Combination Machines

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Chronosoft

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7 Nov 2003
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Doncaster
Hi, I am looking at buying a combi machine. I have a ridiculous Kity Bestcombi four function machine which is just a joke.

Anyway - i would love to blow 7k on a felder or 5k on a startrite but i don't have the budget.

In my price range is the Record C310s - does anyone have experience of this kit can anyone recommend another brand to look at ?

Failing that should i go for second hand separates and save up my money to get a Startrite ?????

BTW it is for personal hobby use - i am a serious hobbyist with no ambition to change careers :)

Cheers in advance
 
Well it looks like everybody has avoided this one like the plague :D .I have my reservations about combination machines but in theory good idea . I have looked at quite a few but only online so its hard to tell what they are actually like . As for the record 310 look here http://www.recordpower.co.uk/tisql/default.asp it may give you some answers there are a few alternatives in the same price bracket
http://www.jayceetools.co.uk/roblandprices2002.html
http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?sub=463 there are more and in GWW there is an add for new felders with a smaller price tag their site is a bit vague on specific prices which i think is down to the many different setups they have for their machines . don't know if this helps but there are many more machines out there but i would advise getting a look at them in the flesh before parting with any cash .
 
Cheers for that reply. I have been looking quite long and hard at it all. From what I have heard from other woodworkers, you have to be spending in excess of 4k for a decent combination. The robland machines didn't get a massively good review and the axminster combination is a painted robland X310 by the looks of it. I do want a machine also that requires a belt change - individual motors seems the best way for me.
The last option was to buy second hand but the quality of these machines is so variable and i would prefer a brand new machine with a guarantee.

I guess if i had my choice it would be a Startrite 310RL or a Felder 310. I have decided in the end to buy a couple of separates and save up my cash until I can afford a machine that will last a good 25 years.

Cheers for the feedback everyone :D
 
If you've got room for separates, and can get good secondhand ones to boot, then why bother with a combi?

Cheers, Alf
 
I do have the room but it will be a squeeze. I wanted a central machine with bench and storage space round the outside. I am quite happy using combination machines because I am a fairly ordered woodworker.

Just personal preference I guess at the end of the day.

Cheers anyway Alf.
 
Anyway - I just watched Cutting Edge Woodworker and he has a felder combination - and if it is good enough for him - its good enough for me!!!!!

Thought the introductory masterclass on finishing was very poor. Who exactly is this programme aimed at ???
 
Hi Chronosoft

Bit late coming back on this one. Yep, the APTC combo is indeed a paint job on the Robland - which is a bit depressing, really, as they used to sell the SCM Minimax series LAB260/LAB300.

A few years back when I was setting up shop I considered a combi on the grounds of space and the LAB300 and CU300 (the CU has a full-length sliding table) (see SCM Minimax Universal Combinations at http://www.scmgroup.com/ing/minimax/minimax.htm) as well as the Rojeks, as sold by Jordan Woodworking in Houghton-Le-Spring, Tyne & Wear (tel: 0191 584-0784) http://www.rojek.cz/ (in English, although I find the site so cranky I'd suggest ringing Jordans). I reckon the Rojek started out as a copy of the Minimax - in appearance and specifications they were very almost identical 6 or 7 years ago - the difference was that the Rojek was considerably cheaper. I looked at both machines in the flesh, and the main thing I could say about the Czech machine is that it was a bit rough around the edges.

I ignored the Robland LX310 at the time because it didn't offer a scorer option, but I was interested in the Lurem (now imported as the Startrite). Pity was that there was no way to get to see one (this pre-dates Startrite selling the machine). I had used a Lurem C260N combination in the 1970s for a couple of years (pa in law's). The Lurem back then was a hulking great solid cast iron beast with separate motors, but very crude saw tilt and rise/fall controls - not much finesse there! But at least there was no crawling around underneath changing belts. Function changeover was a pain, though, as you always had to reset fences, so any piece of work was a planning exercise in itself.

I've seen the Felder on quite a few WW shows over the years - it just gets better and better. Sadly, the price reflects that, and by the time you add on the "essential (hidden) extras" you need on top of the basic machine it can start to cost.

I now work with solo machines (with the sole exception of a planer/thicknesser) and find it infinitely preferable. In cost there probably hasn't been much difference between a set of solos and an equivalent combi, so I'd say that you probably won't save money by going down the combi route. Anyhow, whatever you buy, get them to show you the function changeover and make sure that the settings are retained as far as possible when changing over.

Regards

Scrit
 
Cheers for that Scrit.

You obviously know your onions :D

I have been giving this a lot of thought and given the fact that this purchase is going to be very long term, I had better make the right decisions.

I haven't got Felder money - When you start with the basic machine and then Start adding on the 'toys' it certainly does get expensive. I do like the digital mitre gauge though - fantastic looking toy. But for £600 quid a cheap mitre gauge, a calculator and a trignometry book would do the same job.

I am relatively new to cabinet making, in fact I got into this when my girlfriend booked me a course at the local college because she was sick of me watching the bearded wonder on h&l. I kinda think it just grew from there (but i digress). If it wasn't for this forum I probably would have gone out and bought the first thing that looked right.

I think I have finally made my mind that I am going for separates. I have my eye on the Scheppach 2500 - all tricked up mind!

I also seem to think the Scheppach 260 planer thicknesser would fit the bill. I already have a spindle moulder on my dreadful kity combination so I guess that could sit in the corner setup for spindle moudling work only.

This whole experience puts into perspective the feeling that my clients must have when I am banging onto them about computers and I can see that slightly glazed expression come over them!

You live in the pennines - where abouts are you as I am in sunny sheffield.

All the best

David
 
Chronosoft":2mlthwf0 said:
I haven't got Felder money....
Neither have most people, seriously cool - but seriously expensive...
I do like the digital mitre gauge though - fantastic looking toy
Yes, but how often are you actually going to use it, especially when you can achieve the same sort of result out of a Trend Anglefix and a mitre saw? Even the standard table saw mitre guide and a mitre shooting block with a hand plane can achieve as accurate a result. I feel it's very easy to get carried away with gadgetitis and miss the point - namely the finished piece of work. There are many ways to achieve a given result in woodworking, which is one of the joys of making your own stuff.
I think I have finally made my mind that I am going for separates. I have my eye on the Scheppach 2500 - all tricked up mind!
Separates are probably a better long term bet, but before you jump that way, keep your eye on the "Ever Want a Unisaw?" thread (https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=644) started by Kostello. It could prove very interesting indeed (and the saw vendor is in Stockport - just over the Snake)

Regards

Scrit
 
Thanks ever so much for the advice - its always nice to have a knowledgeable forum with any subject.

I will keep my eyes peeled on the unisaw thread - thanks for your time.

Lastly - I am obsessed with gadgetry - I work in the computer industry, what more can I say :D

Cheers

David
 
Chronosoft":1kdkt7w9 said:
I am obsessed with gadgetry - I work in the computer industry, what more can I say :D
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt (last used for polishing the van....). Believe me, there IS life outside of IT (anmd without gadgets, too)

Anyone else want to comment about combis? Alf, don't you have a Maxi 26? Anyone with a Kity?

Regards

Scrit
 
It's possibly a mistake to make my first post on a thread that's been moribund for nearly 3 years, but having lurked for a while I felt the urge to add my "two penn'orth" to a subject currently near to my heart. My 22 yr old Crompton table saw has just died, and whilst it may be repairable I don't want to. I'm fed up with the difficult (no - near impossible)adjustment , which means it doesn't get done!

So how to replace it, given that I intend to retire within next 5 years and want purchases now to take future increased use into account?

I too have looked at combi machines, and watched a demo of the Record C26 at the Ally Pally expo, and have concluded that separates are the way to go. I have a double garage that has not seen a car in the last 15 years so space not critical. So I've opted for a Scheppach 2010 TS with sliding table, HS2600 dust extractor and currently looking for a Scheppach C260 planer thicknesser to complete the basic set up - unless anyone can recommend a better (or cheaper) one. When I bought the Crompton at the Ally Pally expo in 1984 I was penniless and it was all I could afford. Since then I have learned the expensive way that I never regret digging deep to buy quality. 6 months later you don't miss the extra cash spent, whereas if you don't get what you really want you invariably regret it, and sometimes end up trashing your first purchase and going out to buy the piece of kit you really wanted in the first place.
 
FWIW until recently I had a Robland LX310, and have upgraded to Hammer with an A3 31 P/T and B3 Saw/Spindle combi (before they started painting them so that the blood doesn't show up :lol: ).

The main reason driving the change was the real pain invlolved in trying to alternately plane, "mould" (on the router table) and rip sections off the same plank (yes, I know I should have used the bandsaw - let's just say I've recently upgraded that too :wink: ) when producing mouldings etc.

Having made the change however, I am really sorry I didn't do it ages before. The ease of getting the Hammer machines set up properly, and keeping them that way, compared with the faff that I had to go through with the Robland would have made it worthwhile without many other improvements that come in the package.

I have been thinking of doing a been-living-with-it-for-a-while sort of review on these two machines ... might get one of them round tuits one day! :lol:
 
I have just recently picked up a Luna 59 combi machine, for a bargain price. I havent used alot just yet, but my general impression is that its a very solid (over 500kg's) and very robust machine.
I can wholeheartedly recommend them!

Cheers,
Matt
 
For those who aren't aware Luna were a Swedish firm who made a sort of "former day" (as opposed to latter day) Felder class of machine in the late 1970s and 1980s.

LunaAdvert.jpg


One of the beauties is that they can be split and used as two separate machines, much like the more recent Felders and Hamers

Hopefully Matt will post us some photos of his new prize, assuming the motors are now spinning in the right direction :wink:

Scrit
 
the motors are all spinning in the right direction now, im just still waiting on an electrician to sort out an earting problem withthe planer motor, as soon as I have slapped on a coat of paint, expect some photos

Cheers,
Matt
 
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