Thread: felder combination

Not many on this forum would have Felder cf741sp combination. There is a few Hammer owners, but not many pro's on this forum. You would be better posting in https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/FelderUsers/info.

My 2c would be that Felder cf741sp will be a good step up from MiniMax Cu300, MiniMax is equal to the Hammer range were Felder is more akin to the CSM range.

You will enjoy the Felder, personally I am very happy with my Hammer machines.

I think Chris has a CF741SP

A very expensive machine though. base model starts at $44k NZD last time I checked (2012/2013?), by the time you added the functions you wanted you maybe looking at $50k+ NZD, if you can spare $50k to buy a combination machine then why not spend $100k NZD and you can buy a new Felder CNC.

Originally Posted by Albert

why not spend $100k NZD and you can buy a new Felder CNC.

Because a CNC isn't very good at doing what a combo can do, if at all.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Because a CNC isn't very good at doing what a combo can do, if at all.

Totally agree CNC is more for plywood and sheet material. Repeat cutting of screw/bolted together pieces.

I have however seen some complex solid wood chair components done on 5 Axis CNC. But the wood needs to be joint / thickness then secured to an MDF bed using glue and the CNC cut all the compound joints and did 99% of the complex shaping. However they were making hundreds of chairs.

Combination machine is more biased towards solid wood with the option of breaking down sheet goods.

Try this forum: General Woodworking and Power Tools

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

I have however seen some complex solid wood chair components done on 5 Axis CNC. But the wood needs to be joint / thickness then secured to an MDF bed using glue and the CNC cut all the compound joints and did 99% of the complex shaping. However they were making hundreds of chairs.

We do 1-off solid timber stuff all the time on the 3-axis at work, you just need to make jigs. No glue needed, a tight jig and a vacuum table do just fine.

5-axis would be nice though....

Originally Posted by piperj3

Hi guys,
I am new to this site and would like to know if any of you guys own a felder cf741sp combination
I would like to hear from you and see how you are finding the machine
As I have just ordered one after selling my minimax cu300
Thanks

You're not second guessing yourself are you? As you can afford it and like to have nice things, you'll be thrilled with the 741. The quality of the machine makes it a pleasure to use. I looked at buying a used one myself, until the fear of spending so much won out (and ended up with a CU300).

Don't expect a huge difference to the CU300, which is a fine machine in its own right. Once you're into that class of machine, it's the options that make the difference to your work efficiency - electronic rise/fall/tilt, tilt and reverse direction on spindle moulder, digital readout on fence, Tersa or helical planer head etc. The 741 and Minimax elite S are the rolls royces of full combination machines, they perform like the professional machines they are. But the main difference over the lower price models is in those optional convenience features. They help to make you more efficient, not necessarily improve the quality of your workmanship.

A great machine. Provided you have the work to justify the cost. Much can be achieved on cheaper models in the right hands.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

We do 1-off solid timber stuff all the time on the 3-axis at work, you just need to make jigs. No glue needed, a tight jig and a vacuum table do just fine.

5-axis would be nice though....

Yes, I agree CNC is not comparable to Combinations but a 50k combination is hard to justify,

I did look at the CNC once but you need a person to man the CNC, if you can find a market for your product with no competition from other manufacturer who has spent big bucks on CNC then you have found a gold mine....

I have a C741 P (not SP) but did get the 4 knife cutterblock. And upgraded fences and more. Very happy, but don't use it as much as I should. If I could change anything I would have the new spiral carbide cutterblock and have the remote switch for the saw.
You'll spend a lot more for accessories than you planned. Extra infeed and outfeed tables (aluminium and the cast iron) initially thought extravagances are fantastic. I also got the router spindle which is ok for big bits but a little limited for smaller ones because of the speed
An essential bit of reading is the book found here, David P. Best Publications. He also had a download for the thicknesser
I got a lot of initial help from a yahoo felder group- not sure if it's still running.
Just looked at the date of the original post- you probably have it by now. If yet to be installed try to get as much info from the installer about resetting table for square cuts and other minor tweaks. I had the sliding table set marginally higher than the cast table on his advice and it's probably best if you are doing a lot of sheet work with big items but I would prefer them to be exactly co-planar, and put up with minor friction with the smaller items I make. Trying to reset table height is a much bigger deal for me.
Hope this helps, I'm just a home hobbiest and some of this may not apply to you.
Felder NSW were very helpful

An afterthought, the power drives for height are an expensive option but essential for the thicknesser/planer change, especially if you are not as good at workflow planning (ie chopping and changing back and forward during a project.) I opted out of the saw and moulder ones as I change them less but am happy to have the thicknesser one.
A combo machine makes planning a little more important as you don't want to have to re set the machine for one part midway, (if you have "fluffed one"-say thicknessed everything and set up for planing and find you have cut a part short or found a wood defect)), but it is often sensible to cut a spare, to enable trial fitting.
Nevertheless repeatability is fabulous with these machines