Re: Hello all,
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýGlen: Nice ¡°to-purchase¡± list! Several of us have the Kappa 400 x motion, including myself. But the person you really want to take advice from? David Best. Seriously consider every piece of advice he gives you as he does not tell you what he would buy, but rather considers your situation and advises you on what he would buy in your situation. His advice is worth a great deal and I am grateful for his contributions to my shop and to me personally. Make sure you buy Mac¡¯s pneumatic clamps. If you¡¯re going the x-motion, you can afford his clamps. Clamps are not ¡°optional¡± and Mac¡¯s are the best of the best. You reference the AD951 or AD741. I have a Dual-51 and love it. My understanding from others is that the AD951 is going for a special deal at the moment. You should strongly consider at least ¡°power-drive¡±. I have ¡°digi-drive¡± which is even better again. Many on the FOG do not have digi-drive and therefore do not automatically recommend it. It is absolutely worth the money (in my opinion) in a commercial (my) situation. Complete luxury in your (nearly retired) situation. It¡¯s up to you, but if you would like more information on why I like the digi, let me know. I have the Profil 45Z x-motion. Great choice. It¡¯s an awesome machine. Listen to the guys here about what tooling to purchase. My vote is for Felder or Rangate. Both are great. There¡¯s also a lot of accessories and options for this machine, some of which cannot be added later. Happy to help when you narrow down what you want. I can¡¯t help you with the Forka. But I think John Ferandin has just had direct experience with one. John, what is the final verdict on the machine? FW950 Classic. I have this machine, and would not buy it again. If I could get my money back I would. It is a faulty sander, briefly as follows: - It requires roughly double the amperage it says it needs on the machine/motor plate in order to start. There is something wrong with the star/delta start, or otherwise. I have followed this up at length with Felder, and even the motor manufacturer. In the end, I have installed an expensive (here in Australia) 40A supply dedicated to the sander. It should work on a 20A circuit. - The digital readout is relative only. It cannot be zeroed out without removing an access panel and literally fiddling with the rod and adjusting nuts attached to the readout. Seems misleading to me. - The grit and platen compensation on the machine is not calibrated correctly, and cannot be adjusted. Consequently, if you finally get the digital readout to be correct for say 80 grit, it will be off for other grits (e.g. 180). Likewise, if you finally get the readout zeroed for calibration sanding with the rubber roller, it will be off for the platen, and vice versa. Not well thought through. - The biggest and most damning feature of all is that the platen on this sander is faulty. David Best has generously worked through multiple adjustment tests with me, to try to get the sander to sand ¡°flat¡±, all to no avail. This sander rounds the edges (along the sides) of a board no matter what is done, regardless of the pressure used, or adjustment settings. This is VERY frustrating. In all, the FW950 Classic is faulty. Utterly so. I now wish I had spent more for another brand. End rant. FB190? This must be a typo. I have a vintage FB540 which is no longer made and absolutely love the bandsaw. My next bandsaw will simply be a bigger one from Felder. I used to have an RL160, which was nice, but I now have an RL250, which is VERY nice. Would I buy this machine again? NO. I was advised to look seriously at AL-KO, and now I wish I had. The RL units are very nice, but their bins fill up unevenly, and it is very easy to make a mess of things with sawdust and chips climbing unevenly up one side of bins and in amongst the filters¡ Takes quite a while to clean. I do like the power of the RL250, and many here love their RL200, so if you decide to buy the 200, you¡¯ll be in good company. Just beware that the RL units do have issues. Fat300. Lucky you. They¡¯ve never sold one in Australia. They look a very nice table. I¡¯ve long looked into cheaper (local) and more expensive (e.g. Barth) alternatives, but have yet to pull the trigger. My oh my, are you having fun with all these decisions! I¡¯m having fun just typing about it! :-) Lucky
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David Luckensmeyer