Felder FB710 vs MM20 or MM24

[Alan Lightstone]

Not sure if I'm opening up a hornet's nest here (At least I'm not mentioning Sawstop), but I'm looking at bandsaws with decent power and resaw capability.

I've got it narrowed down to the Felder FB710, Minimax MM20, or perhaps even the Minimax MM24.

What are people's thoughts as to these options? Advantages, disadvantages to them.

Not sure how many people have owned several of these, but any and all advice would be quite welcome. Thanks.

[Brian Holcombe]

I'm happy with the 20, I use the hell out of it without complaint. If you can afford the space for the 24 I would get it just to have the extra table.

I thought I would never use 20" resaw but I've come close having resawed 19" wide veneers. Big slabs aren't too bad to resaw if need be.

[Mike Heidrick]

I own a mm20 and love it but a mm24 would fit my med bandsaw feeder better.

[Jim Becker]

All are good machines. MiniMax band saws are built like tanks and have been a major focus of SCM's MiniMax line for a long time. Felder has good offerings, but they are more recent to the bandsaw market, I believe. You can't go wrong with any of them, but I admit, I have a penchant for MiniMax tools.

[Anthony Spotorno]

I have the MM24. I use it only for resawing. Built like a tank, but dust collection absolutely, positively SUX!

I've added additional foam around the base, custom wood insert in the holder, etc. Nothing helps, it spews dust everywhere. Just something to consider.

Even with the dust issue, I would not trade it in for a Felder.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have the MM24. ...

Even with the dust issue, I would not trade it in for a Felder.

Why is that? What advantages do you see it having over the Felder?

[Brian Holcombe]

I don't have much of a dust issue with mine, aside from entering the cut. Once the saw is in the cut it works fine. I do, however have strong dust collection which at the moment is entirely dedicated to the bandsaw.

[David Kumm]

I have a friend with a 710 who is an anal machine guy. He is happy with the 710 and actually went to the effort of testing the FB saws for tension. The 710 can tension a 1" Trimaster carbide blade to at least 25K which is my rule of thumb for a resaw machine. The 610 topped off at 20k. A MM 24 will also tension to 25K but I don't have numbers on the 20". There are other factors involved but tensioning is my most important. I am not a huge fan of Italian motors but they are at least equal or slightly better than the Chinese motors. There are some decent Asian motors and not all tell you where they are built. Look at motor efficiency. If less than 89% ( three phase ) or not listed, the motor is likely Chinese. US or Euro motors are usually 92+% efficient. Not a deal breaker but something to consider. All things equal, I'd take an ACM 740 or Centauro 700 over the FB but I think the comparison with a MM 24 is close and I'd probably take the 710 over the MM 20- but I like the 28" size. My go to saw is a 30" Oliver 217 which is a whole different level IMO. Dave

[Travis Porter]

I have the MM24, and I have a friend with the Felder. Looking at the chassis I would guess they are both made by Centauro. I too found the dust collection lacking as commented by a previous poster. I replaced all the foam around the doors and added an a port in the top and it helped a lot. One dust port is not enough.

i think my saw has more resaw capacity than my friends, but his came with a better set of guides. I think MM has since changed the guides, but that is one item I would compare to help determine which to buy.

They are both built like tanks, that is for sure.

Best wishes

[Anthony Spotorno]

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

[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?

[Anthony Spotorno]

I have the MM24, and I have a friend with the Felder. Looking at the chassis I would guess they are both made by Centauro. I too found the dust collection lacking as commented by a previous poster. I replaced all the foam around the doors and added an a port in the top and it helped a lot. One dust port is not enough.

i think my saw has more resaw capacity than my friends, but his came with a better set of guides. I think MM has since changed the guides, but that is one item I would compare to help determine which to buy.

They are both built like tanks, that is for sure.

Best wishes

Travis, do you happen to have a picture of how you added an additional port at the top?

[Travis Porter]

IMG_0019.jpg
My MM24 has some holes in it at the top that had rubber plugs in them. I used a a 2 inch adapter after taking one out. Kept from having to cut into the chassis.