The Case for Combo Machines

Shaper

All these combos have powerful, versatile, large capacity shapers served by the sliding table. Combination shapers are equalled in stand-alone machines only in the mid to upper price ranges.

Jointer and Planer

In combos, these machines share the same cutterhead. To use the planer, you swing the jointer tables out of the way, rotate a blade-guard and dust-extraction head into place and wind up the planer bed. The change-over takes about 30 seconds. Both machines are sturdy, vibration-free and accurate. My X-31 planer takes a 1/8″ cut on a 12″-wide maple board without lugging. You need to look among the mid-to upper-priced planers to find ones with similar capacity and durability. The Robland’s 55″ jointer tables are somewhat shorter than standard stand-alone models, but more than adequate. And its 12″ width is unobtainable for less than $2,000 in a stand-alone machine.

Mortiser

Horizontal mortisers are available on all the 5-in-1 machines discussed here. All run off the jointer-planer cutterhead, which is tapped for a chuck that holds the bits. Sturdy sliding tables with in-out, side-to-side and up-and-down movement bolt to the jointer-planer frame. While heavy, the tables can be attached and removed in seconds. Stand-alone horizontal mortisers are hard to find. Most woodworkers use some form of hollow-chisel machine. Among the hollow-chisel mortisers I’ve used, I find the horizontal mortiser preferable to drill-press attachments and to bench-top ram-style mortisers and a toss up with industrial floor-model mortisers. The horizontal mortiser makes a clean, accurate cut with little burning.

Changing Machines

Isn’t it a nuisance to shift from one function to another? Dealers tell me this is one of the most common concerns Americans have about combination machines. The answer is both yes and no. I won’t pretend that shifting between the table saw, jointer and planer on either my Zincken or Robland is as convenient as moving between three stand-alone machines. There are the fences to deal with, mortising tables to attach and the little dance required to shift between jointer and planer.

But the inconvenience is slight and the time “lost” is insignificant to me. No change-over from one function to another takes more than a minute or two. Once set up, rotating a knob on the Robland selects the function you want to power. (Only one machine can operate at a time). The single-motor Zincken has an ingenious and well-engineered mechanism that engages the proper belt to select a machine. In short, the many advantages of the machines outweigh, for me at least, the minor inconveniences of changing tools.

Combo Recommendations
Combination machines have many attractions, but the one at the top of the list is space saving. If you need to squeeze an entire cabinet shop into a closet, a small combination machine like the Zincken C-21 or its little brother, the MIA4, is ideal.

Space considerations don’t necessarily decrease as shop size increases. I appreciate the space I save with the X-31, but that’s not why I bought the machine. I could buy (and have bought) less expensive machines. But the X-31 and other combos in its class provide better quality and capacity than other machines I could buy for the same money. (A Unisaw with aftermarket sliding table and a 12″ Grizzly jointer alone would cost about $4,000.)

Much as I like my 5-in-1 machine, I have to admit that I think the ideal combination machine setup would involve two machines: one a combination table saw and shaper, the other a combination jointer-planer-mortiser. Separated in this way, the fences cease to be an issue. I frequently move between the table saw and jointer — rip, joint an edge, then crosscut to length. Even if it only takes 30 seconds, changing over from table saw to jointer repeatedly can be irksome (you learn to plan your work better). Separating the machines eliminates this problem.

At this point, many readers may be saying, “Well, that sounds wonderful, but I’m not made of money.” No doubt about it, laying out $5,500 to $8,000 for an X-31 or similar 5-in-1 combination machine is a daunting prospect. A fair number of woodworkers have that much money (or more) tied up in machinery. But few of us spend $6,000 all at once.

So how might a combination machine fit the budget as well as the dreams of the frugal majority among us? Many woodworkers already have a table saw and a great many do without a shaper or build a router table to cover their shaping needs. If they’re unhappy with what they’ve got they’re much more likely to upgrade to a $700 Grizzly or $1,500 Unisaw than a $3,300 combination table saw-shaper.

When it comes to jointers and planers, however, I think far more American woodworkers should consider a jointer-planer combination. When working with solid wood, the importance of flattening stock in initial preparation can’t be overstated.

For years 6″ jointers were the largest affordable option for most home shops. Recently Delta, Grizzly and several others have offered 8″ machines for around $1,000 or less. My 8″ Grizzly was a good machine, as was the 8″ jointer-planer on my Zincken. But neither was wide enough. I longed for at least a 12″ jointer so I wouldn’t have to rip up and reglue wide boards. The least expensive 12″ machine I could find (a Grizzly) cost more than $2,000.

But, for about $2,700 I could buy the Robland 12″ combination jointer-planer (and would have done that if the used X-31 hadn’t appeared). Two equally heavy duty, high-quality 3hp stand-alone machines would cost considerably more. Grizzly’s 12″ jointer and 15″ planer cost almost exactly the same. Delta’s 8″ jointer and 15″ planer run about $2,250. And the stand-alones take up twice the space. Finally, for an extra $600, you get a dandy horizontal mortiser. Like I said, more woodworkers ought to take a serious look at combination machines. PW

Sidebar: The Combo Chronicles

Despite the fairly recent appearance of European models in the American market, combination machines are not new here. Cincinnati’s Parks Machine Co., for example, manufactured combination machines at least as early as the 1920s. The Parks Planing Mill combined a table saw, 12″ jointer, 22″ band saw, shaper, swing cut-off saw and hollow-chisel mortiser, all driven by flat belts connected to a 5hp motor.

This behemoth was not, of course, the kind of thing you’d put in your basement or garage. But the market for home-shop woodworking was incubating and in 1928 the Delta Specialty Co., a Milwaukee firm then just nine years old, offered the Delta Handi-Shop, which harnessed a 9″ lathe, 8″ disc sander and 6″ table saw to a ? hp electric motor.

A few other American manufacturers produced combination machines (most common were table saw-horizontal borer combos) for the industrial and home-shop markets but they didn’t catch on. The Shopsmith is, of course, the exception, selling some half a million tools since its invention in the late 1940s. But the Shopsmith, with its combination of lathe, drill press, small table saw, horizontal borer and disc sander, addresses other needs than the European-style machines and does not include two of the tools basic to solid-wood woodworking, the jointer and planer.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, there were sporadic attempts to market European combination machines here. But for the most part Americans who wanted one had to order a machine from Europe or go there and bring one back.

In the mid 1980s, Torben Helsjoy (pronounced Hels-hoy) began to sell the Belgian-made Robland machines. A Danish woodworker, Helsjoy came to the United States in 1982 on a hitchhiking adventure that ended in California, where he set up a small custom cabinet shop. Disappointed with the machines available here, he returned to Denmark and bought a container load of Roblands. Back in California, he began to market the machines out of his cabinet shop. In 1987, he became a full time machinery dealer. His company, Laguna Tools, sells a range of European machines, some stand-alone, some combination. Robland is his prime supplier. The X-31 is their most popular combo (they also sell 16″ models) and Helsjoy estimates that he has sold about 3,000 X-31s to date.

A few years after Helsjoy set up Laguna Tools, Morrie Kilberg, general manager of D-M International in Canada, began selling Italian-made Zincken machines. Today he is Zincken’s North American distributor. More recent additions include machines made by the Italian manufacturing giant SCMI (sold under the names MiniMax and EuroShop) and a Czech firm, Rojek. Garrett Wade sells the Swiss-made Inca jointer planer. A small but high quality benchtop model, it features a 10?”-wide cutterhead and 42″-long tables.

The Rolls Royce of combination machines sold in the United States are made by the Austrian firm Felder, which have been distributed here since the early 1980s and since 1996 by the manufacturer’s subsidiary, Felder USA. Founded, like Robland, in the mid 1950s, Felder makes a full line of woodworking machines that it distributes around the world. They include 5-in-1 combination machines (12″and 16″ machines, rated by jointer-planer capacity) as well as table saw-shapers and jointer-planers (with optional horizontal mortiser). Felders are beautifully designed and made machines with all sorts of refinements: micrometer-adjusted fences and planer tables; reversible, tilting shaper spindle; a marvelous sliding table. Such quality doesn’t come cheap. The Felder CF 7-31 Ecoline C, a 12″ 5-in-1 machine, runs about $10,000 (with the horizontal mortiser), a big jump above $6,000 you pay for a Robland X-31. I’m an admirer of the X-31, but I also think the prices accurately reflect the difference in quality between the two machines. It’s no surprise that far fewer BF 6-31s have been sold in the United States than X-31s. But, what is intriguing is that 70 percent of the sales of both machines have been to amateur woodworkers.

Felder has recently introduced a less-expensive line of machines made by its Hammer division to compete head to head with Robland. Felder used to be alone in the upper reaches of the price scale — a fully loaded Felder 16″ 5-in-1 machine might easily fetch $20,000. But Laguna has just jumped into this rarified market with an Austrian-made Knapp 5-in-1 that retails between $20,000 and $35,000 depending on options. They’ve already sold 10 — all to amateurs.

Sidebar: Sources for Combo Machines

(manufacturer and distributor) Zincken, D-M International 1100 A Wallace Ave. N Listowel, Ontario N4W 1M5 519-291-5342

EuroShop & MiniMax (Italian). Eagle Tools, 2217 El Sol Ave., Altadena, CA 91001. 800-203-0023. www.eagle-tools.com

Felder & Hammer (Austrian). Felder USA, 1851 Enterprise Blvd., West Sacramento, CA 95691. 800-572-0061. www.felderusa.com and www.hammerusa.com

Inca (Swiss). Garrett Wade, 161 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013. 800-221-2942. www.garrettwade.com

Robland (Belgian) and others. Laguna Tools, 2265 Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. 800-234-1976. www.lagunatools.com

Rojek (Czech). Tech Mark Inc., 7901 Industry Drive, North Little Rock, AR 72117. 800-787-6747. www.tech-mark.com

Roger Holmes is a professional woodworker based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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