Felder Band saws

[Charlie Watson]

Anybody have any experience with Felder band saws? Looking at the FB510 and would appreciate any feedback on their saws.

[Stephen Cherry]

I've seen one at their place in Delaware; looked comparable to my Aggizzani saw.

[Jeff Monson]

Charlie, the FB510 is a new flagship 20" bandsaw from Felder, I dont believe they have any in the US right now, but it wont be long (april) from what I have been told. I'm also waiting for them to arrive. It is just a smaller version of the FB600 which is a really nice bandsaw.

[David Kumm]

The 510 is Felder's new in house built saw to bring down the price from their saws sourced from ACM. They believe they can produce a saw of almost similar quality for less. When I looked at the FB600 in Atlanta the Felder people said it wasn't quite the machine of the 640 but would stand up to the hobby market well and I tend to believe them. Very well made and well designed. If I had a chance to pick up and older Bridgewood, Felder, or Laguna 540 ( not the lighter duty laguna ) I would take that and use the money saved to buy a bigger motor if needed. The older saws were 3 hp and the 510 is 4 hp. Felder has learned that HP sells in the US. At this point I would not put it in the MM20 league for resawing but at 500 lbs it is a stout saw. Dave

[David Wong]

The newer Felder 510 specs a 16" resaw capacity. The older Felder 540 has a 12" resaw. I have a 2004 Felder 540, and for hobby use, it has been great. Motor is 2.2kW (~3hp). I replaced the euro guides with Laguna ceramic guides. I mostly run a 1" Lenox tri-master blade.

[Charlie Watson]

I'm comparing it to the MM16 as they have similar specs. There isn't much information on Felders and of course the MM16 is very well known and liked. I'm usually not one to be an early adopter so the fact that there aren't any out there is a bit concerning. Of course it's also going to come down to who is pricing more aggressively as well. I was also wondering about replacing the guides with the ceramics, are they a big improvement over the euro guides?

[David Kumm]

Charlie, wait until you use the machine before deciding on guides. When you get into the saws that are stiff enough to tension blades the guides become much less important. I think I could run without them most of the time. The 510 should turn out to be a good saw and they may come out with an early deal but the MM16 is likely a better resaw machine. I think the weight is heavier and that usually is a fair indicator. The small table is the only negative. I prefer cast iron saws so take my advice for what it is worth. Dave

[David Wong]

I was also wondering about replacing the guides with the ceramics, are they a big improvement over the euro guides?

I replaced the guides in my bandsaw because the existing euro guides were gummed up when I bought the saw (used), and I could not seem to clean them adequately. I probably could have just replaced a couple of bearings rollers, but I took the opportunity to replace them during a Laguna sale.

[Joe Jensen]

The FB600 is significantly lighter than the FB640. I have a Felder FB540 and I was considering selling and ordering the FB600 (24" instead of 21") and my salesman talked me out of it. He felt the FB540 was a much heavier build design than the FB600. It's easy to look at resaw height and that's one of the reasons I was thinking of the upgrade. Having said that, I haven't had a situation yet where I used the 12" height I have today. I got my FB540 used for $1000 (maybe gloat worthy deal). Maybe look for used and have shipped?

[Craig Behnke]

I just went through the Felder FB510 or MM16 decision. I went with a FB510. The FB510 listed weight is 550 lbs, the MM16 is listed at 530 lbs. The FB510 has a 19.5 inch flywheel, the MM16 is 16 inch (i believe, correct me if wrong). The proper comparison is probably the FB510 vs the MM20, and the MM20 weighs 670 lbs and has 20 inch of resaw. That seems more apples to apples. But the MM20 is list price of $3,995 and the FB510 is list of $3,195, a meaningful difference.

My decision on the Felder was a mix of some larger specs vs the MM16 (flywheel, table, accessories) and some other qualitative issues that were not related to performance at all. The MM16 is a known commodity and gets superb ratings. I've used one just once and it was spectacular. I knew I was taking some risk with the FB510 as it's a new model that Felder is now making in-house, but I saw those risks as not great enough to not buy it. Time will tell.

I was in the market for a 12 inch jointer planer and a 16-20 inch bandsaw. I focused on Minimax, Felder, Hammer. I wanted to achieve multiple goals...get machines that would fit my needs, spend within a fixed budget, buy both from same vendor if possible (but not necessary), get good aftermarket support if needed.

I went with a package deal, a Hammer JP and the Felder FB510 Bandsaw.100_4886.jpg

I just got the JP and BS wired and running a few days ago, so I can't give a detailed review yet.

I will try to post a review after meaningful use.

[David Wong]

Congratulations Craig. Looks like a sweet setup. I have the older model Hammer A3-31 and it performs great for my needs. I keep one of the 300mm extension tables permanently attached to the planer out feed.

[David Kumm]

Keep us informed. The FB series have been getting great reviews. For those comparing weight on different size saws, keep in mind that the solid wheels are very heavy. the 19.5" wheel has about 50% more mass than a 15.75" so 50-100 lbs of the weight difference could be attributed to the wheels. Only relevant if doing wide resawing but should be accounted for. Dave

[Peter Kelly]

I looked at the FB510 at the Felder Showroom a few weeks back as well. Very nice saw, would definitely consider it.

[Rick Fisher]

Really looking forward to hearing what you think of the Felder saw. Its my hope to have more space in the future and have a second saw.. I would turn my current saw into a dedicated resaw and general purpose saw.. I like the choices you used, Mini Max, Felder or ACM .. ( I would include Laguna but nice choices. )

[Craig Behnke]

Keep us informed. The FB series have been getting great reviews. For those comparing weight on different size saws, keep in mind that the solid wheels are very heavy. the 19.5" wheel has about 50% more mass than a 15.75" so 50-100 lbs of the weight difference could be attributed to the wheels. Only relevant if doing wide resawing but should be accounted for. Dave

Good point David. the MM16 is almost the same weight as the FB510 with bigger heavier wheels. In theory ( i have no data to back it up) that might mean the spine/structure of the MM16 could have more steel and be more robust. I dunno.

After comparing Minimax to Hammer, one thing that I came away thinking is that the MM16 seemed to be designed to target professional or production shops vs. the FB510 designed to target high end hobby use. It's just my opinion, a way to think about their minute differences. Not even sure if it's totally accurate, but it's how I thought about them.

The comparisons between the two groups (Hammer/Felder vs. Minimax) were incredibly close. They are both extraordinary, superior quality products. Believe it or not, the machines were so close that the buy decision was tipped on stuff like accessories, mobility, both from same vendor, shipping dates, etc.

And since i'm not a production shop (but I do get paid for some stuff), I felt I would be just fine with Hammer and Felder.