Yeah, I was just discussing this with a friend and we agreed that it's probably a lack of demand in the RO (and possibly EU) market for such machines. I was hoping to find somebody who has been fortunate enough to have already found a solution and could point me in the right direction.
Salut
Fancy meeting a Romanian fellow in dire need of... well, stuff that us Romanians struggle finding.
I have been wehere you are for quite a while until I discovered this forum. It helped me broaden my knowledge. Now after a long "haul", my workshop is mostly fitted and I'm ready to start my journey. A bit nothern from where you're at.
Ok, I'll take things in order. First, I'm very happy to see another out-of-the-box Romanian woodworker. We're a rare breed. And with excellent command of English, too. Now on to your problems.
I have a friends who deals in heavy-duty machinery. He once told me that for a short while they've been a Bernardo dealer. Emphasis on short. "When you see a Bernardo machine that seems to suit all your needs, turn the other way and run", he said. The thing with them is they're a coin that you flip. Maybe you get a good one. There is an Italian on youtube who praises them. He clearly drew the long straw. Bernardo team is super helpful and promises you a perfect world. Until you buy the machine. From that point onwards, their customer support is non-existent. Their QC exists but it's not stellar. There are much better Chineze options.
Now that the critics are out of the way, I'll give you some solutions.
First, good machines, exceptional customer support, FREE shipping:
Planers & Thicknessers | IGM Tools & Machinery
The team at igm is great. They are the main European distributors of Laguna Tools, also JET distributors. My shop is in an awkward location and there's no way I could transport one of these guys there so I had to settle with a smaller jointer and build it into a dedicated bench. It's still in works but this can also work.
For small shops, you must think in terms of
multifunctional benches. Of course you know your needs best.
Any of the jointers can be fitted with a helical cutterhead or a Tersa system. You can talk to the guys at igm and get a machine and then get the spiral cutterhead or other arrangements. Or you can ask for a Laguna jointer by custom order. Or see what other options they can offer.
Next, in respect of the older machines. There is a specialist/company in Germany that restores (and I mean restoration to the smallest detail, work of art) Elektra Beckum woodworking machines. They have the smaller one above but they also have full-size jointers up to 400 or 500 mm. I can give you their contact details, they were recommended to me by a friend I made on this forum, who lives in Germany.
And then there is my approach. I bought most of my machines and tools and accesories and consumables from the UK in the past 2 years. Some from this forum, some from eBay and auctions, some from other sources. There are easy and affordable ways to get them here. But you will need someone to make arrangements there. Most machines must be collected in person. There are some who are willing to arrange pallet shipping but you will still need a place to store them until you can sync with the truck. There might also be ways to arrange direct collection by the company which brings things to RO. The info on the UK -> RO topic is huge, I will stop here.
Feel free to pm me and ask me anything. Not sure I'll be very present here until after Christmas but I'll help you with all I can. We're a tiny community in RO and we should stick together. As for the rest, continue to ask questions here. There are wonderful people with good experience and happy to share.
Brad
