Minimax 24" Bandsaw 1 Phase or 3 Phase Pros & Cons

[Adam Bullington]

Hello all,

I am in the market for a large bandsaw to resaw blanks before they hit the Logosol ph 360 for profiling planing etc. I am looking hard at the minimax 24" bandsaw and wanted to get some opinions. They offer a single phase model that is 4.8 hp rated and also a 3 phase model with 7.5 hp rating for only a couple hundred dollars difference. I currently have a comatic bandsaw feeder new in the crate I purchased a year ago and haven't had the bandsaw to put it on yet. I would like to hear from other bandsaw users and there opinions prior to making a purchase pros and cons etc. Thanks

[David Kumm]

Do you need the 24" resaw? If the feeder is an industrial one that weigh 200 lbs I'd be looking at the 700 model for the heavier construction and still block the table. I'm not sure how large a feeder you want to put on the trunnions. Others may have specific experience but I know my feeder is heavy even for my Oliver 116. Yours may be lighter unit but I'd still block the table.

I'm assuming you don't have three phase so you need a vfd. If you have three phase it is a no brainer. The extra hp is nice to have with a feeder so it doesn't get ahead of the motor and heat it up. I don't like to run Euro motors near FLA. Dave

[mreza Salav]

benefit of 3 phase with vfd is you can adjust the speed if needed. My feeder was still too fast when resawing a bunch of 16'x4" maple blanks but adjusting the bandsaw speed by about 10% made it work fine.

[Mike Heidrick]

I own the 1ph 4.8 mm20 and the medium comatic feeder. My feeder is 3ph. I put a vfd on the feeder. I have rk and trimaster and woodmaster ct blades on the mm20. Have not had a need to change my bandsaw speed. The vfd on the feeder is nice. Wish i had the larger mm24 or larger table is all.

[Travis Porter]

I have a single phase MM 24 with the euro style guides. It has been a good saw and has good power. I have done a little large resawing with it and i haven’t felt that it was underpowered. I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

[Adam Bullington]

I am only interested in the larger bandsaw due to the increased power and blade width. this unit will only be used for resawing and i believe i have the medium comatic feeder but mine is variable speed on the unit already and it runs from line 3 ft per min up to 15 ft per min. I am not willing to jump to the "dedicated resaw" I believe "centurio" is the line but due to the much higher price i'm hoping the m24 will fill my needs. I have 400 amp single phase service and i currently run a rotary converter for my 3 phase equipment.

Mike Heidrick: would you be able to post pics of your setup? have you had any issues wearing out thrust bearings using a feeder? thats really my only concern with this setup. Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Adam, since you already have 3-phase available in your shop, that does provide you with the opportunity to take advantage of the higher horsepower motor option. I'd probably do that given your intended use. "Too much power" isn't a horrible thing...

[Adam Bullington]

Jim, What are your thoughts on avoiding blowing thru thrust bearings? That's really my only concern with this setup?

[David Kumm]

You want a saw heavy enough to tension so the thrust bearing only spins occasionally. The feeder speed has to be adjusted so the cut doesn't push the blade back into the bearing. It takes a lot of frame strength to handle the 24" resaw capacity and not introduce twist when sawing hard. That is my main concern with the 24" vs the 28" x 17" along with trunnion strength. Dave

[Jim Becker]

Jim, What are your thoughts on avoiding blowing thru thrust bearings? That's really my only concern with this setup?
Honestly, I don't have enough knowledge to answer your question. I would think that feed rate is going to make a difference...too fast is going to put more pressure on the thrust bearing than the "more ideal" cutting rate for the material. You want to band to do the work so your feeder shouldn't be forcing the material such that you're "hogging" rather than "cutting". That also insures better dust/chip removal from the kerf by the blade. You'll probably have to make adjustments based on the species, height, band, etc., too.

[Brian Holcombe]

I have resawn 19” tall material and a good blade runs through it without issue. However, it becomes a relatively rare thing to resaw material that large. So I would go for the very stout saw with a very heavy table and shorter resaw.

[Mike Heidrick]

The picture I have is older but ill try and get it posted. Feeder is off the saw at the moment due to storage during shed build and lack of space in old shed. My feeder too is multi speed and it is also on a vfd. I swapped to laguna ceramic guides. I dont resaw as much as you but honestly just buy some bearings if needed.

[Mike Heidrick]

Brian, mm20 and mm24 have all those in spades and 20 and 24 resaw.

[Matt Mattingley]

A single phase only has 5 hp or 4.8... The three phase has 7.5. You obviously have the power, what size is you’re RPC?
How many horsepower is your feeder? Is your feeder single phase or three phase? Does the bandsaw have a Reeves Drive?

Usually three phase is built for industry and single phase is built for residential consumers.

Many people think they have 400 A coming into their residential service based on their main breaker size. The transformer on the pole or on the ground is the restriction and these are fused to suit their needs.

Post some pictures of your transformer and fusing.
What size RPC are you using and what is the feed amperage size?

David is running the state of the art, pulse wave modulation phase perfect. Probably the 30 hp white model.

I work with a lot of RPCs, VFD‘s and static phase converter’s. Real potential is measured at the post.

[Brian Holcombe]

Brian, mm20 and mm24 have all those in spades and 20 and 24 resaw.

I own a MM20, but rather than go for the 24, the 28-36” models have around 18-21” resaw and they’re heavier still so my guess is that the tables are also heavier.