European tablesaws

[Ken Salisbury]

Scott,
Glad to see you here on the Creek -- You'll love it
<p align="center">
<IMG src="http://www.klsal.com/banner3.gif">

[Steven Seligman]

Just got here from the Pond, me thinks I like. But, anyway, I own a Felder CF310 and could not be much happier. The quality of the machine is head and shoulders above standard issue cabinet saws, shapers, jointers, planers etc. as is the flexibility. I have a small shop, and there was no way I was getting a full compliment of equipment into it and have any room left to swing a dead cat. Once you add up all the extras you would need to get the “same” level of performance it really becomes a viable option. In reality if you would be hard pressed to retrofit another machine to operate as well as one of the Comb’s do out of the box (or stand alones for that mater). They do have some “short comings”, i.e. the rip fence does get some getting used to, it is not as firm as the std. “t” square type. Some also think the no dado is a big deal, but once you get used to the shaper setup with a router spindle, it really is 6 of one ½ dozen of the other. Actually, I can set up the shaper faster then I could ever set up the dado. Plus, you can leave it set up and lower it below the table and go back to TS operation. The rip fence serves double duty (with some extra support) there is a user group on Yahoo


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/felder-woodworking/

[Francisco Luna]

[Hello Dave !
I'm new here too (2 minutes ago) I was looking in Yahoo for a small contractor grade table saw and I saw your comment in this Forum. I want to tell You another great brand in sliding Table Saws: ALTENDORF, Made in Germany. Actually, This man was the inventor of this kind of saws. Awesome saws ! Take a Look ! www.altendorfamerica.com

Regards,
Francisco Luna

[john lawson]

I have owned a Rojek KPS 300 V combination machine for about 2 years. I am very happy with it. Reliability has been great.

This particular machine is a 5 in 1 combination machine with 3 separate 3 hp motors, which are Italian made. It runs on 230 volt single phase power. It has a 10" -12" tablesaw, 12" jointer, 12" planer, a shaper with 1 1/4" spindle and router collet (and an interchangeable 3/4" spindle), and finally a plunge mortising unit. If you have never used a mortising machine run off the jointer you are truly missing out on something. The Rojek company has been around a long time, and Tech Mark has represented them for something like 20 years. I have been very pleased with what little support I have needed. I now wish that I had gotten the optional format aluminum sliding table instead of the cast iron sliding table I have, but the one I have is very good, the format would have gotten the work closer to the saw blade and shaper cutter.

Without criticizing any other brands or makes of equipment I was thrilled with the overall value of the equipment I bought. I can achieve close tolerances with very robust equipment. There is no way I could have afforded separate machines that would have compared to what I got in this combination machine. It is true that changeovers are problematic with any combination machine. But I find that I plan my work a litlle better than I used to when I had all separates to minimize this issue. I also find that I have fewer occasions to go back to a previous set-up because the work I produce is more accurate. On the plus side you save a lot of shop space with a combination machine.

Your original question was about a Rojek saw, but I thought I would give you a little more to think about. Rojek is a very good brand and a very good product

[Jim Becker]

The more I've been learning about this class of machine, the more I'm very respectful of them. Frankly, I'd have a MiniMax CU300 in my shop right now if not for the stairway smack in the middle of it. I'm so pleased with the MM jointer/planer and bandsaw that I may spring for the ST-3 saw/shaper someday.

Yes, the combos are not inexpensive up front, but you get a lot of machine for the money and dare say you actually compare what individual tools of similar capacity and quality would cost, the combo is a bargain. And the slider is incredible with "one finger" smoothness that you'll pretty much never find in an add-on slider, too.

[Ken Garlock]

....
BTW, I noticed you're in Texas.
We were at a party tonight & someone mentioned there's a Rosenberg, Texas.
Do you know anything about this city?
If you do, I'd appreciate anything you may know.
All the best.
Howard

Howard, it is amazing the things you can find on google Take a look at the City of Rosenberg Website.

Rosenberg Texas

[Michael Perata]

How much money do you have invested in your tablesaws (price of saw, additional features added by you, etc.)? I guess I'm trying to convince myself that this saw needs to be on my short list.

I have the MiniMax CU300Smart combo.

Paid about $9,500 last year. The slider is worth the price of admission by itself.

Let me join with Paul and invite you over to our forum. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MiniMax-USA/

[John Renzetti]

hi Dave, I've had my Felder machines for going on six years. In my opinion they are great and I use them a lot. Once you use a slider you'll wonder how you did without it.
Before you buy anything, look at all the machines. You're in VA so you should find some Felder and Minimax owners. The Felder USA hq are located in DE so it's not that far from you.
Take care,
John