Combination machine

These disadvantages are offset by the small size of the machine footprint and potential cost saving and so they are very popular with hobbyists and workshops in which space is limited.

The Shopsmith is a lathe-based multi-tool that uses a single motor to perform lathe, tablesaw, sanding, and drill press functions.

The earliest 10E/10ER Shopsmith machines could be accompanied by optional add-ons such as a jointer, a jig saw, as well as smaller accessories allowing use as a shaper.

The new (as of 2010) Shopsmith Mark 7 uses a computer-controlled motor that offers more power, greater speed range, reversibility and easy conversion to 220 V. An injury suffered by the user of a Shopsmith gave the Supreme Court of California the opportunity to create the modern rule of strict liability for defective products in 1963.

[4] Several companies in Austria, Italy, France and Belgium manufacture what is commonly known in North America as a Euro(pean) combination machine, which typically contains a sliding-table saw with a scoring blade, a shaper, a thicknesser, a jointer, and a mortiser.

They are constructed of cast iron and heavy gauge steel, weigh from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds (450–910 kg), and range in price from around $5,000 to over $30,000 (2010, U.S. dollars).

The European combination machine allows efficient processing of both rough-cut timber and sheet stock (i.e. plywood).

Outfitted with an 8-foot (2.4 m) sliding table and outrigger, a single person can cut 4-by-8-foot (1.2 m × 2.4 m) plywood very accurately and efficiently.

It also allows a cut to be made accurately at any angle across a sheet of plywood in just seconds – something that cannot be done nearly as easily, if at all, on a table saw.