[OP]
Contributor
I want to thank everyone here that responded to my post a few months ago about a combination machine vs. separate planer and jointer. I have made my inquiries, received my quotation and will be ordering a Felder AD741 with Power Drive this coming week. The machine will apparently arrive in late June.
I pity my soon to be assaulted credit line, but look forward to my new shop upgrade!
Regards,
Joe
Contributor
Congratulations on the new combo, that will be quite a shop upgrade. Christmas for you in June!
Last edited by julian abram; 05-22-2017 at 10:12 PM.
Moderator
congratulations!!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Member
Nice! You are going to love it.
Member
Agreed, I am highly jealous!Originally Posted by Jim Becker
Member
Congrats! I look forward to seeing how you like it. Keep us updated if you don't mind.
Contributor
You're going to love having a combination machine............Rod.
Member
congratulations!
What does a machine like that sell for ?
"Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
- Rick Dale
Contributor
Well, I just looked up the Felder. I've seen combination machines in use, but wasn't sure on the model #. I am very curious how one would get used to the constant swapping back and forth between applications.
I think it would be great to have 16" jointing ability, but there are so many times that I would run a board across my jointer (6") and immediately run it right through the planer next to it, then joint the edge and plane the opposite edge and have a perfectly 4 square board. That would take at least 10 times as long on the above machine.
Also, it seems that the aluminum fence was extremely flexible in the videos I watched. How do they fair against a wide board on edge?
Other than the greater capacity, what is the big attraction to the combo machines?
Not knocking your new toy; it looks like a very nice piece of machinery, but I think I would hold onto the Dewalt for sure.....
Dan
Contributor
I've had a combo machine for about 30 years, first a 10-1/4" Inca and now a 14" MiniMax for the past 18 months or so. I've also had a stand alone planer during that time. There's no question separate machines make life easier, but adapting to a combo only set up is not hard. All it takes is a slight shift in mind set. Rather than running one board, you group them, simple as that. Of course there are occasions when you will have to face joint a single board, then switch over to plane it, then back to edge joint it, but those situations are not that frequent if you plan your work, make an extra piece of stock or two, and just think ahead a little.
A combo machine saves some space over two separate machines and reduces some wiring and dust collection ducting. Having that big wide jointer is pure luxury and can be a real upgrade to your work. I just finished making some exterior door panels about 13" wide from a single piece of stock. It's also easier to upgrade to a segmented head on a combo machine because you are only buying one. At this point in the game, I'd never be happy with an 8" jointer, nor anything less than what I now have.
My MiniMax takes less than a minute to switch from jointing to planing. Not much of a penalty but it would be unacceptable in a production environment. Happily, that ain't me. FWIW, the fence on my MM is a massive lump of cast iron with zero flex. Sure is heavy though.
John
Moderator
It's a different way to work, but the planning of workflow has advantages, too. Many of us have spoken about that in many threads about combo use. I rarely edge joint....almost never now...since I have a slider. I flatten and thickness in batches and then straight-line rip on the slider with a perfectly perpendicular edge thats ready to glue up. Jointing is faces only for me now.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
nice upgrade. did you like the 6 in rigid? i see them around here fairly cheap.
Contributor
That is one of the more substantial upgrade leaps ive heard of. Most people progress through machines a bit. You went right from A to Z in one move! You will surely love the jointer capacity. 16" machine is where i hope to end up one day. My 12" covers 90% of the material i work with, but it sucks when I have to stop to remove the guard or some other work around for 13"+ boards.
Adam, I had a 6" rigid for my first jointer and thought it was a great entry machine.
Contributor
I only have a jointer/planer combo. A digital readout on the planer saves some grief if you need 4 pieces, plane 4 pieces and screw one up. It's a lot quicker and easier to set the planer for a repeat thickness with a digital readout than with the scale and pointer that is common. Aside from that, rethinking workflow as mentioned above helps. To make a 4 square board I face joint, edge joint, plane and rip the 4th edge.
Member
Wow, now thats an upgrade youll never regret!
If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!
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