12" j/p Hammer vs Minimax

[Dan Lautner]

I am looking to buy a 12" J/P and have narrowed it down to the 12" Hammer vs the Minimax. The Minimax will cost about $850 more. I read the FWW article and they seem to like both machines. The tables are 4 1/2" longer on the mm. The longest boards I see myself face jointing would be 8' for an enty door. The hammer has a euro guard which seems safer for face jointing. I think both machines would have good resale value if I decide to go larger down the road. Any advice/ input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Dan

[Dick Sylvan]

There have been favorable reviews on both machines in several English mags as well. It seems to me that the differences aren't enough to merit spending $850 more on the MM. I just bought the Hammer full combo, but haven't used the j/p yet.

[Stan Welborn]

I'll be watching this thread very closely. I'm in the same predicament, with the exception I haven't quite convinced myself to combine the machines over separates. That said, I had decided on the MM if I got a combo, but then in the mail comes a flyer from Felder with "Autumn Special" prices. With the sale price, I changed my decision to the Hammer and decided to either get one in November, or get 2 separate machines. I could no longer see the MM being worth the difference in price. Then, I guess since they saw me perusing their website, I received a call from Felder. I won't mention the salesman's name here but if anyone wants it just IM me. (All I got was a first name) He asked what I was interested in.

Now, A: I didn't request a sales call and don't like them to begin with, but that's not a big deal I guess, but: B: When I told him I was looking at the J/P he quoted me the regular price. When I told him I had received a flyer in the mail with the sale price, he said "Yeah, that's our fall special."

Then why didn't he quote me that price to begin with? Why not say "That's a nice machine and right now it's on sale for ..." ? He gets to pocket the difference added to his commission if he sells at regular price or something?

Anyway, after we hung up, the more I thought about it the more irritated I became that he was going to sell me the machine at the regular price until I said something about the special.

So now I'm back leaning toward the FS30 Smart if I get a combo for the simple fact I won't deal with someone I don't trust. Still, I think the Hammer with the sale price is a much better value albeit a slightly inferior machine according to the FWW article. So... what to do, what to do?

But heck, I still haven't even made up my mind on the combo vs separates issue yet.

[Mike Spanbauer]

I hope I don't muddy the issue, but Jet just released a brand new 12" J/P contender that appears to be quite well made from the specs and such... plus it has a street price of around 2k.

In addition, Grizzly just made a J/P 12" clone as well, which should prove to be a fairly good contender (no, not directly but the units that Griz mimics are generally just a touch less fit / polish at a pricepoint that makes you stop and think REAL hard).

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of both Felder and MM machines as they are both finely crafted units... but the Jet unit is pretty sweet from the pictures and demonstration that wood did (look it up on youtube).

Tagged this for review myself as this is a purchase on my 12 month horizon.

mike

[Dan Lautner]

I saw the Jet video and it looks like a nice machine. I like how the table lifts in one piece. The price is listed at $2000. It does not look like they have quick change blades like the euro models. I'm not sure if it has a breaking motor.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRowR...ls%20furniture

Dan

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I own the Hammer. I really like it~!!
I have not used the MM.

[Curt Harms]

http://www.tools-plus.com/jet-jointers.html
I initially thought there was $6.50 shipping but nope. I did call Jet and ask about availability. The lady I talked to said they were coming from Europe, which I found interesting, don't know if that's accurate or not.

Curt

[Niels J. Larsen]

I also own the Hammer and I like it a lot.
Take my oppinion with a grain of salt though, since I've never used anything but this.
However I'm usually very picky and I've only found minor things that could've been better on this machine.

If you feel you need the longer tables, get their extensions.
The 150x400mm aluminium extensions are mountable on both the infeed and outfeed table as well as on the outfeed side of the planer.
The tables are mounted with a quick-release, so you only need two - one of them (or both) will then easily dismount from the jointer table and mount on the planer.

I can also highly recommend the "digital" wheel for the planer.
Although it is actually analog, it will enable you to plane to 0.1mm or better accuracy if you like.

By the way - if you decide to buy their N4400 bandsaw as well, the extensions will also be mountable on that.

They also have a 800mm extension, but it needs a floor support, so unless you REALLY need it, I would only buy it for the bandsaw (which I've just done )

/Niels

[Eddie Darby]

I see that the initial price for the Jet is $1700, which would leave some $$$$$ left-over for an after-market spiral/shelix head.....Hmmmm.

I think the idea of a combo machine is a good one, when considering the cost savings of having to upgrade to 1 head only, as apposed to 2 heads on 2 separate machines.

Question for those who have a combo machine: How is the snipe?????

[Wilbur Pan]

I find that my snipe issues on a jointer/planer combo are identical to standalone machines -- no better or worse.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

How is the snipe?????

Sharp blades and run the wood correctly and no snipe. Dull blades or run finicky wood wrong and you get snipe.

I have some rock maple that wants to snipe if I run it backwards.

One thing about the Combos they really want a DC hooked up. otherwise the chips dimple the lumber by the out feed roller

[Scott Thornton]

I came down to the exact same two machines. I went with the MM and am very happy with it. I chose that because I bought a bandsaw at the same time. (The Felder bandsaw isn't in the same class of machine). Since I was buying two machines and it was during one of the yearly woodworking shows, I got a good deal which brought the J/P to about the same price.

I don't think you'll go wrong with either machine you choose. You should be feel confident that both are high quality and you shouldn't have any problems with service/support.

[Joe Mioux]

i have the mm.

it works well. but when you are jointing and planing 12 foot long 150 yr old red and white oak ( its really hard after all those years) you yearn for longer tables.

this is an extreme example. so don't put too thought into that second sentence.

I did learn a new jointing techinque today. If you ahve on realy bad section, just run it back and forth until you hear the buzzing noise all the way down the beam.

Anyway. both are good machines. Pick one and use it!

joe

[Jim Becker]

I did learn a new jointing techinque today. If you ahve on realy bad section, just run it back and forth until you hear the buzzing noise all the way down the beam.

Yup...sound is an important indicator when working with the jointer!

[Stan Welborn]

As a followup to my previous post, my faith has been restored in the Felder organization by a follow-up call from a Sales Manager. I explained my concerns and he very cordially assured me the price of the machines on special were in their computer system, and even if I had not known about the sale, I would have automatically gotten the new price. So, depending on shipping cost, it looks like a new A3 31 machine may be headed toward NC very soon.

Now, if I can get shipping quotes for the Agazzani, Meber and maybe the MM bandsaws...