Stationary power tools are big, expensive, difficult to move around and often stand idle. This has been true for a long time, and one response is the combo tool, a machine that combines more than one function into a single stationary tool. For example, I have a JET combo Jointer/Planer — and I really like it. I can face joint 12” wide panels and then put them through the planer; changeover takes just seconds.
And there are tools that combine more: say, table saw, jointer, planer and a slot-mortiser in one machine. But these tools have never caught on with woodworkers here in the USA in a big way … unless you include the Shopsmith (which I do).
So how do you feel about combo tools? Do you own one? Would you consider buying one? Let us know, and we will share your answers.
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
