Felder Bandsaw FB600

[chris weir]

My FB600 is a really nice bandsaw, but I'm looking to get better performance/quality cuts. I read the thread on the ceramic guide upgrade from Keith Outten and I am considering upgrading to those guides.

I am also looking for feedback on setting up the blade on the bandsaw tires. The manual says to center the blade on the tire, but one of the techs at Felder said to hang the teeth of the blade just over the outside edge of the tire. I also noticed a Hammer bandsaw set up this way in a video within the thread on the ceramic guides. Any opinons/suggestions out there on the preferred setup?

My manual also states that 3/8" wide blades are the smallest that should be used- anyone try smaller on this bandsaw? What blades seem to work best on this saw for resawing vs cutting curves?

Any suggestions, especially from Felder owners, would be much appreciated!

Thanks

[David Kumm]

I'll let others speak to the specifics of the 600 but generally the guides do not affect the cut quality on a big saw that can tension properly. I would verify that there is no vibration on start up or when the blade is running full speed. Tension so the blade does not move into the back bearing when under cut and then see how things work. On a big saw, you should be able to remove the guides and only see a minimal difference. Small steel blades can run towards the center, wider blades with fewer teeth and carbide run off the front if the tires are flat rather than crowned. Dave

[Fidel Fernandez]

I don't have that bandsaw, but I have the hammer N4400.
I have quality cuts with the trimaster from Lenox that in some cases I don't have to do much after the bandsaw cuts. if I am using the but for a joint then I might sand it a little to make it fit perfect.

Felder replaced the N4400 with a newer N4400. The first one cut without drift and the teeth were flush with the outside edge of the tire as you saw on the video, the new one doesn't like that.
I use the teeth flush the blade moves forward and backward and the cut is not good. If I keep it in the center I have not drift and good cut.
I don't know if the new one needs another adjustment or not, but the quality that I get is excellent.
I guess each machine is a little different. Try to find the sweet spot.

[James Nugnes]

Would seem to me that you should have more freedom to move blades around on the wheels/tires if they are not crowned. There is some discussion of moving a bit on crowned tires as well. Not real sure how much freedom there is on crowned tires...maybe gullet centered on the middle of the tire as opposed to blade centered on the middle of the tire and I think that is about all you can do reliably with crowned tires. The OP's would have flat wheels/tires I would expect.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Chris, it depends upon whether the wheel is crowned or flat.

Flat wheel, the teeth hang over the edge.

Crowned wheel the blade stays near the center of the tire.

Regards, Rod.

[ken seale]

I don't think you'll find a better 24" band saw than your Felder. I also can't see the use of ceramic guides either. I tried them on my MiniMax and could see no improvement at all other than being a pain to adjust compared with the euro guides.

Just spring for a Lenox 1/2"/3 tpi trimaster and you'll get cuts that are ready to glue right off the saw. These (like all blades) need to be tensioned properly. Crank down hard on that tensioning wheel, your bandsaw can take it. ;)

[Matthew Hills]

Do you also put the teeth of narrow blades off the edge of the wheel?

[Christopher Charles]

How exactly do you hope to improve the cut quality? The biggest variable in my experience is the blade; using a 1" carbide blade (Lenox), the surface is considerable smoother, with little need for addition prep, than when using a bimetal 1/2" blade. I have a Ag B-18 with flat tires; I hang the teeth on the 1" and more or less center the 1/2" blade.

Good luck!

C

[ken seale]

No I don't, I center it on the wheel. I have the flat style tires too. This is with a 1/2" lenox 3 tpi blade. With a 1" blade I'd probably hang the teeth over the edge.