Hello to all,
I currently have something of an opportunity that I doubt will ever repeat. I am turning 40 (only happens once! :rolleyes:), and my dear wife has agreed to letting me upgrade some of my machines in the workshop :o. Namely my
old 12" Carbatec beast table saw (somewhat unsafe / inaccurate), and my little Jet benchtop
thicknesser (because it's the noisiest machine known to man).
I am currently looking at combination (4-in-1) type machines, as my workshop is a simple double garage which doesn't really have the room for multiple standalone machines. To undertake any serious projects, I normally have to move stuff out first.
On my last visit to my local Carbatec (Brisbane) I got to see one of the
SCM Minimax C30 Genius machines in the flesh, which was something I hadn't previously considered. The sliding table / outrigger looks like a great feature since occasionally I do cut sheets and have to do them by hand on the saw horses, the spiral head jointer/thicknesser combo looks great, and the spindle moulder looks like a bit of extra functionality that I might get some good use out of later. The only downside I can see is going back to a 10" main saw.
I am looking for opinions on these machines, thoughts on their build quality, reliability / accuracy, longevity (important as this kind of approval doesn't happen often!), and any pain points that might come up. Spending $10k+ on a machine makes it worth doing some due diligence! I got a quote on a Hammer C3-31 machine (~$21k) with similar options, although the Hammer' specs more directly compares to the
Minimax Lab300 at ~$16k. Are the Hammer machines that much better, and worth ~$6k more? I just don't want to make a mistake of buying a machine that I realise later was not the right way to go.
I am a hobbyist, and the kind of work I do is generally furniture type projects, almost entirely out of hardwoods. I do have a 20-amp power socket in the workshop.
Appreciate any thoughts or advice the wise old folk of the forum can provide!
Thanks for reading.
-Scott