Combi or Separates?

[phil p]

Hi,

can anyone help.

I'm thinking of buying a planer thicknesser, however I was thinking of a small combi machine but now starting to think possibly about 2 separate machines.

Can anyone advise of the benefits or drawbacks of either?

The only one I can think of is less space with a combi, but apart from that?????

Thanks

 

[wizer]

Separates are better but can be more expensive and you need more room.

What is your budget?

 

[johnf]

Hi Phil I have a combi a great space saver so unless you have loads of space think seriously most combi come with a sliding table and a spindle moulder
I would not change mine for seperates

 

[phil p]

Hi Wizer,

unsure about the budget, I was hoping to get something half decent for around £300 as it wouldn't be used that often however theres a Fox thicknesser going at the moment £190 and seems pretty good value.

If I went for that any idea how much an average bench top planer would cost?

Phil

 

[p111dom]

I bought this from a member of this forum for £150.

I have a p/t but wanted to go down the seperate route. The problem was that all the portable bench thicknesser have brushed motors and are very loud. My p/t needed around £50 worth of spares for me to sell it and then there was the hassle of shipping, ebay, paypal etc. In the end I kept it, removed the beds and it is permanently set up as a thicknesser like so.

I really enjoy the seperated and would recomend it to anyone who has the space. I paid £250 for the p/t some years ago but there are several that come up on ebay with damaged beds (especially with snapped off noise reducing fingers) These go cheap (£150 or less) and this kind of damage is not a problem when you use it just like this. I know of no manufacturer that makes a 10 inch thicknesser with an induction motor. So that's 150 for the planer and 150 for a thicknesser. £300 is do-able.

 

[Freetochat]

Having had a combination and now separates, I can say tha I would never go back to a combination. Work flow has to be thought through with a combination to minimise swapping between table saw and p/t and is not always convenient. Space is something to consider. My workshop is only small, but I found that to provide work space all round the combination was difficult, but working off walls with separates was better. Each to their own.

Only drawback I see is the budget you are working with for separates.

 

[beech1948]

Hi,

I have a combi. Its a Felder. I would not swap it for all of the separates in China.

BUT...you do need to have room to move around it. My workshop is 16ftx 32ft and I use all of the width at one end for movement around the combi.
It takes up less space ..true
It is maybe 10% more hassle to think through the operations on timber so that you don't have to go back to prior used dimensions. On a Felder this is not a problem due the accuracy of the adjuster wheels but on some smaller combis it might be.

regards
Alan