Looking at Jointers and thicknessers

[Yxoc]

Still dreaming - I wouldn't have space for either of these yet but these two combo machines have come up for sale on a local listing site. These are two of the more serious brands from my understanding. The Felder is newer and looks in excellent condition but the SCM is higher capacity (12inch planer/thicknesser). I have emailed the guy asking the year of manufacture of the SCM. Either of these would pretty much have my needs sorted indefinitely.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/paynesvi ... 1045590959

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/moonah/m ... 1021868395

[Chris Hall]

I used to have an earlier version of the Felder combo machine. Never again.

They're okay, but a step below industrial quality. Not designed especially well with an eye to serviceability or rebuild-ability, and parts are a problem. On mine, I broke a planetary gear in the planer and had to wait 5 weeks for the part to come from Austria. New knives for the planer (shared by the jointer) had to come from Austria too, which seems crazy. Some parts of the machine are not adjustable, like the carrier for the sliding table. Mounting the jointer fence at the end of the table means a flexible fence.

I've never seen that SCM unit before, but if the choice was between those two machines, I would move towards the SCM.

[Yxoc]

That's interesting - I had thought that Felder were one of the heavyweights. Their costs seem to reflect that. I think I would check into parts availability for SCM in Australia before I purchased one. I suspect it would be difficult and expensive to get parts from any manufacturer to Australia - just seems to be the way it goes . With that in mind it's probably more important to buy carefully and not buy into something that will likely need parts/repairs.

I guess all combo machines have to be a compromise. If money and space were no object then I would look for specialised components. Unfortunately both are a big issue. It's tough negotiating the treacherous waters of wood working machinery purchases - I appreciate your input Chris, thanks.