Last month, there were some discussions here about jointer / planer
combo machines. I've had a chance to work recently with a Rojek MSP
310 12" jointer / planer combo, and here's my review of it for
those of you who might be considering one.
Summary:
Pros: Solid, powerful machine that gives excellent results; great tech
support (U.S.); competitively priced vs. other European jointer/planer
combos.
Cons: Abysmal manual; minor QA/QC issues; marginal aftermarket
mobility kit.
Special notes: 220 VAC and good dust collection system are essential.
General:
The Rojek MSP 310 can be seen here:
http://www.rojekusa.com/PHP/msp310m.php
It is a Czech-made, 310mm / 12" combination jointer / planer machine,
which uses the same cutterhead and 3.6 HP motor for both operations.
It is similar in design and capabilities to the Minimax FS-30 combo
($4,595) and the Hammer A3-31 ($3,495), but at a more competitive price
(currently $2,500 with free shipping). Unlike most other jointer /
planer combos (including the Rojek MSP 315 and MSP 415), however, the
jointer tables on the MSP 310 are fixed and do not flip up for planing
operations. Instead, transition between jointing and planing requires
moving the dust hood (which fits into slots on the planer table during
jointing, and attaches to the jointer fence during planing) and
throwing a lever to engage / disengage the planer feed rollers.
Conversion requires no tools and takes only a few seconds.
The MSP 310 comes standard with a 4 knife cutterhead, with a 3 knife
Tersa cutterhead available as an option. While the 4 knife head
reportedly gives spectacular results, I hate having to futz around with
knife settings, and so I went with the Tersa. (For those of you who
aren't familiar with them, a Tersa cutterhead uses reversible,
specially-machined disposable blades that slide into matching grooves
on the cutterhead and are secured by a block which centrifugal force
locks into place. It takes under two minutes to change all three
blades, with no jigs, measurement tools, or wrenches needed. The only
downside is that the blades cost about 50% more than other disposable
blades and cannot be resharpened.)
The cast iron jointer tables are each about 25" (50" overall),
which some may find a little short but is long enough for my projects.
(Extension tables are available as an option.) The outfeed table is
fixed. The infeed table is a parallelogram design, with the depth of
cut set by twisting a knob. The depth of cut indicator is on the left
hand side of the infeed table, and is very easy to read. Fine tuning
the infeed table (i.e., for parallelism with the outfeed table)
requires a socket wrench and a little patience (and, of course, some
precision measurement tools), but no shims are needed.
The planer table is also cast iron, just under 30" long and with
grooves running lengthwise. (Extension rollers are available as an
option.) Planing height is controlled by a handwheel that raises the
planer table 2mm per revolution, with two locks to secure the table in
place.
The jointer fence is extruded aluminum and about 5" high, and is
adjustable from 90-45 degrees. Positive stop at 90 degrees is by a
bolt with a locking nut. It also slides smoothly in and out, so you
can vary where you do your edge jointing and thus even out the wear on
the knives. The cutterhead guard is of the European style and very
ergonomic. When face jointing, it is extended to cover the entire
cutterhead with the height adjusted to allow the workpiece to pass
under it. When edge jointing, it is retracted to expose just the
amount needed for the workpiece to pass between it and the fence. When
the machine is not in use, you can rotate the cutterhead guard out of
the way and extend the fence all the way across the cutterhead,
resulting in a very compact footprint.
The motor is a 3.6 HP 220V, single phase, braking motor, with a 5 HP
three phase braking motor available as an option. Start and stop are
by magnetic switches on a fixed front panel (which also includes an
indicator light), plus a large "chicken switch" emergency stop
button. A large rotary switch controls whether power is supplied to
the motor or only to the motor brake. (Because the motor brake engages
when there is no power, the cutterhead is locked in place when the
machine is unplugged, and thus you have to have the motor powered up in
this "safety" position to change knives, clean the feeder rollers,
etc. For those of us in the habit of unplugging a power tool before
getting your hands up close and personal with its business end, this
takes some getting used to.) An optional switch makes the motor
reversible (used only in mortising operations with a slot mortiser
attachment, which is also available as a user-installable option).
Setup and Initial Impressions:
I ordered my MSP 310 from Rojek's US distributor, Tech Mark, Inc.
(Little Rock, Ark.), and it was delivered by a lift-gate truck less
than a week later. The crate was roughly 5' long by 4' high by
2.5' wide, and weighted about 1000 lbs. I'd hate to have to get
this up or down stairs or through hallways, but fortunately it was a
straight shot up my driveway into my shop with the truck driver's
pallet jack. Be warned: this is a *very* heavy piece of machinery that
is not designed to be disassembled, and I strongly recommend you have
an engine lift, pallet jack, or other appropriate equipment available.
Trust me, you and your neighbor or brother-in-law are not gonna be able
to just muscle this one off the pallet and into place.
For all practical purposes, the machine comes fully assembled. The
only things that need to be done are to add the fence mount (four
bolts; wrench included), install leveling feet / bolts if necessary,
attach two pieces of trim that hide the bottom 3" of the frame (not
essential), and attach your preferred flavor of 220 VAC plug (not
included) to the end of the power cord.
My particular unit arrived in good condition, with all cast iron
surfaces nicely coated in Cosmolene and waxed paper. There were a
couple of slight dings on the front and rear of the machine (probably
from the forklift used to load the machine onto the pallet at the
factory), but nothing that a couple of raps with a soft-faced mallet
and a dab of touch up paint couldn't fix.
(Side note: in an e-mail to Tech Mark to confirm receipt of the machine
in acceptable condition, I mentioned in an offhand fashion the slight
dings on the machine (more in terms of indicating that the machine
hadn't slipped inside the crate than anything else). A couple of
days later I received a complementary can of touch up paint from Tech
Mark! As you'll see below, this was very typical of the excellent,
proactive customer service I gotten from them.)
Tech Mark offers a mobile base for this unit. However, the mobile base
is just the Shop Fox G7314, which in my case was drop shipped directly
to me from the importer, Woodstock International. While this unit
generally gets good reviews, I'm not sure it's the best bet for
this machine. When the machine sits atop this unit, the supplied trim
for the bottom of the frame cannot be attached - it just won't fit.
Additionally, the preset holes for this unit make it slightly
oversized for this particular machine, which means you to have to shim
the machine on one end and one side to keep it from moving on the base.
Additionally, this particular Shop Fox unit had some obvious QA/QC
problems, with large sections of paint flaking off during assembly to
reveal lots of scabby rust underneath. (This defect is, of course,
fixable with a wire brush and some Rustoleum, but it's still
annoying.) With the machine firmly in place on the mobile base, it is
mobile, but just barely and with considerable effort. Whether due to
the sheer weight of the machine, the design of the mobile base, or
perhaps the slight unevenness of my concrete shop floor, it takes quite
a bit of effort to move the machine. On the positive side, however,
once you get the machine where you want it and extend the "feet" of
the mobile base with the screw attachments, it is rock solid. (Still,
I may have to look into the Hoverpad that was recently written up in
Popular Woodworking . . . .)
Out of the crate and set up on the mobile base, I wired the plug and
checked the motor. Motor spun in both directions. Cleaned off all the
Cosmolene and checked the outfeed table's orientation to the
cutterhead. Parallel to within 0.001" per my dial indicator.
Checked the flatness of the infeed / outfeed tables; both had some
minor dips in places (about 0.004" in two places on the infeed; about
0.0025" in two places on the outfeed), but as pointed out in earlier
posts here that's not enough to trouble with. Fence had a slight
twist (lower right corner off by 0.0025; upper left corner off by
0.004) but probably not enough to worry about; fine tuned the fence to
90 degrees at the cutterhead. Checked the parallelism of infeed vs.
outfeed, and found that the infeed table was off by 0.01". Looked in
the manual for directions on how to adjust it and found . . . nothing.
Not a word on how to adjust the infeed table, or for that matter what
the anticipated tolerances were or how to fine tune the machine at all.
Worse, the manual appeared to have been translated from the original
Czech by someone whose first language was clearly not English.
Fortunately, a phone call to Tech Mark got me a friendly technician who
told me exactly what to do, and within minutes I had the tables
parallel to within 0.001" and ready for some test cuts.
Hooked up my the machine to my dust system and tried it out. The first
test piece was a two foot cedar 1x4. Face jointing, edge jointing, and
planing went smoothly and produced a nice glassy surface. At this
point, I decided to try something more difficult, and got an old four
foot 2x6 that had a considerable twist and was loaded with pitch. The
face and edge jointing went fine, but less than a few inches into the
second pass the motor stopped. Completely. Dead. Checked the circuit
breaker; no problem there. Unplugged the machine, removed the rear
cover, got that awful, oh-crap-it's-fried smell of melting plastic.
Checked the manual for the motor (which was actually quite good, unlike
the manual for the machine), tried motor brake adjustments and tested
the motor brake rectifier; no dice . . . motor would run for a few
seconds and then overheat and blow the thermal overload switch. Long
story, short version: defective motor. Another e-mail and phone call
to Tech Mark; a new motor (indeed, it was a bit bigger than the
original) was in my hands within four days. Pulled the old motor and
installed the new one (again, it would have been nice to have had an
exploded diagram in the manual!), but got the new motor installed
without too much fuss.
Powered up the new motor and immediately felt a difference . . .
we're talking serious power!
Next series of test pieces ran very smoothly, but edge joints weren't
tight (slightly stave-shaped [about 0.004" proud in the center]).
Again, a fine-tuning section of the manual would have been helpful, but
a couple of phone calls with Todd at Tech Mark [who is very friendly
and knows his product] solved the problem. Made the recommended
adjustments and presto: light-free edge joints!
Observations and conclusions:
Comparing this machine with what most us are used to using is like
going from a Kia to a Mercedes (or from a Jet lathe to a Oneway).
Sure, the Kia is reasonably well made, and it gets the job done. But
when you get in and close the door on a Mercedes, you just feel that
"clunk" of particularly fine tolerances and sturdy construction,
which you come to appreciate the more you drive it. And, of course,
there's a good bit more power when you need it. So it is with the
Rojek. With the exception of the fence (extruded aluminum, which seems
to be pretty standard these days), everything about this machine is
heavy duty and very sturdy. It runs quietly and with little
perceptable vibration. Blade changes on the Tersa head are
ridiculously easy.
Edge joints are dead flat, and according to my Starret combination
square are right at 90 degrees all along the length. Planed thickness
measurements are within a few thousandths of each other, both side to
side and all along the length. Snipe is nonexistent.
The surface quality this machine put on the test pieces is
extraordinary. Especially when you dial in a very slight finishing cut
on the planer (a quarter turn of the handwheel raises the planing table
about 1/64"), it's hard to find any planing marks. Of course, this
is with brand new knives and relatively straight-grained wood, but from
what I've seen so far the quality is what I'd hoped for.
This machine does come with some caveats. You will have to have 220
VAC service for it, and don't even think about it unless you already
have (or are willing to install) fairly serious dust collection. (A
Shop Vac and a trash can separator aren't gonna cut it.) And it is a
very heavy piece of equipment, even with a mobile base.
The thickness indicator on the planer is hard to read accurately, both
due to its design and location (and probably also to my aging eyes). I
mentioned this to Todd at Tech Mark, and he suggested retrofitting the
machine with the Digi-Planer digital read out
(http://www.digi-kit.com/digiplaner.htm). At under $50 for repeatable
accuracy of 0.01", that sounds like a winner to me.
There were some very minor fit and finish defects (chipped paint in a
few places, a misshapen threaded hole on the frame, the above-mentioned
cosmetic dings) and of course the defective motor, but the folks at
Tech Mark have stood behind the product and have been extremely helpful
and responsive. Short of them flying in to service the machine
personally <g>, I can't think of much more I could rationally ask
them to do.
The MSP 310's manual is a joke, but that is offset by the
availability of responsive technical support people at Tech Mark.
Still, given how well Todd and the other folks at Tech Mark know these
machines, I'm surprised that they don't just write their own
version of the manual or at least an FAQ . . . as I suspect that most
of the questions I have had are ones that most users have anyway.
Bottom line: if you're looking at a jointer planer combo (or for that
matter a 12" jointer), the Rojek MSP 310 is definitely worth a look.
LKB in Houston
10-10-06