MiniMax CU300 - The Tablesaw Function

[@craigbehnke1986]

Thanks a ton for posting your video review of the CU300. There isn't a lot of user video review info out there on the Mini Max combo machines so it's GREATLY appreciated that you took the time to do this.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Craig Behnke I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Several times I've searched KZbin for videos related to MiniMax combination machines, and like you never found very much. Over this past summer I started making videos related to one of my other hobbies, backpacking. I don't go backpacking in the winter, so decided to put what I learned about making videos to good use by posting a few videos about my CU300. Maybe some other people will be inspired to follow suit.

[@fernandoabela8549]

Thanks to this wonderful series of videos you produced Peter that I went ahead and recently purchased a MM300cu smart second hand in great shape. I’m still setting it up but I know I’m gonna love the machine! Thanks Peter for the providing the public with such in depth presentation of this machine, Mini Max should thank you for the free advertisement!, 😊

[@vaportrail43]

Peter: This was such a great service to the woodworking community. So I bought the C26 Minimax. Great machine for the money Thank You

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Jerry Williams I'll be waiting for my commission from Minimax :^). Have fun with your new machine.

[@Penessence]

I purchased my CU 300 Smart in 2007 and the MM16 bandsaw and I love them both. I will never go back to a regular style table saw. It took me a little while to get used to standing on the outside and not in front of the blade but after a while it all made sense. I can't say enough about my unit with very little complaints about it. I don't care for the saw rip fence, I think they could have done a better job on it. I too am a hobbyist woodworker and turner, I enjoyed watching your videos, all of them. I wish I had bought the router adapter for the shaper unit but at $795, I'll pass and use my router table, but now wish I had. Thank you for taking the time and producing the video series, there isn't a lot of Utube videos on the Mini Max, hopefully you started something here. I really can't add anymore that what you already said and showed, excellent job!

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Bruno De Melis I sometimes wish I had the router adapter for the shaper, but I never priced it out. $795? Wow! I don't think I'll be ordering one of those any time soon. Somehow I always find a way to do what I have to do without a router table, but if I had to I think I could make a pretty nice one for a lot less than $795. --Peter

[@TitusRockjaw]

A great effort by an obviously great guy to introduce a great product where the manufacturers failed. After using the CU300, the CU410 and the Felder BF741combination range for a few months it became obvious that multi function combinations are not space savers at all, in fact they are space hoggers. Also, though SCM Minimaxes are beautifully well manufactured pieces of gear, I went ahead and bought two separate machines instead. A Felder KF700 S Why? The quality and features were superior and, very importantly, the Felder scoring blades are direct belt driven which made me less nervous. I also bought a 20 inch industrial grade planer thicknesser "almost new" from a very high end European manufacturer. I placed positioned these two machines against the workshop walls which actually turned out to be far more space effective. I now have a workshop which leaves me much more working space than I had when I had the CU 300 and CU410 on trial in my workshop. This Minimax CU range are great products and I hope this gentleman enjoys his machine as much as I did when I had one of each model in my own workshop.

[@MSaeedfab]

TitusRockjaw do you think felder is a better brand than minimax. Minimax has solo machines as well. Also their higher end versions are under the scm brand. Also ain't combination machines cheaper than solo machines

[@CopiWood]

SCM or Minimax is years ahead of felder!

[@plexuswoodworks1771]

Thanks for posting. English videos on the table saws are hard to come by. I have the fs41E and posted a video because there was literally nothing on youtube about it and its a great machine.

[@rafihussain]

Good to hear n learn. Thanks for sharing

[@davejohnson8512]

Thank you for the video, I have this machine, but learned a lot, and noticed some things I may not be doing properly.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Dave Johnson I'm glad you found the video helpful. I'm no expert, so don't assume that just because you're doing something different from me that I'm doing it right and you're doing it wrong. Have fun, whatever you're doing.

[@Psychlist1972]

I've had an MM16 for a while, and I do *exactly* the same thing with the magnetic feather board and my hearing protection. Amusing. :)

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Great minds think alike. I rarely use that as a feather board, but it's in constant use as a hook for the ear muffs.

[@AndrewFriede]

Yes it does have a splitter and that is where I get stuck. I have a woodworker II just as you do, but if feels like the splitter is too fat.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

+Andy Friede The width of the Woodworker II blade should be 1/8". I checked mine with a caliper, and it did in fact measure 0.125". My splitter is just a little thinner at 0.120". Obviously, there's not a lot of room for error in adjusting the splitter to align with the blade. If you're splitter is thicker than mine, then one possible solution would be to buy a wider blade. Another would be to have a machine shop reduce the thickness of your splitter. Best of luck.

[@wintersnot]

Felder sells a thinner splitter that will fit this saw. 2 mm, 13mm bolt slot, About $64 canadian. plus shipping...

[@TheAlogoc]

Great video. I just orderd SCM Lab 300 p Thank you. Also very interesting Miter saw dust extraction system! I hope you make a video on that also. Chears.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

I

[@AndrewFriede]

OK, I figured out my problem. I am using a think kerf Woodworker II, which is 3/32 = 0.94 in., and my splitter is 2.8 mm = .11 in, which is way too thick. I am going to get a thicker blade, and also order a thinner riving knife so I can use my thinner blade, which wastes less wood and is easier on the motor. Thanks for your help.

[@MrPatdeeee]

Peter, Something wrong. A scoring blade is suppose to eliminate all tearout. Every one I have ever seen in use, is that way. wonder why you got that tearout? I am confused. Please check that out again.

[@PplEtr]

Hello again, Peter. I'm finding there's a learning curve with my new CU300 Smart, and the sliding table saw. My latest befuddlement #1: I'm used to using a shop-made miter sled when doing fine work, like making picture frames, on my old Bosch contractor saw. You may recall having done something similar: the sled is made to run in the two slots of a standard table saw, and in the process of the build, you ensure that the corners of any stock you cut on it will always meet at a perfect 90 degrees. Have you used the CU300 for fine work, and what did you do? Befuddlement #2 relates more to the CU300: none of the fences seems ready to accommodate a sacrificial fence. I see on your shaper segment that you have made a modification to allow for one. What did you learn from that and what would you do differently if you could do it again?

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Alex, I don't do picture frame type corners, but I frequently use finger joints for drawers. The standard Mini Max accessories won't help at all for doing accurate finger joints, so I built a jig. I've had two actually. The first one was pretty crude and simple, and I attached it to the cross cut fence. The second is larger and more complicated, and it attaches to the slot on the slider, with a runner on the bottom that fits snugly in the slot for position and alignment. I think a jig for cutting picture frame corners attached similarly would work well. My machine came from the factory with the shorter cross cut fence set up with the sacrificial nose piece setup for use with the shaper. As I think I mention in the video, the nose piece attaches to the surface of the fence. This setup also uses a set of smaller special purpose stops. It does a very good job of preventing tear out when doing cross cuts with the shaper, but doesn't have much use other than that. One thing I have along these lines that was never shown in a video, might be called a 'rabbeting fence'. It's used in conjunction with a dado blade to create a rabbet along the edge of a board. It's just a piece of 3/4" oak with a section removed to partially cover the dado blade. It attaches to the tablesaw rip fence. I scratched my head for a while about how to do this, and in the end, the only solution I could come up with was to drill and tap 4 holes in the surface of the factory fence and bolt the rabbeting fence to it. HTH -- Peter

[@PplEtr]

Peter: You do show the rabbeting fence in one of your videos, along with commentary. As others have said, you are an Authority. Thanks!

[@Alastair_Freebird]

Thanks for this, I’m comparing with the Hammer range from Felder. Does your machine allow installation of Dado blades as standard? On the Hammer K3 it is an upgrade fee, it requires a different arbour to be fitted and can’t be retrofitted.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

At the time I purchased my machine (2003 IIRC), MiniMax CU300's sold in the US came with the ability to accept up to 3/4" dado blades as a standard configuration. Things might have changed, so you should definitely check with a sales person to be sure.

[@halderjoe]

Hello-what do I need to do to the table to cut a 45 degree cut?

[@sumandl]

Today i got my minimax combination unit😀.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Congratulations and have fun.

[@AndrewFriede]

Peter, Thanks for doing these videos. I have a Lab 300 which I bought new about a year ago but haven't used it that much. I have trouble ripping on it -- everything sticks. I've pulled back the fence so that the front of it is just in front of the arbor, which has helped, but when I rip, esp maple, even 3/4", it seems to just get stuck. Any help greatly appreciated. Andrew Friede

[@sunnybeeches8534]

+Andy Friede Does the Lab 300 have a splitter? I've had stock get hung up on the splitter when it was out of alignment with the blade.

[@turbosteps3357]

Hi Peter. i have bought a mini max CU410 classic about 7 years ago, and now i can't get the 90" angle of the tablesaw. i have tried to fix it but it moves about 1 or 2 mm (milimetres) from the angle. I would be thankful if you could help me.

[@MrPatdeeee]

Peter, After studying the "stop" in the "long" fence; being on the "other" side of the mounting screw; I believe may have been deliberate, but not sure. Could it be that it was for shipping only? Otherwise, I can't imagine ANY reason for MiniMax wanting it to stay there, after the machine was fully assembled. For it could be disastrous in a number of cases; especially when mitering! Just a thought. Good job Peter.

[@harrybrown9948]

great job

[@MSaeedfab]

Minimax should hire you for their professional videos. Create a video series for all their products

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Well, I don't think it should be me, but I certainly agree that Minimax should have videos made that showcase their products. Their failure to do so makes you wonder if they're actually interested in selling these machines.

[@nagygabor4974]

Hi all, I am about to upgrade my cu300 smart from a 1650mm to 2660mm sliding table, i am wondering if anyone else did it before? Do i just need to purchase the longer slider, or the arm needs to be replaced as well? Thanks for any help

[@sunnybeeches8534]

I believe this topic was discussed at some point on the MiniMax email list (groups.io/g/MinimaxOwnersGroup). My recollection is that this upgrade is not possible. --Peter

[@lottiemay3509]

Hi I am a joinery from England and you should anyway all your saw guard it is the save way to cut wood but apart from that your video are good

[@cat5dookie1]

a 5/8 inch arbor will only accept a 10 inch blade. a 1 inch arbor is for 12 inch blades.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

It is quite possible to purchase a 12" tablesaw blade with a 5/8" hole. I have 3. One came with the machine, the other two are from Forrest.

[@cat5dookie1]

@@sunnybeeches8534 Thanks for the info. I didnt know that.

[@AndrewFriede]

Please keep these videos coming! I would love to see how you rip and if you have modified the fence, which does not seem to be as practical as my old Biersermier. Do you actually use the sliding function when you rip? I find the front hold-down pretty useless. I imagine your glasses are shatterproof but they don't offer side / bottom / top protection. For $15 you can get excellent racquetball glasses which are weightless, crystal clear, and don't press on your rx glasses at all. BSN Overglass Eye Protectors. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BYRPK?keywords=racquetball%20eye&qid=1444924417&ref_=sr_1_3&s=instant-video&sr=8-3. I actually forget I'm wearing them until I look in the mirror.

[@joesales9320]

My understanding of the scoring blade is that it should just kiss the bottom of the board. Looking at the video I think you scoring blade is set too high. I think if it was set a lot lower your would have no tear out. .... At least that was what I was told.

[@sunnybeeches8534]

Thanks for the input Joe. I'll try lowering the scoring blade next time I use it and see what happens. --Peter

[@Pedro-ly4kq]

There are a few components to building a table saw. One resource I found that succeeds in merging these is the Wilfs wood blueprint (check it out on google) without a doubt the best blueprint i've heard of. look at the extraordinary information .

[@yuraimasoto2368]

lastima que no sea en castellano .........