I want to buy a combination machine. (7 tasks)
Can someone tell me what details I should be paying attention to?
Thanx
I want to buy a combination machine. (7 tasks)
Can someone tell me what details I should be paying attention to?
Thanx
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Replies
Your wallet? <G>
Seriously - the ease of changing between functions (does it take a dive into the innards to change belts or is it a flip of the switch job?). How accurate are the fences - does the rip fence on the saw have micro adjustment? Is it possible to rip wood on the saw side then go and plane (surface) and/or thickness the timber without having to mess about with moving fences, etc? Does the spindle (moulder) fence keep its settings when removed so that you can flip between sawing and moulding without having to reset the fence each time? In a small shop, can the combination be supplied with a turntable or wheels/Johnson bar to move it around? Will it go through your shop doors (some machines split for transportation)? How heavy is it (ESPECIALLY if you have to put it on a wooden floor or drop it into a basement)? Possibly consider a machine with a scoring saw if you envisage doing a lot of melamine and also consider the length of slider and crosscut fences - no point in going for a 10ft slider if you never handle stock longer than 5ft, and in any case a slider can REALLY get in your way for some tasks (believe me, I use a panel saw A LOT). I'm sure that there a lot more questions, but that's what I'd start with.
BTW - what are your seven tasks? Most combos do 6 (if you split the sawing in two): rip saw, crosscut saw, surface plane, thickness, spindle mould and (if there is an attachment) mortise.
Scrit
Edited 12/22/2003 3:05:11 PM ET by Scrit
thanx for the info
Concerning the seven tasks, i can't find the right English words
so, perhaps this can help you
http://www.werktuigen.nl/bin/index.php?go=catalogue&do=show_product&cid=4107
The seven tasks are vlak schaven (surface planing), vandikte schaven (thicknessing), zagen (sawing), frezen (routing), langgat boren (slot mortising), pennen trekken (dowel boring?), toupieren (spindle moulding?). Sorry, my Dutch s very rusty. I'd be wary of claims to be able to rout on a spindle moulder or combination machine - the spindle simply doesn't turn fast enough. The Felder manages just 15,000 rpm with their router spindle (which is really quite slow for a lot of routing - i.e. with smaller cutters - for larger cutters a proper profile block on a conventional spindle moulder is not only a better solution, but costs less than large router cuttersb) and the only the Knapp, a really expensive machine, offers higher than 20,000 rpm. Similarly most of the slot mortisers I've seen offer a spacer bar attachment to allow you to drill dowel holes at equal distances. The original quaetions still apply, though
Prettig Kertsdagen en een Gellukig Nieuw Jaar! (Hope I got that right)
Scrit
Edited 12/23/2003 7:11:44 AM ET by Scrit
Not to nit pick but dowel boring wouldn't be the best usage of this function. Mortising would be a better term as the horizontal slot mortiser using loose tenons was a major innovation to the woodworking world.
Personally I wouldn't do dowel boring this way, but the comment was merely that many of the combi makers offer dowel spacing templates which make quick work of doing the task (I was also trying to translate from the function list on the link, which is Dutch). I was taught that a single-end tenoner/square chisel mortiser combination is the way to do M&T joints, and for exterior doors there is no better way, but since then I've discovered all sorts of things, like biscuits, etc. Different strokes for different folks...
Scrit
The Maka chisel has replaced the chisel mortiser in many large production shops, especially in Germany. The Architectural Woodwork Institute accepts loose tenon, traditional tenons or dowel construction on low to high end doors
http://www.danckaert.com/applications.htm
Bart,
Pay attention to size and weight, the larger machines weigh over a ton and need a five foot wide door to be brought into the shop. Most of the machines can be broken down for moving but it's a complex job. The machines also need a lot of space around them and require single phase 230 volt power or even better, three phase.
Combos are basically a stand alone jointer/planer bolted onto the side of a tablesaw/shaper. In most cases you can buy the units in their stand alone form, for around the same price, with no loss of function and more flexibility in how you position and use the machines.
For the price range you are in with a Knapp or Felder, there are a lot of other options in more traditional smaller industrial machines.
John W.
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