I did a search of the message archives, and several people mentioned improved chip density in the dust collector withe the spiral head and that the Tersa produces “fluffy chips” that take up more room be are lighter weight. ?The only quantifiable difference statement was an estimate of 20-pecent different in chip volume. ?Several people commented that the spiral head is better with difficult grains like Birds Eye, etc. unless the Tarsa knives were new. ?There are also a. number of comments that the spiral head requires more finishing effort to work out the “divots”. ?I just finished milling 100 BF of wide cherry from 5/4 rough (and twisted) ?to 22.5mm S4S stock, and ended up with 9 (? full) light bags of fluffy chips from my RL160 like shown below.
David Best DBestWorkshop@... https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpbest/collections/ https://www.youtube.com/@David_Best
What a thread. I have to admit that I learned more in these few days than in all the months that I dedicated to research. Everyone, please accept my sincere gratitude.
After weighing all the arguments, I am convinced that a 700 series would be a superior choice, and it makes perfect sense to get it with a long outrigger, which naturally means the S version. With a beefy outrigger and some creature comforts like digital readouts, I would likely never need another saw in my life.
However, it will be my first slider, and, in fact, my first table saw. Many of my workflows developed around track saw, miter saw and a router. I simply don't in know advance how much of that capability I will end up using. To rebuild the whole shop around one tool, one must have faith in it becoming "the tool" -- something many people here obviously have, but will require me to walk the walk before I get there.
So I decided to take a different route. Instead of searching for middle ground, I will get myself a short stroke Hammer B3. This choice derisks my decision in few important ways. Both 1300 and 2050 mm are well received on the secondary market (I am leaning towards 1300). The 1300 xc fence combined with a 1100 outrigger should give me enough precision without being a pain to reset. There will be enough of 48" ripping in near future to figure out if I like messing with the parallel fences. Much easier to justify rewiring to move the buttons in the place where I want them. And I get to play with a moulder! Lots of fun on what I calculated to require a 8x9' footprint.
Later on, I can definitely see myself either switching to or adding a K700S to the stable. But it will be a different shop, designed from ground up to accommodate and complement a large slider.
Oh, and by the way -- Jacques, I am absolutely stealing your power feeder setup. It did not even occur to me that it can be used for long rips, and your idea to use it as a powered Jessem is plain brilliant.
Is the difference in finish really noticeable? I mainly do cabinet shop work with trending materials (at the moment a lot of white oak and hard maple) also how is a 3hp cyclone with a 60 gallon bin is going to handle work with Tersa vs Xylent?
Re: Fixing Felder X-roll short cross cut fence T-nut - AKA group buy of improved T-nut
On Mar 26, 2025, at 7:51?PM, netanel.belgazal via groups.io <netanel.belgazal@...> wrote:
?
Hello FOG,
As some of you are aware, there is a known issue with the Felder short (1100mm) Xcut fence—it does not consistently register at 90 degrees and for many users requires recalibration each time the fence angle is changed or the fence is re-mounted on the slider after removal.
David Best has invested meaningfultime and effort in researching and developing a solution for this problem. For more details, you can review his findings here:
David has decided not to produce additional retrofit kits himself. However, he has generously shared detailed diagrams outlining his solution.
I have located a local metal shop willing to manufacture a batch of these retrofit kits to the required tolerances. Since I don’t have metal milling equipment myself, I will only be facilitating a single production run—provided we reach the minimum order quantity.
Participation & Timeline
If you’re interested in purchasing a kit, please let me know. I’ll be collecting registrations over the next few weeks, and if we reach at least 25 units, we will proceed with the production run. My target is to start production in the May-June time frame.
Available Retrofit Kits & Pricing
Retrofit for a Single Machine ($200–$250 + shipping)
Requires you to send in your aluminum block for drilling and modification.
Includes a retrofitted T-bushing, installation rod, and necessary screws.
Retrofit for Two Machines ($450–$500 + shipping)
Includes two T-nuts and two new flip stop that have built in adjustment, in addition to modifications to your aluminum block.
I'll have the final price once I'll know the number of participants.
Supporting David Best
David declined payment for his work in designing this solution, but I believe we should compensate him for his time and dedication. I encourage anyone purchasing the retrofit kit to consider making a donation.
I will personally donate $100 for my kit, plus any profit from this group buy. If you’d like to contribute, I will be collecting donations and forwarding them to David. All of the donations to David get passed along to support people in war-torn communities
I have myself, and know others (shipwrights mostly) who have used just 2 carbide in conjunction with 2 dull HSS knives to perform surfacing and thicknessing rough Teak. I also know people who configure the cutterhead with carbide on the right side of the head and M42 on the left and switch between the two when jointing depending on material ? A lot of this is driven by the cost of the carbide knives,
For instance, it cost me about $600 to replace the four 510mm Tersa blades on my Dual 51 with carbide. ?In contrast the same knife set in M42 is about $80.
David Best DBestWorkshop@... https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpbest/collections/ https://www.youtube.com/@David_Best
Here is a video of 1 knife change on tersa head, casually done in 26 secs. David is generous. A typical knife change takes me 2 mins. Add another min if you start in planer mode. The knives snap in place when the head spins.
On Mar 26, 2025, at 10:23?PM, David P. Best via groups.io <dbestworkshop@...> wrote:
?There are three grades of knives for the Tersa: HSS, M4, and Carbide. ?You can use any of them with any wood, but they each have different qualities with respect to edge durability and the resulting surface finish. ?The HSS and M4 have a very sharp edge and will give the best finish. ?The carbide blades are less sharp, the finish is not as smooth, but will last the longest. ?
Some tropical hardwood types contain higher amounts of silica which will dull the HSS quickly, and thus it’s advised to used the M4 or carbide on those woods. ?Teak has high silica and is best matched to the carbide blades. ?I run M4 on my J/P and have and zero “quick dulling” issues with that grade when used on all the common American hard and softwoods including Ash, Oak, Maple, etc, as well as with European Beech, as well as Cocobolo, SA Rosewood, Bubinga, Wenge, etc.. ?I only switch to carbide when machining Teak, although there may be other tropical hardwoods that also contains higher amounts of silica - others here may have broader experience with the exotic varieties.
I just changed blades on my Dual 51 4-knife Tersa head and it was under 10 minutes start-to-finish. ?Turning all the cutters on a spiral head to get a fresh edge is often an hour or more depending on sap buildup and the amount of cleaning required. ?The primary advantage of the spiral heads are lower noise, and more compact chips in the dust extractor. ?I love the Tersa system - great finish, easy knife changes, and extractor bags that fill more quickly but are not as heavy and easier to manhandle. ?
David Best DBestWorkshop@... https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpbest/collections/ https://www.youtube.com/@David_Best
On Mar 26, 2025, at 6:52?PM, JDhm via groups.io <Jdanohm@...> wrote:
[Edited Message Follows]
Thank you this is helpful- FS41ES it is then. Now the questions is the Tersa head vs the Xylent. I was set on the Tersa until I realized I'll need to change blades with different types of wood? from my research it looks like most people end up with carbide blades on the tersa- than mind as well get the Xylent to begin with no?
I have the Tersa knives mostly because the Xylent head was not an option when I purchased the machine in 2007.? I have used the M42 knives since 2007 and they keep an edge longer than I expected.? I typically change edges when I feel more resistance when jointing (this is hard to quantify).? For my hobby use, I go through both edges on a set of M42 knives about once per year.? These knives handle over 98% of what I have thrown at them but it does tend to chipout with curly maple, birdseye maple, and quilted white oak.? If you do a lot of figured woods or species that are very hard on knives, I would probably opt for the Xylent head.? Like David mentioned, another consideration is the capacity of your dust collection bins.? If you have large capacity bins, the Tersa would be fine but if you have small capacity, the Xylent could be the better option.
AFTER, I got my FS41ES with the Xylent?head I was having a discussion?with Bryan from 360 degree machinery ( a GREAT source for this machine) and he agreed with David Best. I've?not yet had to change any of the cutters on the segmented head, so I can't testify to the ease or difficulty of the change...yet! I do love the machine though and am glad for having gotten it.
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 10:23?PM David P. Best via <dbestworkshop=[email protected]> wrote:
There are three grades of knives for the Tersa: HSS, M4, and Carbide.? You can use any of them with any wood, but they each have different qualities with respect to edge durability and the resulting surface finish.? The HSS and M4 have a very sharp edge and will give the best finish.? The carbide blades are less sharp, the finish is not as smooth, but will last the longest. ?
Some tropical hardwood types contain higher amounts of silica which will dull the HSS quickly, and thus it’s advised to used the M4 or carbide on those woods.? Teak has high silica and is best matched to the carbide blades.? I run M4 on my J/P and have and zero “quick dulling” issues with that grade when used on all the common American hard and softwoods including Ash, Oak, Maple, etc, as well as with European Beech, as well as Cocobolo, SA Rosewood, Bubinga, Wenge, etc..? I only switch to carbide when machining Teak, although there may be other tropical hardwoods that also contains higher amounts of silica - others here may have broader experience with the exotic varieties.
I just changed blades on my Dual 51 4-knife Tersa head and it was under 10 minutes start-to-finish.? Turning all the cutters on a spiral head to get a fresh edge is often an hour or more depending on sap buildup and the amount of cleaning required.? The primary advantage of the spiral heads are lower noise, and more compact chips in the dust extractor.? I love the Tersa system - great finish, easy knife changes, and extractor bags that fill more quickly but are not as heavy and easier to manhandle. ?
On Mar 26, 2025, at 6:52?PM, JDhm via <Jdanohm=[email protected]> wrote:
[Edited Message Follows]
Thank you this is helpful- FS41ES it is then. Now the questions is the Tersa head vs the Xylent. I was set on the Tersa until I realized I'll need to change blades with different types of wood? from my research it looks like most people end up with carbide blades on the tersa- than mind as well get the Xylent to begin with no?
There are three grades of knives for the Tersa: HSS, M4, and Carbide. ?You can use any of them with any wood, but they each have different qualities with respect to edge durability and the resulting surface finish. ?The HSS and M4 have a very sharp edge and will give the best finish. ?The carbide blades are less sharp, the finish is not as smooth, but will last the longest. ?
Some tropical hardwood types contain higher amounts of silica which will dull the HSS quickly, and thus it’s advised to used the M4 or carbide on those woods. ?Teak has high silica and is best matched to the carbide blades. ?I run M4 on my J/P and have and zero “quick dulling” issues with that grade when used on all the common American hard and softwoods including Ash, Oak, Maple, etc, as well as with European Beech, as well as Cocobolo, SA Rosewood, Bubinga, Wenge, etc.. ?I only switch to carbide when machining Teak, although there may be other tropical hardwoods that also contains higher amounts of silica - others here may have broader experience with the exotic varieties.
I just changed blades on my Dual 51 4-knife Tersa head and it was under 10 minutes start-to-finish. ?Turning all the cutters on a spiral head to get a fresh edge is often an hour or more depending on sap buildup and the amount of cleaning required. ?The primary advantage of the spiral heads are lower noise, and more compact chips in the dust extractor. ?I love the Tersa system - great finish, easy knife changes, and extractor bags that fill more quickly but are not as heavy and easier to manhandle. ?
David Best DBestWorkshop@... https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpbest/collections/ https://www.youtube.com/@David_Best
On Mar 26, 2025, at 6:52?PM, JDhm via groups.io <Jdanohm@...> wrote:
[Edited Message Follows]
Thank you this is helpful- FS41ES it is then. Now the questions is the Tersa head vs the Xylent. I was set on the Tersa until I realized I'll need to change blades with different types of wood? from my research it looks like most people end up with carbide blades on the tersa- than mind as well get the Xylent to begin with no?
Fixing Felder X-roll short cross cut fence T-nut - AKA group buy of improved T-nut
As some of you are aware, there is a known issue with the Felder short (1100mm) Xcut fence—it does not consistently register at 90 degrees and for many users requires recalibration each time the fence angle is changed or the fence is re-mounted on the slider after removal.
David Best has invested meaningfultime and effort in researching and developing a solution for this problem. For more details, you can review his findings here:
David has decided not to produce additional retrofit kits himself. However, he has generously shared detailed diagrams outlining his solution.
I have located a local metal shop willing to manufacture a batch of these retrofit kits to the required tolerances. Since I don’t have metal milling equipment myself, I will only be facilitating a single production run—provided we reach the minimum order quantity.
Participation & Timeline
If you’re interested in purchasing a kit, please let me know. I’ll be collecting registrations over the next few weeks, and if we reach at least 25 units, we will proceed with the production run. My target is to start production in the May-June time frame.
Available Retrofit Kits & Pricing
Retrofit for a Single Machine ($200–$250 + shipping)
Requires you to send in your aluminum block for drilling and modification.
Includes a retrofitted T-bushing, installation rod, and necessary screws.
Retrofit for Two Machines ($450–$500 + shipping)
Includes two T-nuts and two new flip stop that have built in adjustment, in addition to modifications to your aluminum block.
I'll have the final price once I'll know the number of participants.
?
If you would like to join, please specify which kit you are going to buy
Supporting David Best
David declined payment for his work in designing this solution, but I believe we should compensate him for his time and dedication. I encourage anyone purchasing the retrofit kit to consider making a donation.
I will personally donate $100 for my kit, plus any profit from this group buy. If you’d like to contribute, I will be collecting donations and forwarding them to David. All of the donations to David get passed along to support people in war-torn communities
Thank you this is helpful- FS41ES it is then. Now the questions is the Tersa head vs the Xylent. I was set on the Tersa until I realized I'll need to change blades with different types of wood? from my research it looks like most people end up with carbide blades on the tersa- than mind as well get the Xylent to begin with no?
Thank you David for confirming the 1100 outrigger was updated for better registration. I am going from memory but it looked very likely that on this used KF700, it was not something that the previous owner removed. One should keep an eye out buying used with 1100 outrigger and ensure that Felder can supply the parts if the registration stops are missing.?
I like my beefier fence on 1500 outrigger and even though the flipstop have issues they appear to be a lot sturdier than the one I see on the less beefier option.
On Mar 26, 2025, at 4:24?PM, David P. Best via groups.io <dbestworkshop@...> wrote:
?
?
Imran, the 1100 outrigger for the X-Roll sliders (K500/700) was upgraded to have the newer 90-degree registration stop. ?The older version lacked this design. ?
I can’t answer your question as to when Felder users the larger fence extrusion - which requires different flip- stops. I get conflicting info from different sources at Felder on this. ?
David Best - via mobile phone?
David Best - via mobile phone?
On Mar 26, 2025, at 5:34?AM, imran via groups.io <imranwoodshop@...> wrote:
?
Thanks David for clarifying the outrigger options. I know one member who bought a used KF700 with 1100 outrigger and it did not have the 90 deg stops as shown in the pic below but he was able to add them by buying parts from Felder.
<cid:EE3FF589-B271-4D20-9F56-EF818400AE88.jpeg>
Based on your explanation even 1100 should offer good registrations.
Does the beefier xcut fence extrusion come with 1300 outrigger?
Imran Malik
IAM Wood Creations
On Mar 26, 2025, at 1:17?AM, David P. Best via groups.io <dbestworkshop@...> wrote:
?Here are some clarifications.
The KF500 utilizes the X-Roll sliding table, so the bolt-on items (outrigger tables, crosscut fences, butt-bar, edging shoe, clamps, etc) that apply to the KF700 also apply to the KF500.
According to current published specs, the following applies wrt the 500-series:
The longest sliding table available for the KF500 is 2050mm (81”)- if you need a longer slider, the KF700 is the right choice.?
The KF500 standard machine does not come with an outrigger table and the crosscut fence supplied is the 1300mm version, but it attaches to the sliding table using the same components as the 1100mm short crosscut fence and thus as the same 90° registration challenges. ?The standard machine can be upgraded with the same outrigger tables and fences discussed below
The KF500 Professional comes standard with the 1100 outrigger table and the 1300mm crosscut fence as above, but the fence mounts to the 1100 outrigger table which does have a reliable 90° end-stop as shown below:
<1100 outrigger.jpeg>
Either the standard or Professional KF500 can be configured with the 1300 outrigger table as an option provided the slider is at least 1300mm long. ?The 1300 outrigger table gives you the ability to add miter indexing, has a roller at the end for stock handling assistance, and has a more refined locking and 90° registration stop, but is heavier. ?The 1500 outrigger table is not available as an option on the KF500 since the outrigger support arm is too short to support the extra 200mm length of the 1500 outrigger table.
There is an option to extend the 1300mm crosscut fence with a telescoping extension, or you can configure the machine with the 2600mm crosscut fence which will adapt correctly to either the 1100 or 1300 outrigger. ?With the 1300 fence on the 1100 outrigger table, you can still crosscut to the center of a 4x8 panel even if the machine is limited to the 800mm rip fence size - saving you a lot of space in the shop. So, if you equip the machine with an outrigger table, there should be no need to buy the wider 1250mm chassis version since you can move your indexed cutting to the left of the blade.
The outrigger mobility cart is intended for use with the 1300 and 1500 outrigger tables, and may or may not adapt to the 1100 outrigger table - you’d have to ask Felder at least twice to get an accurate confirmation on this. ?Assuming the outrigger mobility cart does not work with the 1100 outrigger table, then you would need to man-handle the outrigger table on/off the machine as a unit, most likely removing the crosscut fence first and storing that separately. ?With the 1300 outrigger table and the mobility cart, you can leave the crosscut fence attached to the outrigger and wheel the two away together as a unit.
David Best DBestWorkshop@... https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidpbest/collections/ https://www.youtube.com/@David_Best
On Mar 25, 2025, at 9:14?PM, Aaron Inami via groups.io <ainami@...> wrote:
Hi Stan,
?
As a reference, here is a picture of what my K700S unit looks like in my garage (which is exactly 20 x 20).? I have the 1500 outrigger and the full size 1250mm rip area.? The machine is 19" away from the wall to allow for other machinery and still gives me 4 feet of space on the right side of the blade for plywood sheets and other material (it's really important that you plan out how much space you will have to work with while other machinery and stuff sitting next to it).? You can see the center-line groove in the garage (that's the 10 foot mark).
<garage_center_point.jpg>
?
Theoretically, I could move the saw about 5" closer to the wall and put on the 1300 outrigger (and still have 4 feet on the right side of the blade).?? At that point, the edge of the outrigger would be EXACTLY at the center-line groove.? You could get a car into the garage at that point, but it's VERY close.? I could have chosen the smaller 800mm rip area and saved another 19", but that only leaves you 2-1/2 feet on the right side of the blade.? If you can live with 2-1/2 feet on the right, this might be the configuration for you.?? Keep in mind that you still need space on the right side even if you don't rip.? For example, cutting down long boards (such as a 1" x 3" that is 8 feet long).? If your required cut size is 45", you are completely out of luck on the smaller 800mm rip area (which is only 31-1/2").
?
You mentioned that you could remove the outrigger when you're not using it, but this is something that you DO NOT want to do all the time.? It's extremely heavy and a pain in the @$$ to get on and off.? I guess you could get the mobility cart, but it is a little time consuming (then you have to store the mobility cart somewhere).? However, the crosscut fence is easy to remove and store whenever you want.? I have the Lamb Toolworks cross-cut DRO on my unit.?? Like Netanel mentioned, if you get the Felder cross-cut DRO, you are also getting the Format4 cross-cut fence, which is beefier and heavier and longer (extends out to 126" or 10 feet).
?
Here's what a 9 foot (2800mm) sliding table looks like in a 20x20 garage with 18" deep shelf storage on the back wall.? There's just enough space for me to squeeze around the end of the table when it's pulled all the way back.? In my configuration, I can actually make 5 foot long cuts without having to open the garage door (which can be beneficial on hot summer days).? I just open the garage if I need to make a longer cut.? A 10 foot slider would have just been a bit too much.
<garage_pulled_back.jpg><garage_forward.jpg>
?
On the "pulled back" photo above, I circled in yellow the stop-point for the cross-cut fence.? This is standard on the 1500 (and should be on the 1300, because I know both of these also have the roller on the edge for heavy material).?? This is what allows you to quickly put the cross-cut fence back "square to the blade" when you move it for an angle cut or take it off the table.
?
I have no idea if the 1100 outrigger supports this kind of thing.?? I do know the 1100 does NOT have the roller on the edge for easier loading of material.? I also cannot find any pictures of the 1100 outrigger, lol.
?
I have definitely read many times on this forum that the short 1100 crosscut fence has problems with keeping square to the blade.?? This means that you'll have to manually re-align/calibrate the fence to be 90 perfectly square EVERY TIME you remove it or shift it around.??
?
I know that any fence on the K700 series works fine (except for the 1100).? The lower K500 series has a 1300mm fence available and also the 1100 outrigger. ? Does anyone know if the 1300 fence also has squaring problems? ? Or is it just the 1100 fence??
?
-Aaron Inami
Re: OT: Teknatools USA affiliate (maker of Nova drill presses) files for CH 11 reorganization
We have two PM2800B in the shop and both of them have needed transmissions replaced in the first year. One of them also developed chuck incontinence. I don't know if this model is extra special or we just got unlucky.
On Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 09:54, Tom Gensmer <tom@...> wrote:
Hi Imran,?
?
I just picked up a new drill press myself. I have a very small shop, so I wanted a drill press without the motor hanging off the back, which limited me to the Teknatool Voyager/Viking, the new Laguna, and Powermatic now offers a 15" and 20" drill press in the same category.?
?
I don't much care for the screens and electronics, so I was inclined against the Voyager, Viking, and the Laguna, leaving me to choose between the Powermatics. Powermatic is running a $500-off promotion on the 20" machine, so I opted to bump up to the larger machine(
).
?
Apparently Jet will be releasing a drill press with a screen to compete with the Voyager/Viking/Laguna, but again I don't want a screen so I wasn't inclined to wait for its release. ?
?
The Powermatic PM2820 and PM2815 machines utilize a brushed DC motor that runs through a geared two speed transmission, with speed controlled via the High/Low gear selector and a simple knob on the front ?of the machine.?
?
So far I've been quite happy with it. I realize there are certainly "better" machines out there, I just wanted something relatively simple, relatively compact, with minimal electronics.?
?
?
?
--
Tom Gensmer
Heritage Home Renewals, LLC
Minneapolis, MN