Hello from Green Bay

[Winky]

Welcome to the forum Tom ... I think you'll find that this is an awesome place to be. Great people and lots of good tips.

[redbeard]

Greetings Tom, welcome to the forum.

I used to be enamored with multipurpose machines, but lately I tend to prefer separate units if possible. The Shopsmith woodworking machine I have had for many years has served me well and it was certainly easier to move than separate machines, but the switchover time is a factor, especially if you are a 'cut to fit' guy like I am. Unless you are really short of space or money, I would try to go with separate units.

[everlastsupport]

Don't forget, with a multi-purpose machine/tool, if something happens to it, you are out more than one tool at one time. Space, money and hobby aside, I personally like separate tools myself. And you will get a higher duty cycle as well.

[Winky]

Don't forget, with a multi-purpose machine/tool, if something happens to it, you are out more than one tool at one time. Space, money and hobby aside, I personally like separate tools myself. And you will get a higher duty cycle as well.

I'll second that ... although (knock on wood) I've pretty lucky so far and my old transformer stick machine seems to be indestructable.

[undercut]

... And you will get a higher duty cycle as well.

Multi-process machines definitely have their place, don't get me wrong but EverlastSupport does bring up a very good point that is often overlooked. Inside a shared enclosure, there are also shared components and when going from one process to another they will, in part, share their duty cycles.

Cheers!