The Woodpecker Ep 239 - Installation and first impressions on my new Minimax FS30 

What a great idea!! Thank you, @Troy Reed

Thank you. And Yes this adds a lot of work, but receiving nice comments like yours make it all worth while

Thank you. It's the least I can do. I was able to buy it by the donations of my generous supporter so I have a moral duty to answer all the comments the best I can. But unfortunately I didn't used it very much, I'm stuck in the basement editing my Xmas episode that I'll post next November... But I still took time to make something with it and it will be featured next week, but it's not a very big project :(

It's what I'm hoping. And it's what I've read everywhere.But I didn't used it enough to write that myself, I use it in my next project, but it's not a big one. But still up until now I'm super happy

I don't know if you understand French? But if you do ,here's a link to a web page of my ex employer about a guy who is legally blind and make a living by making custom furniture for people. ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/692874/ebeniste-aveugle-pierre-paquin Seeing that is pretty inspiring, Imp pretty sure you inspire a lot of people.

You might be right, but this would involve a huge layout change. It's true that the trap the closest to the dust collector is the mist powerful one. I only use it to empty my vacuum bag.

It's what I was told. Before making my research I didn't knew about SCM, but every body only had great things to say about it

Maybe, but it's also $2000 more.... But my other planer, the one I'm replacing had a spiral head and I hated it. The reason why I was spending so many hours sanding was actually because of the spiral head, so I was not incline to caught up $2000 on something I may or may not like.

It has been a while since I bough a big brand new tool, yes it's exciting. Most of my Festool were bought used. But this is the biggest investment I made for a tool.... I even joked that we bought in the past cars that costed lest than that... OK it was 30 years ago but still... But those cars are long gone hopefully this will last longer, but eventually I know I won't be able to enjoy it as much... That's life...

Thank you. It's not very popular here, but I'm looking forward to using it

I have too much editing to do these days.... I have to edit the 5 episodes I recorded in November and December. But I can't wait to continue my TV stand and play with my new toy :)) But as you will see I'm using it in my next episode, I really wanted to take it for a spin, it's not much, it's like getting to the grocery store and back, but still it was nice, you'll see:))))

Darn, I wanted to make this a secrets, this would have been nice... Yes, he's a real nice guy. It's quite far from home but this way I was saving $500 for about only $100 of gas. On top we had a nice trip it was refreshing getting out of the hose especially these days. the day we went there, he had to kick us out he had a delivery to make. He was teasing Renée with her Canadian tuque he got his Bruins hat out LOL

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker No worries Alain I know you need to keep these things under wraps for your channel but it would have been nice to actually meet one of my favorite utube woodworkers , tell Renee I prefer the canadiens myself lol

I'm excited, I will start a big project next week, I got my wood yesterday, and I will use it "for real". It will be the first time I will pass a lot of hardwood into it. I'm glad to hear that you loved your machine. But before buying it I checked forums and everybody loved this machine.

I had some issue also with my homemade jointer, not as big as my planer though. Like Matthias say himself his jointer is it's most complicated tool to build, the precision must be super tight. It's working super well, as a matter of fact both machine will go to my cottage, so 'ill be able to surface my wood over there. Hopefully my generator will be big enough. But back to my jointer, I was never able to make both table 100% co-planar, so long board always end-up a tiny bit twisted. about 3/16" on a 7' board. Most of the time it can be corrected in the construction when it's glued to something else. but in doors as example they always end-up a bit twisted. On smaller length the twist is almost unnoticeable so it's OK. And also since I was always tucking it away and clamping it to my table saw it was always long to use it. Now by removing both these tools from my shop on top of the 6" jointer I intend to sell, I never used it since I build my jointer 7 years ago, this will give me a bit more space in the shop. No it's never big enough.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker But now you need to build a bigger shed at your cottage!

You are visionary, it's one of my project for next year, building a 8x8 woodshed with a dedicated space for storing stuffs. In upcoming episodes you'll see I'm preparing myself. Everything over there is a bit complicated, everything must be thought years in advance, but it what happen when the closest Rona is at 150Km

You're sure, you also have Azensekism? Thank you

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker haha 😂 I sure do have it!

I was unaware of this company before making my research. But everywhere every body is super satisfied with it. I even talk to a Croatian guy who filled up his shop with Hammer tools. and told me that now he's a bit disappointed he said that he should had went for SCM. True that Italy is 100Km from Croatia, here the distance is not a noticeable difference. I'm eager to use it more that what I've already used it. I have to edit the pieces I recorded before the holiday. but on my next episode I'm using it.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker I would have saved quite some money with SCM machines and they seem very good indeed. Although I have to say that I love my Hammer A3-41 with spiral cutters. Happy woodworking!

When the suction is working it's like a dream, when it's not a nightmare. But even if up until now I didn't used it a lot I'm quite satisfied.

Thank you

LOL

Tersa knives cannot really be resharpened, only flipped once and then disposed of. They have a groove cut in the center which indexes them radially, so if you resharpen them, you change the cutter's effective radius. There are, however, carbide Tersa knives as replacements.

No I didn't bought the spiral head. First it was not available where I bought the machine, second it would have cost me a lot more, and since my goal was to take only the money my supporter gave me over the years, it would have took me another 2 years or more to pile up the extra cost. And third I was not impressed with my other planer's helical head, so I was not incline to spend extra on something I was not keen about. Yes I could have used more money than what my supporters gave me , but I wanted this tool to be even more special and thinking that each time I touch it, it's because of every body who believed in me and this has no price.

I read that someone had made them resharpen, but your comment make sense. But knowing myself, if it's like on my wooden jointer, I will keep the cutter for a long time. It took me about 7 years to change the normal HSS blade on my jointer, OK the new blades were cutting better than the one I replaced. But on this machine I bought carbide blades.

I'm not sure.... Personally I don't like the fact that on this kind of guard you have to remove your hand from the piece of wood to pass over the guard... It's probably why here in America this kind of guard is prohibited. Yes it can be purchased after of course. I read someplace, and it's what I'm afraid of, that one guy was unhappy about the pork chop guard of his Minimax, so he purchased the European style guard. Hated it and now uses his machine without any guard at all.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Using this kind of guard takes a bit of getting used to, I guess. But there is anice flow when you do. BTW I do not understand why rules must be so different between the EU and the USA.

I have no answer for your question, it would be so much easier if it was the same everywhere.... You're probably right someone would get used to that, but don this leaves a mark when you lift your hand from the piece to pick it up on the other side of the guard?

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker I will answer your question. It doesn't leave a mark since you don't stop pushing, the forward hand just slides over the guard while the rear hand is pushing, this is quite fast. Also since the guard is on spring you can actually press a bit on it and it pushes the wood down. I love mine on my Hammer and I would never change it for pork chop style, it feels much safer since it is always there (doesn't swing out and doesn't rely on swing spring to push it back). The only drawback is that you need to set it for different thickness of wood (no need to be precise but you'd set if the boards' thickness vary a lot. Greetings from Croatia

When things will be better and we'll be able to travel and we'll pile up enough ¢ we will come back to Europe and I will ask someone to show me this guard. Then I'll have a better idea of it. But what I really like about a pork chop guard, is that I can use a big push block with 2 handles to push on the wood, the pressure is always there even a the end of the cut, My right hand is always out of the way and I love that. It's a bit like push sticks, I barely use them, I feel I don't have enough control over my piece of wood, I prefer push blocks. But a lot of people like handling their cuts with long skinny piece of wood by pulsing on the back and still feel pretty safe, I guess it's the same thing with these guards...

The space in my shop is shrinking that's for sure... But I will bring my wooden jointer and my crappy planer at my cottage, this will be enough over there. If I use it one a year it would be a good year, but it will also be useful on those moments. I don't go deer hunting only grouse hunting, my joy comes from walking 75Km in 4 days inside the forest. Grouse come in second, lucky for me because when I go mid November the hunting season is wee underway and they're not a lot of game that comes to meet us...

I know. It's illegal selling a machine with the European guard and in Europe it's illegal to sell a machine with the guard I have....

Around here, in Canada, tri phase electricity is only available in industrial area. It's impossible to have a normal house with that type of electricity. Here most of the tools for hobbyist are in 120V. For a lot of people it's more convenient, but it's not powerful enough. I think a 1.5 HP motor is the top you can use on a 15Amps breaker. But most people do woodworking in their garage and garages never have 220V plugs.... In my shop I've installed more 220V breakers than probably all the neighbour I can see. I have a second set of knives, or 2/3 of it. Yes they messed up in Italy and only put 2 of the 3 knives in the shipping crate... The sales man is working on having the third knife.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker It is so interesting with europian eyes that there is no 3 phase. In Hungary we have a chance 3 phase with 32A for free (not 3x32, just 1x32, the other 2x32 must buy by the user :D ) I thougnt it works all over the world.. However it is a great tool, hope you will enjoy that. :)

Not at all. I realized the same thing when I visited France, the electricity is so different. I have to tell a story that I repeat a lot when I'm talking about my European trip. I was at the hose of a lycé teacher, the guy said; Here in France we're big consumer of electricity, I answered, humm not that much. He said ho yes we're huge electricity consumer. So I told him; stop me if I'm wrong, you live in a street similar to mine, so I guess that every body have a 45 ampere electricity input, He stopped me right there and said NO, we all have a 32 amp mono-phase input. I said, me at home every body have a 200 amps counter at the input of their house, I have a 100amps breaker that power my shop, my water heater is connected on three 40 amps breakers for a total of 120 amps. And he said; Humm ok maybe we're not so huge on power consumption.... Understanding European electricity was one of my goal when I visited. One electrician, who I spent 2 nights with, was so untested in hearing how it's working over here with our 120 and 240 volts.

I will bring both of them at the cottage. This way I,ll be able to cut wood over there and surface it if it's needed. If the surface is not the greatest it's not a big deal over there. Hopefully my generator will be powerful enough....

I love them. I had to move my jointer the other day, I was so glad I had these casters. They're not cheap but keep the machine in place. But you have to knee down and turn the knob to be able to use them. It might be a lot of trouble if someone intend to move their machine often. But once in a while it's perfect the weight is actually where the manufacturer intend the weight to be, because it's replacing the roller with an adjustable feet. As for the installation you only screw them in place. I'm pretty sure a A3/41 have the same threads as the caster I think it's 12mm just check the specs Have fun with your new toy

Yes and proud of it :)) Everywhere I read that this is a good machine, I'm glad to hear that you're still satisfied even after 5 years

since I was so unimpressed with my old herbicidal head planer, I didn't want to take a chance and spent tho9usands of dollars and hate it like my old planer. But probably it would had been of better quality that I'm sure. But still I'm super happy with the Tersa knives, they cut great, way better than my old planer that's for sure.I've been using it almost evey day for the past 3 months, I'm building a big bookcase. I'm using the 30mm model of 155lbs of holding

First of all if you buy this particular jointer/planer you will not regret it. I'm using it on each project and I love it. I never had any problem with my casters, they are quite expensive for such small caster, but I also have to admit that I don't move my jointer that much, they're mostly on the levelling part of it and on this position they're no weight on the casters. I moved it a couple of time since I got my combo, so I can not tell you if the casters are fragile if they're use often, sorry

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Thanks very much for the fast reply and for your experiences as it is good to know you still love it after using it for awhile. I just thought I would clarify that it wasn't the castor itself that broke for the other guy, it was the nut welded inside the leg of the FS30 that the stem of the castor screws into that came off, or the tack weld holding the nut came loose. Anyways thanks!

OK, so no I didn't had any issue with this. But I had one issue with the jointer, it so small and predictable that it just flew off my mind. It's possible to add a mortiser at the front of the machine that uses the same axis as the cutter head. Since it sold without this attachment, I guess less than 1% of the owner has one, they cover the head with a piece of super hard brittle plastic. It didn't took me long that I dropped a piece of maple on this and it went off in pieces. So I made a maple cap to cover the space of the plastic. I suggest that you do the same thing before its break, so you won't have to stop what you're doing to make one. On top it's less thick and takes less space. If you buy this tool and want the measurement for this cap send me an email.

First of all I'm sure you won't regret your choice. I love my jointer/planer. I think I use it more than my table saw. The only weak spot I found is the front plastic cover, which covers the arbour of the cutter head in front. two months ago I dropped a piece of wood on it, after planing with this machine wood become slippery I never had such nice surfaces before, but the plastic cover broke in several pieces. I replaced it with a piece of maple the same shape as the plastic cover. If you want the shape write me an email. Otherwise if you don't catch a nail your good to go for a long time, I used it quite a lot and the carbide blades I've bought are still on the same side. I never put on the one that came with the machine I keep them just in case. But to answer your question, it's 26"(650mm) X 19"(480mm) at the base. I only moved it twice in the full year I owned it. both times was because the piece was too long and I didn't had enough space to fully joint it, so I moved the machine back. I'm super happy that I have casters on it because it's quite heavy. Have fun with your new toy

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Thank you for the quick response Alain! I’ll let you know if I think I need the shape of the arbor cover. Are your leveling castors easy to engage? They look like they might be a little awkward to raise and lower. I think I’ll start by trying the M42 or the M+ Tersa blades before investing in carbide.

I can't say they're easy to engage, but each of them are separate so it's perfect for uneven floor. My concrete floor is quite level but surely not as straight as a plane glass. I can't say anything about the blades that came with the machine they're still in their original package in a drawer. But I hope from all my heart that you won't have the mishap I had. The "cheaper" blade that come with the saw are sold in pack of two, they only send one pack.... It was not a big deal I had already bought three carbide Tersa blade before even receiving the planer. I just told this to the sells man and I received another set but all this took several weeks... It would have been hard to wait several weeks with this in the middle of my shop and not being able to use it...

I think I will bring it to my cottage. I have nothing over there to joint wood, but I'm not 100% sure my small generator will be able to make it work??? If I bring it back here, in case my generator is not powerful enough, I will surely have to part with it it's taking a bit of floor space.

I've installed four Zambus, Carrymaster AC300. They,re not cheap though, but it was what was suggested on several forums, and I'm very glad I bought them

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Thanks!

Yes I knew that and yes I did. I had my eyes on a Rikon, looked at it more closely and changed my mind pretty quickly. Several things made me lean toward the SCM Minimax. OK to be super honest the first one was the price, usually both machine are the same price or within a couple hundred dollars from each other. Where I bought it, it was on sale $2000 off... I checked everywhere else and it was really a sale. I found the exact same machine in the US for more than what I paid in Canadian dollars, and the exchange rate is 35%.... Secondly I really liked that this machine had 2 hoses connectors for the chips. With my dust collector pipes under my concrete slab having only one connector and flipping it around would have been a real pain. probably less for someone how can live with pipes over his head, I can't. I also read a lot of comments on forums and places like that, everybody was satisfied with their machine, so for all that I bought the Minimax.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Thank you for your answer. I’m going to buy an hummer planer so if the only Pro’s for you were the Price and the 2 hoses, I will stick to the Hammer. ! Have a good day ☺️

One last thing but I don't know if this is of interest to you. SCM manufacture everything in their manufacturing plans in Italy, they even have their own foundry for the cast iron. Felder and Hammer don't anymore, they subcontract the cast iron to another foundry to save money, I don't know if this is of importance? I' m not sure which foundry though, maybe you can check , I found this when a bunch of people were bickering about who's pieces of machinery is the best. Hammer owner say they new and didn't care, for them cast iron is cast iron. But in these days when 90% of all we buy come from China and have a life expectancy of of coupe of years and we're good with that I don't really think it's of interest. But I had a cheap piece of machinery made in Asia before I didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker I’ll keep in mind this thing. Thank you 🙏

I know it's possible to learn french even in the west coast. When I was working for CBC news in Montreal, we had a super nice lady from BC, her french was as good as ours, of course it helped her to have a job at CBC especially in Montreal. Once, her sister came for a visit, her french is as good, in fact she's now a french teacher in Vancouver. They say that the decision of their parents to send them to a french school in BC was the best thing they did for them.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker Ha! Well I volunteer at our local Science Centre and sometimes french immersion classes come in, and I always love getting corrected by an 8 yr old!. My fathers family is french, hearing your voice always reminds me of family. I can learn textbook french anywhere, but you DEFINETLY have style! I like that

Thank you. You remind me of a producer we had a long time ago. He was from Toronto I think, anyway not from Quebec. And he said that he loved talking with young kids, because they always correct him. Us we just continue to work otherwise we would have gone nowhere...

Tersa Knives

You will love it, I do. For myself I only waited 3 months, but according to the salesman already one was on a boat for the country, he intercepted it. But after it has to go through the CSA approval and then I was able to pick it up

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker nice deal! How's the dust collection keeping up? Still having issues?

The only drawback of this machine I found is it HAS to have a good dust collection otherwise the plank WILL actually stop inside the planer. This is frustrating, so when I have something wider than 4" to plane, I now roll out my dust collector and hook it directly to the planer, no pipes, no cyclone direct hookup and it's a charm no problem at all, beside the atrocious noise of a dust collector 7' from you. For small narrow boards I still let the cyclone take care of the shaving. So if like me and your dust collector is far from the machine you will have to do something when you'll use it. But beside that I love it, I'm making my first "real" big project with it, a 9'X7' close bookcase, hundreds of BF went through it, it's a charm, but again with the dust collector just beside it.

@@LgosseuxDbois-TheWoodpecker so far my extractor is keeping up. Its close by too. Where do u keep your fence while planning? By far most annoying side of this machine is the fence having to go in and off

I put my fence where I can... Most of the time it's on the floor For me it's less of an hassle than moving the jointer away, like I did before. Each time I was using either the jointer or planer I had to put it back in the corner after use. Now I just have to move around the fence. But not having to pull on the piece of wood while planing is a charm, I had no clue planing could be so easy, I was struggling with board not moving for the last 10 years, not anymore