On 23 Sep 2020, at 8:52 am, "\"jmkserv@..." <jmkserv@...> <jmkserv@...> wrote:

Lucky, no problem pal, just gives me an opportunity?to rattle your cage a bit, LOL. I think value for the money is a good statement and should include "for where you live". The main reason I have my 600 is that it was only $3000.00 CDN new when I bought it. As far as bandsaw weights go both the 640 and 600/610 are the same weight with?them all at 705 lbs. The?600/610 appears to be beefier because of the larger support column. The often praised Laguna 24" comes in at 725 lbs, the SCM640 at 750 lbs and the king being the lowly Grizzly 24" at 847 lbs. I have no idea from my experience what a heavy build means because all these machines look the same until you get to the old cast iron heavy weights that were from cast because it was cheaper. The Northfield bandsaw are quite heavy in comparison with a very substantial price, the 20" basic machine coming in at over $12,000.00 USD.

I agree about the guides sometimes being an extra cost but honestly have never had an issue setting up any guide to work. I have Laguna Ceramics on the top guide of my 600 and the standard euro guide of the bottom and get extremely?accurate?cuts.

As far as old iron versus new, I personally?think you have to go back more than 20 years but in comparison to new prices there is alot?to choose from. Oh and don't?tell your bandsaw that it has a crap Italian motor it may show what is a well fact over here.

On Tue, Sep 22, 2020 at 5:31 PM David Luckensmeyer <dhluckens@...> wrote:

Hi John:

I think I should have moderated my comments against Felder bandsaws by saying, not that one should not be purchased (as if they are all rubbish, which of course they are not) but that I think there are better value options elsewhere. The value for money proposition is quite different from what I said before, so I appreciate you pulling me up on it.

I have not owned a Felder 510, 610 or 600 series bandsaw. However, I have set up all of those saws, and I have advised personal friends and colleagues on how to get the most out of theirs, including set up, blade tension, blade choice, etc.

I do not know the weight of the 640 and 610 off the top of my head but I am not convinced that they are the same weight. Do you have the numbers for comparison? If they are indeed the same I’d like to know.

I have found that every bandsaw I’ve ever looked at, new or otherwise, required after market guides. Unless one is handy in the machine shop, designing and building/adapting new guides can get quite expensive. As a result, I would rather spend 1/3 or 1/2 the money buying a vintage saw in the 20-40 year old category, and then upgrading the guides, rather than spending top dollar on a Felder, and then upgrading the guides.

But I understand from your email that you take issue over my blanket statement, particularly as a happy owner of a 600 series bandsaw. On that note, I’m sympathetic, and hope my moderated response above finds more common ground.

David K., can you expand on your comment about “bad luck with Italian motors”? My FB540 has a 3HP S1 motor (Italian), which has been an unbelievable workhorse for me over the last 14 years. But that experience is drawn from a sample of one!

Warm regards,

Lucky

On 22 Sep 2020, at 9:29 am, "\"jmkserv@..." <jmkserv@...> <jmkserv@...> <jmkserv@...> wrote:

Interesting statement Lucky, have you ever owned a Felder 510, 610 or 600 series bandsaw? For the record they don't seem to make the 540 anymore, weight for the 640 and 610 are the same with the 640 having the old style round bar for the fence instead of the much more usable F rails on 3 sides. The 540, 640 etc only can tilt to 20 degrees instead?of 45. Also the 510, 610 etc have better resaw heights. I know there have been a couple of issues mentioned about the newer machines but this is typically all you hear from newbies on the?forum looking to resolve problems and we have also not heard back if the 2 or 3 people actually?got them resolved. Height isn't much of problem with the new series coming in at about?80" high. Personally I wouldn't give up my 2011 FB600 for any other bandsaw.

On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 6:10 PM David Luckensmeyer <dhluckens@...> wrote:

TJ Cornish:

There was an FB540 listed a week back or so. I have that saw and it is a vastly better and heavier machine compared to the FB510 and even FB610 (although the latter has a larger table). The FB540 is compact and is probably exactly the size you’re after.

I understand that you don’t want “giant old iron”. However, can you fit a 24” machine for height? Since you have three phase, you would be able to look for a used Centaur, or Meber, or Agazzani, or older Laguna saw. Any Italian saw made more than 20 years ago, but not so long ago as to be “old iron”, would be exactly the kind of saw that you could buy and have for the rest of your life.

I used to like the idea of buying new. New warranty. New paint. New bearings. Shiny and nice. But when it comes to a bandsaw, unless you really spend a LOT of money, the older machines are much better; heavier and far more rigid. Again, I’m not advocating “giant old iron”, but get one of those brands listed above, or an older Felder FB540 (which is not made by Felder).

?Do not buy a new Felder bandsaw (said by an avid Felder fan). That’s just my opinion.

Lucky

On 22 Sep 2020, at 8:00 am, TJ Cornish <tj@...> wrote:

I have been casually band saw shopping. I don't currently have one and so need something for moderate resawing. I was leaning toward the Felder FB-510, but have read some posts here that maybe it isn't great? Someone said get the Laguna LT16 instead, and I know the MiniMaxes are fairly highly regarded. A mid-upper-grade 14" saw might be enough for me, but I'd rather buy once/cry once and get my last saw as my first saw.

Anyone have something like this for sale within about 500 miles of Minneapolis? I don't want giant old iron - I don't have space for a saw much larger than a FB-510, but 3-phase wouldn't be a problem.

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John Kee

JMK Services

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John Kee

JMK Services