By combination machine" in a home woodworking shop usually means a piece of machinery with a small,
space-saving footprint, that includes a table saw with an circular
blade and a tilting table, or a tilting arbor, a 30" lathe, a drill
press, a disk sander, a shaper, and you can add such accessories as a
jig saw, a bandsaw, and an abrasive machine.
Often powered from one
source, a Fractional Horsepower Electric Induction Motor,
or a gasoline engine, and either by Lineshafts and
belts, or -- later -- by several motors.
European woodworkers, who put
a premium on space, provide a good market for combination tools.
(Several European-made combination woodworking machines -- Felder, MiniMax, Robland, among others -- are marketed in America today. I myself own a 2001 Robland X31 combination machine.
Regardless, here in America, we tend more toward single-function machines, although lathe-based, multipurpose-tool designs -- Shopsmith and Total Shop -- are still popular in home shops. For example With considerable pride, I own a 1947 Shopsmith 10E. Because the serial number is so low, the 1947 date is indisputable. Nonetheless, post WW II American-made combination tools come with trade-offs. Their chief assets are a small footprint and numerous power tools, running off a single arbor. These combination machines are driven by one motor -- early models are underpowered, an 8" saw blade with tilting table, and accessories that are scaled for work with small workpieces. For fexample, the 8" saw blade can barely cut through a 2 X 4 laying on the flat side. Regardless, these machines -- especially the original Shopsmith are engineering marvels.)
The etymology of a term that designates a concept of a woodworking machine performing more than one function present obvious difficulties, because of the difficulty of finding the origin. As readers will note below, combination machines -- regardless of how reliable -- were being discussed as early as 1816 -- (see thesis by James Lindsey Hallock, as cited below). My search unearthed a use of "combination woodworking machine" in 1868 -- see text in box below:
The combination machine herewith illustrated and described, is offered to the consideration of woodworkers as one possessing to a high degree the quali- ties of convenience and practicability. It is intend- ed for mortising and tenoning, mitering, cornering shingles, cutting 0. G. on the ends of sash rails, tonguing and grooving stuff for corners of drawers etc., and mortising for the ends of blind slats-for all of which it affords speci'l conveniences.
Source: Manufacturer and Builder Volume 21, Issue 1, New York: Western and Company, January 1889, page page 18 -- The 1868 date is interesting, because the earliest date for the Oxford English Dictionary records is 1901.
Historically, lack of floor space has driven woodworkers to demand combination woodworking machines, with smaller space-occupying footprints, and multiple functions, by utilizing one or more motors (or alternative power sources) to operate several tools integral to that machine. To a lesser degree, for industrial operations, lack of financial captital is another factor driving the development of combination woodworking tools. (The latter observation comes from sources such as Bale, cited below.)
Combination machines are frequently found in nineteenth century woodworking shops. According to James Lindsey Hallock, in the 19th century, motivated by needs similar to those that drove smaller operations to select the bench saw for the small shop - - also discussed in Hallock -- were developed a diverse family of combined-function woodworking machines".
Both Hallock and M Powis Bale are sources for accounts of combination woodworking machines in the early 19th century. Hallock, unfortuntately, does not document his claims, and while I have no reason to doubt it, it is a topic that I will try to confirm in due time; Bale, however, as I point out below, is more forthcoming with his evidence of 19th century combination woodworking machines.
Source: M Powis Bale, Woodworking Machinery, Its Rise, Progress and Construction, 1800-1880, London: Crosby, Lockwood, 1880, pages 181-185.
THE combining of the functions of several machines into one, under the title of "general or universal Joiners", is of comparatively modern origin, and is more or less confined to this country, as we find very few machines of this class in use in America or on the Continent, although it is doubtless preferable, where the machines can be fully and constantly employed, that they should be separate and distinct; but as a large number of the building establishments in this country are not of sufficient extent to so profitably employ them, a well-designed combined machine, performing a considerable range of work, and produced in the first instance at a moderate cost, cannot but be of considerable value.
On the first introduction of `general joiners' they were very generally condemned, it being held that it was impossible to combine satisfactorily in one machine so great a range of work.
This idea has now, however, been sufficiently disproved, although a large number of engineering abortions tended for some time to throw discredit on these very useful machines ....
In the year 1867 Mr. S. Worssam, of London, patented an improved general joiner.
The improvements consisted, firstly, in the application to such machines of an apparatus whereby tenons may be completely cut in one traverse of the wood, second the application to such machines of an arrangement for producing larger and more perfect mouldings, and
third, an improved arrangement for squaring out the end of mortises left of semicircular form.
This machine, with its various appliances, is capable of performing nearly the whole of the operations required in a joiner's shop. including sawing, planing, moulding, tenoning, mortising, boring, mitring, chamfering, beading, rebating, grooving, tonguing, &c.
All these operations are performed independently of each other, or in conjunction. The planing and moulding are performed by rotary cutters, a self-acting roller feed carrying the wood beneath the cutters. The speed of this feed can be graduated to suit the nature of the wood being operated on. Tenons are formed either with circular saws or rotary cutters, as may be desired. The wood is held in a vertical position by a suitable cramp. The mortising is performed by a rotary auger, the wood being traversed up to it by a hand lever; the lengths and depths of the mortise are regulated by stops. Curved mouldings are worked on a separate vertical spindle. A traversing plate for cross-cutting, squaring, mitring, &c., is fitted to the saw table, and altogether this machine roust be pronounced one of the most efficient of its class....
Source: M Powis Bale, Woodworking Machinery, Its Rise, Progress and Construction, 1800-1880, London: Crosby, Lockwood, 1880, pages 181-185.
Their attraction was economy: compared to their big brothers, they were cheap, and they occupied a smaller space on the shop floor.
Their disadvantages were:
first -- like all combination machines -- each function of the machine is compromised somewhat by its need to accommodate the other functions.
second -- converting the machine from one function to another is time-consuming, often eating into production time, thus reducing profit for the the shop owner.
There was a trade-off between high overhead costs on one hand, and high operating costs on the other; between fast production of identical items on one hand, and slower production of diverse items on the other.
The driving motive for inventing machines with multiple functions was the desire to fabricate finished parts for products such as Conestoga wagons, railroad cars and the like. "Early machines designed with combined functions were little more than systems of jigs and clamps, designed by sash makers to speed up their work". [This is a claim made by Hallock, but his allegation is not documented.]
It is difficult to tell just what they were; descriptions are sketchy. One machine of 1828, mentioned in the Franklin Journal, was designed to saw, plane and mortise for sash and doors. The editor of the Franklin Journal couldn't tell much from the description, but it seemed "to resemble, in many particulars, other machines which (had been) made for similar purposes". 26 [volume 6.page 119 -- have requested this article]
An 1816 machine used a hand crank and flywheels to power some sort of sawing, planing and boring mechanism. An 1831 device combined eight contrivances, including a reciprocating plane, for making window sash.
The 1880s saw introduced several combination machines, called "universal woodworkers". These machines -- usually based on either the jointer-planer or the table saw -- combined several different machines into one frame. Likewise, further expanding their utility, they could operate with different cutterheads and saws on one arbor or even combined these funtions.
However ingenious, great variation prevailed in their design or the quality of their construction.
The significance of these machines was chiefly economic. They enabled persons with limited capital to overcome the otherwise prohibitive business of mechanized woodworking.
For money-strapped entrepreneurs, many ways existed to cut costs. Shops were powered by a mule and a treadmill or or a helper and a hand crank. Notes James Lindsey Hallock, page 81:
"Even so sophisticated a machine as the automatic window blind mortiser could be bought in a hand cranked version".
The eighteen-eighties and eighteen-nineties also saw the development of an entirely different family of combined-function machines that reduced the number of steps involved in the production of identical parts. Typical of these was an 1883 relishing [sic] and mortising machine for cutting sash and door joints; it worked on the two sticks to be joined, both at the same time. It was claimed to make enough parts for one thousand doors per day. Another machine bored, gained and mortised railroad car sills, saving much manual labor in handling and re-handling the massive pieces.
An 1883 door finishing machine planed, sanded, and poIished assembled doors in one pass, saving handling a while ruining at the rate of one hundred doors per hour.
Planing machines with extra moulding cutters became common in the eighteen-eighties; they avoided the same problems of material stacking and rehandling.
Source: Adapted from James Lindsey Hallock Woodworking Machinery in the 19th Century University of Delaware thesis 1978, pages 80-85
 
Delta Combo Late 1920sBoth the circular saw and the jointer are mounted on one stand, thus forming one complete unit which is driven by a 112 H. P. motor. This gives sufficient reserve power for even the toughest jobs. The circular saw and jointer combination, as represented by this unit, will be found exceedingly convenient, as a piece of stock may be ripped to size and then finished on the jointer without loss of time or effort.The 8-in circular saw is equipped with a table which may be tilted to an angle up to 450. The miter gauge has graduations and can be set accurately at any angle up to 600, in either direction. Adjustable stop rods are provided which come in very handy for cutting multiple p i e c e s to exactly the same lengths. This machine has a very good and serviceable rip gauge which can be placed on either side of the blade. It extends clear across the table, thus forming a very good guide for the wood that is being ripped. The 4-in jointer has tables that are both adjustable. Also note the long guide fence which can be tilted to any angle up to 45°. Jointers that have tables that are nonadjustable, or those that have only one table that is adjustable, are very limited in their usefulness. It is very desirable to have accurate graduations so that the fence may be tilted and set at any angle without first having to look for a protractor or angle gauge. The few hand tools that are needed in a workshop, such as is here described, should include clamps, hand screws, oilstones, screw drivers, squares, chisels, augers, drills, and hammers. The workshop shown in Figures No. 10 and 11 appeals to many who have no band saw or lathe work. This shop occupies an 8 by 10-ft. space. The boring, routing, and mortising machine is mounted on the same stand, together with the 8-in, circular saw and 4-in. jointer. All the machines are placed in such a manner that none of them interfere with the others while being operated. Many cabinets, and practically all furniture, as well as all screen and storm sash work, is held together with dowels, or mortise and tenon joints. It is difficult to bore the holes for the dowels accurately by hand. The making of mortise and tenon joints by hand is even more difficult. Therefore, a boring, routing, and mortising machine is indeed handy and very necessary. It enables one to do work accurately, and quickly, and gives the work that professional appearance which every craftsman desires. On the boring, routing, and mortising machine shown in this shop, the table may be raised and lowered by turning the ball crank. It is easy to adjust the table accurately. The table is slotted in two directions, and the guide fence can be placed at right angles to, or parallel to the bit. A pair of adjustable hold-down rods keep the stock from lifting up on the table, while a pair of adjustable curved rods prevents the stock from being pulled away from the guide fence. The table slides on two heavy steel bars. A chain connects the table to a foot lever. By pressing this lever the table is moved forward, bringing the work in contact with the bit. Springs under the table return it to the starting position. The boring spindle is not a part of the saw arbor. It is entirely separate from either the jointer or the saw, and it may be operated while both the circular saw and jointer are idle. A great variety of work can be done with this combination machine. To make window screens, take 11/8 in. lumber, rip it with the circular saw, and joint the edges on the jointer. Then cut it to length and make the tenons on the circular saw. The mortises or dowel holes are then made on the mortising machine. Screen mouldings may be made with the moulding cutter. This machine is portable, and can be placed anywhere in the room. A 1/2 H. P. motor provides the required power. Source: Herbert Tautz The Modern Motor-Driven Woodworking Shop v 1 1930, pages 23 - 29: -- |
(My personal experience with combo tools comes from a Shopsmith 10E 1947 that I have owned for 40 years. Under-powered, 8" saw, tilting table - I know that with the Deltashop, Rockwell-Delta tried to better the Shopsmith by offering a combo machine -- with a 3 foot square footprint -- which included a saw with a tilting arbor --, etc., but, evidently, over-all, well engineered. However, since I have never seen a Deltashop, my comments about it must remain tentative.
THE home workshop in the early 1950s -- with its power-driven equipment -- originally in the late 1920s. With electrification, and the apperance of the fractional horse-power motor, manufacturers saw a new market for power tools. Manufacturers such as J D Wallace, Boice-Crane, and the upstart Delta ? set about designing individual machines which were miniature copies of their big brothers used in industry. (For more on woodworking machines in the 1920s, click here. ) 
a hollow mortiser,
a router,
a shaper,
a surfacer,
a dovetailer,
a jointer,
a drum sander
a belt sander.
I have documented the remarkable account of the origin and impact of the Shopsmith -- perhaps the most universal image of the combination wooddworking mcahine -- here.
Sources: M Powis Bale, Woodworking Machinery, Its Rise, Progress and Construction, 1800-1880, London: Crosby, Lockwood, 1880, pages 181-185.; "New Shop Tools Need Little Space", Home craftsman January february 1953, pages 24-26; James Lindsey Hallock Woodworking Machinery in the 19th Century University of Delaware thesis 1978, pages 80-85.
"Today, a Combination Woodworking Machine is a machine with a small, space-saving footprint, with an array of operations, usually including a table saw with an circular blade and a tilting table, or a tilting arbor, a 30" lathe, a drill press, a disk sander, a shaper, and you can add such accessories as jig saws, bandsaws, and abrasive machines, such as a disk sander.
Often powered from one source, a Fractional Horsepower Electric Induction Motor, or -- in the late 1920s and early 1930s -- a gasoline engine, and either by Lineshafts and belts, or -- later -- by several motors. European woodworkers, who put a premium on space, provide a good market for combination tools, but while space in the footprint is a premium, have engineered these units so that usually three 3-hp motors drive five tools: tilting arbor circular saw with sliding table, horizontal mortiser, jointer, planer, and shaper.
Here in America, while in general woodworkers tend more toward single-function machines, multipurpose-tool designs (Shopsmith and Total Shop) are still popular in home shops.