For years many American woodworkers have looked to Europe for quality hand tools. You can find saws and chisels from England, as well as wooden planes and carving tools from Sweden and Switzerland. When it comes to large power tools, we’ve stayed close to home. We look to Delta, Powermatic, Craftsman and Jet for our table saws, band saws, jointers, planers and shapers. These machines, though imported from Taiwan and China in increasing numbers, are nearly all copies of domestic models.
Given our admiration of European tools, it has long puzzled me why more Americans havent adopted one of the most common fixtures of European shops, the combination machine. Merging from two to five basic woodworking machines in a single unit, these machines are ideal for home shops where space is often at a premium. Even if your shop has limited space, a combination machine may offer the same features, quality, and capacity as top-of-the line stand-alone machines.
Combination machines that are European-style available in the United States in three main types. One combines a table saw and shaper. One combines a planer and jointer with an optional horizontal mortiser. The third combines all of these tools: a table saw, shaper and jointer, as well as a planer, planer, and (still an option), a horizontal mortiser. These machines, sometimes called 5-in-1s or five-function machines, are available in many sizes and prices. The Zincken MIA4, for instance, offers a 15 cm table saw, 15 cm jointer and planer, a shaper and a horizontal mortiser, all run by a single 1hp motor and selling for about At the other end of the market is the Felder CF7-41. For about you get a 30 cm table saw with state-of-the-art sliding table; a 41 cm jointer and planer; a 3 cm reversible, tilting-arbor shaper; and (for an extra or so) a horizontal mortiser. Three separate 3hp motors drive the five tools.
I grew up with American-style machines in my dads shop and knew nothing of combination machines until I worked in English shops as a young man. After being convinced of their value, I searched for a combination machine after I returned to the USA in the mid 1970s. I was unable to find one so I went back to the stand-alone machines, hoping that I would eventually find a combination.
In the early 1980s, I began to see ads for European combination machines in woodworking magazines. I’ve owned two 5-in-1 machines since then, one small, and one medium-sized. Combination machines may not be for everyone but I believe they should be considered seriously by many woodworkers in America.
For years, working out of borrowed or rented garages, barns and basements, I used a Zincken Compact 21 (or ZC-21), with a 23 cm table saw, 20 cm jointer/planer, a shaper and a mortiser. It was smaller than the Delta Unisaw, weighed less and was only a few hundred more expensive. It is lightweight and compact making it a great tool for workshops with other tools such as ping-pong tables or cars. Mine can be mounted on a homemade rolling platform and easily rolled out of the way when it is not in use.
Most important, it gave me all the basic machines I needed for solid-wood projects. The table saw ripped 3 cm-thick oak without lugging; 5 cm if fed slowly. Its simple sliding table crosscut accurately and conveniently. The 20 cm jointer/planer ensured that my material was flat and uniformly thick. The horizontal mortiser made precise mortises between? and?. The horizontal mortiser cut precise mortises between???? and?? ? The shaper cut joints, profiled edges and served as a router table. With this small machine I was able to build everything from jewelry boxes to 6-long trestle tables, including cabinets and chests of all sizes.
Of course, the machine has its limitations. The table saw is small; the jointer tables are short. The Delta Unisaw and the 20 cm jointer are undoubtedly superior. But together they cost about Moving down-market, a 25 cm Grizzly contractors saw and 20 cm jointer cost about Buy either pair, and you still dont have the planer, mortiser or shaper incorporated in the ZC-21.
My ZC-21 served me well in a number of less than commodious workspaces. When I bought my first house, and was able build a 500-square foot shop next to it. I felt the need for more. Although I love combos, there are still advantages to using stand-alone equipment. Even Morrie Kilberg, whose company D-M International distributes Zinckens in North America, recommends stand-alone machines to people with the space and money. I didnt have a lot of money, so I bought a Grizzly 25 cm cabinet table saw and 20 cm jointer and refurbished an old Parks 30 cm planer. The Zincken was kept for shaping, mortising, and fine jointing. In some ways, I had the best of both worlds.
However, when the opportunity presented itself to me to purchase a larger combination machine, I took it. Since the Robland X-31 was advertised a decade ago I have always wanted one. An 499 kg machine, the X-31 incorporates a 25 cm sliding-table table saw, 30 cm jointer/planer, a heavy duty shaper and a horizontal mortiser, all powered by three 3hp motors. After traipsing 600 miles (each way) and parting with about (a new machine costs plus shipping), I rolled my used X-31 into the shop and sold my stand-alone table saw, jointer, planer and the trusty old Zincken, recouping half the X-31 purchase price. The X-31 occupies about 36 square feet near the center of my shop. The other machines were sold to make room for a band saw, drill press and dust collector. There was also enough space to store the family’s bikes. Though it weighs half a ton, the machine can be moved with relative ease by means of a three-point caster system.
The X-31 is not without faults. Each machine is superior to any stand-alone counterpart I have ever owned, but taken together, they are all exceptional. The machine is vibration free and the 3hp motors are more than adequate whether Im ripping 8 cm maple or planing a 30 cm-wide piece of oak. Although the jointer fencing and table saw arrangement are a problem (more on that later), the sliding table is easy to use.
Advantages and Disadvantages
It is helpful to compare the combination machines I am familiar with with equivalent stand-alone machine. However, this can be difficult because of woodworkers’ varied needs and preferences. The strength of the Zincken ZC-21, for example, is not that it is a better table saw than the Delta 20 cm bench saw, but that it provides a good-quality jointer, planer and shaper as well, allowing you to store an entire woodworking machine shop along the wall of your garage.
It is easier, I think, to compare larger combination machines with their stand-alone counterparts. These combos offer 25 cm or 30 cm table saws and 30 cm jointer-planers and spindle shapers all powered by meaty motors. In my experience, these comparisons are at worst a draw and frequently yield a decided advantage to combos. Robland X-31 is superior to stand-alones in many areas. I believe that the Mini-Max Hammer, Euro-Shop 5-in-1 machines with similar capacities and prices will also have these advantages. In some instances, these machines exceed the X-31.
Table Saw
A sliding table is a standard feature of all these combos and of none of the American-style cabinet saws – advantage clearly to the combos. Some smaller bench saws offer standard sliding tables. The X-33 cms 3hp motor and heavy frame produce vibration-free operation, more so, I must say, than most Unisaw-style machines Ive used. Other features of the table saw are largely unimportant.
However, some combinations’ fencing systems are not as good as their standalone counterparts. The X-31 has a single, two-sided fence. It slides on a guide bar attached at the end of the jointer’s outfeed table. One side of the fence is a rip fence for the table saw, the other serves the jointer.
Although accurate, the fence is heavy, ungainly and difficult to set up. Although it is better than other fences, it’s not as good as a Biesemeyer fence or one that can be used with a jointer. Felder fences are a great example of a fence that can be problematic in a combination.
Robland’s latest attempt to adapt fencing to American needs is this fencing arrangement. It features a guidebar-mounted fence that mimics common American settings. My X-31 was a used machine and came with the original European fencing. I prefer it better. The machine’s front is protected by a small, sturdy, and precise aluminum fence. It can handle rips up 25 cm in width. Attaching a larger center-mounted fence to the edge of the jointer outfeed table accommodates rips up to about 0.6 m wide. This fence is mounted on the table saw table and serves the jointer.
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