Minimax FS35 Jointer-Planer (w/mortising attachment) vs. Standalone machines

How well do the Minimax machines hold up and how are the ergonomics? I have an 8" Powermatic shaper and 13" Rockwell planer now and am looking at a Minimax machine. The minimax will obviously take up less floor space and the Tersa knives will be a lot easier to change than the conventional knives on my current machines. Having a wider jointer will also be really nice.

What are the downsides to the Minimax machine?

How well do the Minimax machines hold up and how are the ergonomics? I have an 8" Powermatic shaper and 13" Rockwell planer now and am looking at a Minimax machine. The minimax will obviously take up less floor space and the Tersa knives will be a lot easier to change than the conventional knives on my current machines. Having a wider jointer will also be really nice.

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Andy, can you claify the "shaper" note? per your other comments, is it really a jointer?

The reason I ask is your question can be viewed (at least) 2 ways: You have a jointer + planer that in home shop or light commercial shop terms are very good iron. Not the most sophisticated systems and often need tuned up from the factory, but once set up right, very rugged. Although the planer may be a typical 4 post asian import depending on year? Still good planer if the feed rolls are ok.

So, with the above, you are looking for something smaller footprint, and perhaps faster to change knives?

The other way to look at it is you have a shaper and planer, and need a jointer: is the Minimax up to the standards of the equipment you have in the shop already?

Attempting to answer both questions: I almost always go for stand alone machines. Combo's too often have a process set up on one facility that needs to be torn down or is inaccessible when another facility needs a quick op done on it. I don't buy the save space argument either. In similar capacity machines, it is easier to put individual machines on wheels and move them as necessary. I might acquire a combo as an aux machine if I already had most of the capabilities extant in stand alone machines. Then again, I have 4 large jointers (including the 13" wide Superolimpia that uses a sanding belt for the cutterhead); and 3 tablesaws in my cramped space. The smallest TS is a Rockwell (p)unisaw; the others are 16" machines. + 2 shapers & a couple pin routers.

It's like metal lathes. Sure, one might do everything you need. But when it is set up and you need to make a quick part or have a beater for polishing or grinding, it sure is nice to have a couple/three more spaced around the shop and in the corners.

I have a "good impression" of minimax machines, but no experience.

smt

I can't type late at night. I have an 8" Powermatic jointer and 13" planer. The planer is a made in Brazil Delta branded planer.

From the pictures, it looks like the Minimax doesn't require too much work, if any to switch between jointing and planing. I'm not sure what is required to set up the mortiser.

You're confirming what I thought regarding switching back and forth, but the idea of being able to joint 13" wide stock is pretty appealing - It would only happen on rare occasions, but would still be a nice capability to have.

A smaller footprint for the equipment would be nice. I continue to cram more equipment into a relatively small space. A few years ago, I had a relatively roomy wood shop and ended up chewing up all of the "extra" space and then some with sheet metal equipment - a Pexto 48" shear, 48" Chicago press brake, Wiedemann turret punch and DiAcro notcher along with lots of press brake tooling and an older Walker Turner Radial drill press. Now that it is home to both wood and sheet metal equipment, there is barely enough space to work with larger pieces of wood, or set-up appropriate WIP areas for stock processing when working on a project.

Andy, I've been down the combo road before and will never go that route again. However, I work with these machines everyday and if this is more for hobby type work, you might feel differently. Some things to keep in mind...the changeover without electronic rise and fall of the planer table means you're cranking the table up and down with a hand wheel ~7-8" every time you switch functions. The infeed table is very short for a jointer and the tables had a tendency to go out of alignment (coplaner). The planer table and depth of cut had to be recalibrated when I cut over 1/16" deep as the leadscrews weren't stout enough. The jointer fence was a lightweight aluminum extrusion that had to constantly be readjusted. These were some of the issues I had and mine was a Felder 741 (16") with power rise and fall of the planer table. Also had the mortising attachment, but found dominoes to be much faster to set up and cut so I stopped using it. I was ecstatic the day I got rid of that machine and replaced it with separate machines and I have a pretty small shop~800sq/ft. I fit a 20" jointer, 24" planer, 36" wide belt, 10' slider, shaper and bandsaw in my space. The key was getting the workflow/layout right.

Check one out in person and talk to owners (might be a minimax forum online). The best information comes from owners that have had issues as it tells you how the company responds when there's an issue or a part needs to be replaced. Don't let my comments dissuade you...simply my opinion and experience. You may really like the machine.

I own one of the smaller FS30's which I have used in a small commercial shop for about the last six years.
Excellent machine.
I don't find any of the issues described for the Felder offering mentioned above.
The MiniMax machine is tight, stays in adjustment literally for years and has been trouble free in my use.

I have a small shop and find the compromise of having to change back and forth for Planing/joining a acceptable compromise for not having the duplicate feed paths for stock that the individual machines would require.

I also cannot recommend the Tersa blade head highly enough- my shop is absolutely trouble free so far as joiner/planer blades are concerned.
I do marine carpentry so use the carbide blades almost exclusively- though expensive, I find them to be very long lived on abrasive teak.
When due to for a change, less than a minute changed out the set and with centrifugal gibs, they are precisely indexed.

If I had it to do again I would purchase the next larger size which is 14.5" width capable (a non imported model at the time I bought though the dealer would have put one in a container to ship over if I had wished).

Trboatworks said:

...I have a small shop and find the compromise of having to change back and forth for Planing/joining a acceptable compromise for not having the duplicate feed paths for stock that the individual machines would require...

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How long does it take to change over?

My shop isn't commercial, so time isn't of the essence, but I prefer not to waste it. I make some furniture and other things for the house for fun and we build and repair some stuff for the farm and probably use the jointer a lot more than the planer. Do you have the mortising attachment? If so, what do you think of it?

AndyF said:

How long does it take to change over?

My shop isn't commercial, so time isn't of the essence, but I prefer not to waste it. I make some furniture and other things for the house for fun and we build and repair some stuff for the farm and probably use the jointer a lot more than the planer. Do you have the mortising attachment? If so, what do you think of it?

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About half a minute or less- 15 seconds probably.
But...

The time to change over is not really the issue- a process break is a process break.
I suppose I have accommodated my work flow slightly to having to make the function shift by doing batches of thicknessing work or joining work so I am not switching machine all the time.

For me this is fine but some might be driven to distraction by the need to change over machine- the "oh crap, I planed the board and forgot to dress the edge so now have to flop the tables down to join before I can rip..."

I am very happy with the machine and don't find I sweat the change overs but then again my shop is very tight so the convertible is a good 'fit' for me..
In my shop the MiniMax lives in joiner mode.
I would guess that I tend to dimension stock on BS or TS more than I would if I had a planer ready to fire at all times.
A big shop where waiting in line to use a multifunction machines means you are paying guys to stand around- no good.
A one man shop where you can only use one machine at a time- really depends on how you like to work. Two machines probably win if you have the room..
Did I say the Tersa head is killer?- I would want that head on any machine I owned..

Mortising- I wanted one initially but now would not bother- the attachment is right in the way for running boards though machine so I think (never had one though... ) that I would never have it mounted and not use it so much.
Besides- my shop is too tight & I could not work ends of sticks to attachment anyways.

The Domino is a killer machine- functional, adaptable, simple to use, fast.
Depends on shop though- not having stops for stock and clamping is a real limit to production.
I do well with a portable but- the great strength and weakness of the Domino is that it is portable..

I do M&T work maybe a few times a month- if done every day fixturing would be required for stock.
If you are doing lots of this work- having the fixture clamped to the joiner or dragged off shelf would be a PITA

Sooo.... I think the mortising attachment is a not so good fit for my use and not a good fit for high production use either..
If you have the room and need- buy a good quality stand alone machine or rock and roll with the Domino.

Oh- one bit difference with convertibles:
There are no stock rollers on top of machine so boards are not quickly tossed back to run again- I do the carry board back to start thing.
Of course I am usually running a number of boards so it is more like- carry boards and stack on each side, adjust adjust for another cut- repeat.

Minimax Products

This link should take you to a site where you can find the minimax forum and probably many more owners of the j/p combo machines.

Completely agree with the comments about the Tersa head. Have one on my jointer and planer and it's awesome.

With respect to the planer & jointer, the blades can be changed quickly and easily with Esta knives (ESTA USA - Online Application For The U.S. Visa Waiver Program). The actual knives are double sided. So if the current working edge gets worn or damaged you can flip the blades over to use other edges. A big plus is that they can be had for any straight blade planer or jointer and there is no need adjust anything after a knife change. The blades are high quality and relatively inexpensive.

I've been using them in my home shop for going on 20 years in a 40's vintage 8" Delta long bed jointer that I rebuilt and a much later Powermatic 12" planer (the old style with the moving bed).

At one point I had, for a short time, a multi-purpose machine similar to a Minimax (though less well built). I got it for practically nothing from someone re-locating to Japan where he would not have a place to set it up. As mentioned earlier, it was rather a pain to change from one function to another and never seemed to be set up for what I needed to do. Along the way I found the jointer and a no-name 16" planer of similar vintage (and of poor design) for cheap and restored it to like new condition. Eventually I found the Powermatic planer. Both of those machines were built when the mass of cast iron was deemed important (still used on high end machines).

....the blades can be changed quickly and easily with Esta knives (ESTA USA - Online Application For The U.S. Visa Waiver Program). The actual knives are....

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I don't think that link is the one you intended?

smt

I own the earlier version of that machine, without the Tersa head. Mine now has two-sided throw-away blades that change pretty quickly. The blades can be quickly offset if there's a nick; but the Tersa head would be much batter if you're reclaiming lumber.

My experience, like TRb's, is that it's a good machine. The one modification I made was to put two aluminum extensions of about 7" on each end of the table to have a longer surface for jointing. Best point of the machine, for me, is the wide surface for jointing. Also put a garbage can cyclone in front of my dust collector, since this makes a lot of chips and my dust collector is in a sort of tiny shed attached to the shop.

I keep a 13" portable planer tucked away on wheels for quick jobs inside and work outside. Good way to have the flexibility of two machines, without taking much space. The MiniMax, however, is fine for planing and doesn't take much time to change over.

Should be added that mine isn't in commercial use.

stephen thomas said:

I don't think that link is the one you intended?

smt

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Interesting... Sometime in the last 12 months or so my bookmark for Esta USA has morphed into something else. Digging a little further into the site indicates that Esta was the US distributor for Dispoz-A-Blade (a European company) and now Esta is known by the european name. The correct URL is http://http://dispozablade.com/. Same products, just different company name.

I just grabbed the link from my Bookmarks without going to the site... My bad, sorry.