Felder FB710 vs MM20 or MM24

[Alan Lightstone]

I'm the guy Dave mentioned.

snip...

My 710 also came with DC injection braking and not a foot brake. I prefer the injection brake. Motor is 7.5 HP and the whole saw runs very smooth. If you have specific questions, please ask.

Denis:

Thanks for the first hand input on the FB710.

I do have a question. What is DC Injection Braking?

[Bruce Walton]

DC injection braking is a method of slowing AC electric motors. A DC voltage is injected into the winding of the AC motor after the AC voltage is disconnected, providing braking force to the rotor.

[richard poitras]

I have a Laguna 18 with the ceramic guilds and a drift master fence and really like mine. I think if the MM is a $1000.00 less I would go that wrought as others seem to imply they are comparable in quality.
Good luck …

[Denis Kenzior]

What Bruce said. But essentially there are four kinds of braking on these saws:

1. No braking, the blade stops.... eventually
2. Mechanical foot brake. Works sort of like a brake on your bicycle.
3. Mechanical motor brake. A motor is equipped with a friction disc type material and an electromagnet. When the machine is powered on, a current is applied to the electromagnet which releases the brake disc. When the machine is turned off, current is stopped, causing the magnet to pull the disc and brake the motor. Braking the motor stops the lower wheel and consequently the upper wheel (since the blade connects them).
4. DC injection or electric brake. On power off a DC current is applied to one of the windings which causes the motor to stop.

I like 4 the most. It is a slick system but adds some extra complexity to the machine electrical system. However it is essentially maintenance free unlike 2 & 3. Though in hobby use you would never wear out your brakes anyway, so maybe it is a moot point.

[Joshua Bass]

I got quotes for both models, MM24 was about 1000.00 cheaper.
Almost 6" higher resaw capability on the MM24.

Similar story, but different. I was comparing the MM16 vs Felder FB 510. The quotes I got brought the MM in at about 1k under the Felder. However Felder often runs sales and the sale price would have beat the Minimax price (based on my research, and recent experience with their sales). I would never buy a Felder at their non-sale prices because you can save 1-2k by waiting a few months. It looks like they have multiple sales every year. I few them as near equivalent machines and you will be happy with either brand.

[Alan Lightstone]

Similar story, but different. I was comparing the MM16 vs Felder FB 510. The quotes I got brought the MM in at about 1k under the Felder. However Felder often runs sales and the sale price would have beat the Minimax price (based on my research, and recent experience with their sales). I would never buy a Felder at their non-sale prices because you can save 1-2k by waiting a few months. It looks like they have multiple sales every year. I few them as near equivalent machines and you will be happy with either brand.

How do you know when Felder is having a sale? The rep is mentioning discounts when buying multiple pieces of equipment, but not a formal "sale" on their equipment.

[Alan Lightstone]

I've narrowed it down to the MM24 and the Felder FB710.

Both are beasts, it looks like the Felder has a larger table (plus easy addition of table extensions), ceramic guides (which I've liked on my Laguna), but "only" has 18-1/8" of resaw capacity compared to the Minimax having 24" of resaw capacity (which I don't think I will use often, but is pretty amazing). The Felder has a larger throat of 27" compared to "only" 22.8" on the MM24. I would think that's far more important in practice (although I do have one project I could use the larger resaw capacity for. That being said, I'm not spending this much money for a single small project).

Supposedly the MM24 can tension a 1.5" blade, but can it really tension that to 25K? The Felder has a max blade size of 1-1/8". As stated above, it can tension that to 25K.

Any thoughts as to the above specs?

[David Kumm]

Neither machine needs a blade larger than 1" if tensioned properly. I run a 1" on my Oliver 116 which is a 36" machine with 21" of resaw. When resawing wide stock, feeding by hand creates the most inconsistency. A wider blade might benefit a feeder in a production setting but neither the MM or the 710 will tension a Trimaster wider than 1". Remember, the band thickness of a 1" is .035 vs .042 for a 1.25". I only use the larger oliver about once a year as the 14" resaw of the 217 handles 99% of my needs. With high tension on the Trimaster I sometimes remove the top guides to gain a few inches. A good saw with a good resaw blade doesn't really need guides. Both Centauro and ACM make 24-17" saws as well as 700 and 740 respectively with approx the same resaw height. Those would be my favorite sizes were it not for the 217. A well tuned cast iron saw is a step up but I'm biased. Dave

[Mike Heidrick]

Pretty easy to put ceramic guides from laguna on my mm20 and i made a how to webpage on it if you google it. If that helps kake a decision. Also you can drill and tap the mm table for whatever you need. Personally id build seperate out feed tables if needed.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Bringing this thread back from the dead a bit...does anyone know the actual height (off the floor) of the MM 24? I’ve googled for the last 20 minutes and am still coming up empty handed with overall height of the machine.

[Jim Becker]

Message Sam Blasco to get the current heights.

Sam Blasco
Minimax Product Line Manager
sam.blasco@scmgroup.com
512-931-1962 (shop)
512-796-3036 (mobile)

[Phillip Mitchell]

Thanks Jim. I just sent him an email.

[Anthony Spotorno]

The MM24 stands 89" tall, if you need to know anything else about the unit just let me know.

[Alan Lightstone]

Since we resurrected this from the dead, I wanted to chime in and say that I did buy the Felder FB710 with DC Injection Braking. It is a beast, and has been great. No issues at all, works like a charm. The braking is a different paradigm than the foot brake I was used to on my old Laguna bandsaw, but works great.