having trouble that is running a Minimax machine with clogging. How is the dust collection overall.

Dust collection is one of my biggest motivators for going with a modern machine vrs a vintage cast iron beast. I hear the Hammer is great in this department. Good enough is good enough but there is nothing like a machine that collects dust well.

Run at least a 6" line out to the J/P from the DC. You can reduce to 5" for that last piece of flex and then use a Fernco rubber plumbing boot from the home center to attach to the 120mm port on the MM. Hammer is likely similar if you go that route, but I don't know what their port size is. And again, you do need your DC to be in place before you can operate these J/P machines. They will clog in about a half second without DC. Nature of the beast...

[Patrick Walsh]

What are people doing with the MM machines for a height gauge on the planer.

i have read of aftermarket units. I have also read those aftermarket units can be problimatic?