When my vintage 2004 KF500 S did not apply braking to the saw blade, I contacted Felder for help.? In a series of e-mails with Timothy Kennedy at Felder Group USA, I received the bad news that the repair is expensive.? My electrical system is obsolete, and no parts are available.? To restore braking, a new main populated circuit board is required and that requires a technician come and rewire my machine.? The total labor and travel estimated cost alone was $4,374.94.
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The saw is useable and like most table saws,let the blade coast to a stop.? Although the braking feature is highly desirable, the cost of repair is too much.? The support from Timothy at Felder was quick and detailed, but had no alternative to up dating my machine.? He also sent me the schematic for my machine.? I was curious to see if a pair for VFD¡¯s could be integrated into the saw.? Other than preserving the requirement that all the microswitches are closed, perhaps the VFDs could take over motor control.? Remoting their control pads to the overhear saw guard/dust collector would give soft start and braking.? And for the shaper give forward or reverse rotation and variable speed.? The variable speed could eliminate belt changing if the torque is adequate for the job, and spindle could be run at better RPM¡¯s for router bits.
Most likely I¡¯ll live without braking but must wonder how difficult it would be to run the saw and shaper with VFD¡¯s.? Anyone have the same experience with older machines and what do you think of using VFD¡¯s?
Bob Johnson
Whidbey Island, WA
