Originally Posted by
Keith Weber
My shop is only 11' 7" wide (48' long), but I squeezed an Altendorf F45 in there. I did have to do some modifications to the saw, however, to pull it off. I wanted 97" from the blade to the left wall, so that I could skim cut the end of a 4'x8' sheet. That left me with 42" from the blade to the right wall, a crosscut clearance of 36" to clear the vertical overarm blade guard post, and 27-1/2" using the rip fence. Normally, the 27.5" rip capability to the right of the blade would be a problem, but with a slider, I can just use a parallel jig on the other side of the blade to rip any width I want. My only restriction is that I can't crosscut a single 4x8 sheet into two 4x4 sheets because of the proximity of the right wall. I mentioned this to a buddy, who added that there isn't a saw made that can cut two 4x4s out a single 4x8. Obviously, he was referring to the loss of the kerf width, and I got a chuckle out of his comment.
So, I guess you could say if there's a will, there's a way.
Regarding Altendorf prices... You'd probably be hard pressed to find a 5-10 year old F45 for under $10K. I've seen them as high as $22K. It all depends on condition, features and accessories, but also who's selling them. Machinery dealers love to control the market on these and inflate the prices. You'll save a lot if you can find a private sale, or grab one at an auction.