Felder, SCM/Minimax, or Laguna bandsaw?

[Mick Simon]

I'm looking in the 16" to 20" range of bandsaws, mainly for resawing. I have a 20" Inca for fine curved work, but need resaw capacity for veneers.

Thoughts?

[Mike King]

I have a Felder FB510. It is a very nice saw. I put the Laguna ceramic guides on it (the Felder guides were not available yet when I bought the saw and Felder version is twice as expensive) and they are very nice. Personally, knowing what I know now, I'd look for a used bandsaw.

BTW, I have a 10 inch Inca that is my workhorse for curves...

Mike

[Patrick Kane]

Hopefully someone here has really dug into the specs recently. For me, I was going to be happy with any of those makes of saws in the 20” range, and so it was about finding the best deal. Ended up with a Laguna 20”. It’s the Italian made one that isn’t even produced by laguna. It was a superb deal for me, and the saw is great to use. I’ve resawn multiple boards in the 18-19.5” range, and it’s surprising how well it does it. The table could be bigger, but that’s just how it is with a 20” machine. Overall, I am very happy with the saw.

If I were buying new, I’d need to look at the prices, but I’d place the MM line a bit ahead of the laguna, and the Italian laguna ahead of the felder. The Felder bandsaws look incredible, but I’ve never read someone rave about their performance and how affordable they were.

If you have the ceiling height and capabilities, you might want to consider used. I have seen several Italian SCM/MM/Centauro 24” saws for inexpensive prices the last few years. 24” saw is a fair step up from the 20” machine in terms of weight, tensioning abilities etc. Still, I don’t think you will be disappointed with a 5hp 20” machine with a carbide blade.

[David Kumm]

MM 20 will tension the highest. If you have the room, a used 24" x 17" with a vfd would be a cheaper option. Dave

[John TenEyck]

If you want a 20" I'd go with the MM20, or whatever it's now called. If you want something closer to 16" I would get the 17" Grizzly G0636X. In fact, that's exactly what I bought three years ago after looking at all the specs.. Best bang for your buck and you give up nothing, other than resale value most likely. With a Woodmaster CT 1" x 1.3 tpi blade it will resaw and slice 12" wide veneer consistently and w/o effort.

The Felder 510 is challenged to adequately tension a 1" blade. Look at reviews here, you'll find actual measured data on both the Felder and Grizzly.

John

[Mike King]

If you want a 20" I'd go with the MM20, or whatever it's now called. If you want something closer to 16" I would get the 17" Grizzly G0636X. In fact, that's exactly what I bought three years ago after looking at all the specs.. Best bang for your buck and you give up nothing, other than resale value most likely. With a Woodmaster CT 1" x 1.3 tpi blade it will resaw and slice 12" wide veneer consistently and w/o effort.

The Felder 510 is challenged to adequately tension a 1" blade. Look at reviews here, you'll find actual measured data on both the Felder and Grizzly.

John

not true according to my Starrett tension meter. But high tension isn’t needed for a properly tuned bandsaw.

[Jim Becker]

I'm a fan of the SCM/Minimax bandsaws and have been for a long time. But any of the three brands you mention provide good quality tools.

[Mike Kees]

The stated intention of the Op is resawing . This is an application where higher tension is desired/needed more that any other time. I own a Centauro CO 600,so my vote is for Minimax .

[John TenEyck]

Mike, a few months ago another Creeker measured the tension on his brand new FB510. He could barely get to 25 K psi with a 1" blade on it; IIRC, the spring was just about fully compressed to do it. I wouldn't buy a saw for resawing if I couldn't put at least 25 K psi on it with the blade I wanted to use. Maybe Felder listened to what that member told them and changed the spring though I rather doubt it. For comparison, we both could put over 40K psi on a 1" blade on the Grizzly G0636X. Neither of us had any intention of doing that, but it was easy to do and proved that the saw can put 25K psi on a 1-1/4" blade, the widest the saw is rated for. That in itself was a pleasant surprise as most companies claim their saws can run a wider blade than they actually can.

Believe what you want but if you want trouble free resawing and veneer slicing on wide stock tension is important. Of course the saw needs to be well tuned, too, that's a given. Low tension makes even a well tuned saw behave poorly.

John

[John Lanciani]

... Low tension makes even a well tuned saw behave poorly.

John

Quoted for emphasis. A properly tensioned blade is far more valuable than all of the "expert" advise commonly referred to on youtube.
I use a Trimaster blade at 30kpsi and routinely go directly from the saw to the vacuum bag with veneer.

[Tom Trees]

Has anyone seen or made a video demonstrating the ping from a blade tensioned at 25 K psi?
It would be extremely helpful if there was one out there, as I don't have that kind of money for measurement equipment.
Although I have a photo of Matthias Wandel's rough guide caliper version, which I'm not so keen on doing to my nice calipers.

I would have thought that 40 K psi would damage the blade, does the Grizzly G0636X have flat tires?
Did it leave any marks on the blade?

Thanks folks
Tom

[Mick Simon]

I appreciate all the input. I placed my order for the SCM S500P this morning. Now to call the electrician...

[Patrick Kane]

Great machine, congrats.

Not to change your mind, but did you see this 2016 single phase machine?
http://www.woodweb.com/exchanges/machinery/posts/519194.html

[John TenEyck]

Has anyone seen or made a video demonstrating the ping from a blade tensioned at 25 K psi?
It would be extremely helpful if there was one out there, as I don't have that kind of money for measurement equipment.
Although I have a photo of Matthias Wandel's rough guide caliper version, which I'm not so keen on doing to my nice calipers.

I would have thought that 40 K psi would damage the blade, does the Grizzly G0636X have flat tires?
Did it leave any marks on the blade?

Thanks folks
Tom

I've shown this here before. You can make your own tension meter for the cost of a dial indicator, some scraps of wood, and a couple of nuts and bolts. I found this basic design on YouTube.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5Cy0FO6TXTn7IAGeQN33JEuIvyigCHfGY8Tk4PruFUht0VqDMz TxvpioTdWEliM0O0fKVNUwgwPk3CpzDJ1cCa86dQGqChwkJm3t rWq8t3zXfYlcMsvWhmjdqBSSkInApEFodzf_GRSh-iKehNSVFyxjKj8LhyBqqebC8IDVmn_aKqytaby8szgMeea43_a 9GKVVz6r2QclAbp1kVtklr8LoyYN2TdQqo0LJ0jVM9fOs_G1Dd tbId4MeanFRG-tqd2WUvjGKbovD1eK63rlMYXnoySIenIjDt7T9xtkBvY4y56lD hZ9r1QZAYt3Ec7pDLVRYMlaRQy7h4KpPBsVhE-w36Xrep4rm8Q8OVsPoAJeiENVZL8wJ6UZAV--JgZoB3jBOPzmJHsWiEl4jXV9hMoZcBupTIfPUXTnQRJsqzyxZ9 ZXL8JVNw-V9gbXm_PvuOss6a1B6BF1HDmTPVkZJlYh1cws5GhL4YGl7lVp9-I3BCYru5MN5IGAhlaUXwByRvZNfsTvZmZ3oYAY3IzohswmBieo eNKRMP7NzCRty31BcoABjjJlQRuDYTAJG55ngmCLXfiF4fmWJK 7-utqqo0J9IV7PqvmPQ7dF1vKuXVP7ih-8b6szEFOUpRAkRfUhMcqSq821vA2q3NMiviNMSh3OAbhVdHfPN Zsnto7j5IfMYWj-ipIBAGJoklbIPpbBSzfl8DjPSUwHINpStSA09Iv_hpA=w835-h626-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6mG_5APCl3Z72nE4Fg56hwZ8NHuavFFMfQIAXRfxkoxaTwCriv bwvjb5TKxzCXwwa-m64UtPQFjLzdvA8n7eER2fzq2hitUHJmw6GeArMRjE52SJ-8gK__-Kvd2wBfLpcAWHsvTqW1_wuvCv-oeJ1YKeP9stXQ88VzykmXaEz_SFvfBU7Xm6bUJZo-rqlNfpYs8nqlvUaqZkO3bIj4zbBJ9wr1OKNfuyoRSjDoGCWNBS fc9ArQneqowJDHKtabeilClJXno-CBRaDV2fGBaKu7vKh9QNJu2PjcpSSWPg6x-wy4Q93h-758G2Tr_wv3MwzTXL9LFIlpjTWuLtmtZV_caD5PcsdENIQy_DV 67Fi5v50hurN1cJrz3ImAd3hklT-BKRxrX0LkE3xbXnydUgaoD9scCm6pYBqw3ZzNabU5w4O5I8fbz VQr1YDNWFM0MnwjFMrawhnzr6lzoe8E4d5TCxr5CrRlquTYzQj VbjZsehwLOh1bQzxya923lOxzGNXkl4jTr9VNXN2QJGsuT50Pn 9-IykVMA2fSSH0tzk1wV5ED3X8A2wN4oQOU8EEb5g6emc2TFvnDv RIq5U9QsuxlWweaKFpiyijnlvtdFMZli5VGLO7pYvGWuGo3-w14RKVelgSdGW7KAoRmi0gxHEUikKLdL3vTj2OtC2d-LZA-F9hyZP-Mru9cDbtqIShGyaKB9qKC92isVyJMv6qWKzOpYWeg=w835-h626-no


You can make it any size, but taller gives greater accuracy. My saw has 16" of resaw so I made this one around 12" IIRC. So for my meter, 0.001" of movement on the dial gage is equal to 2500 psi of tension, using 30 x 10^6 psi for the Young's Modulus of steel. If I want 25 K psi on the blade I need the dial gage to move 0.010".

John

[Mick Simon]

Great machine, congrats.

Not to change your mind, but did you see this 2016 single phase machine?
http://www.woodweb.com/exchanges/machinery/posts/519194.html

I did not, but the 20" is about as much room as I can spare for this saw. That's a great deal!

Not wanting to engage in the tensioning discussion too much as everyone has an opinion, but interestingly Sam Blasco emailed me after I placed the order with a nice note and attached, among other things, a write-up he did on blades and tensioning. He tensions all his blades (of any size) to about 21,000 psi, plus or minus some wiggle room.

[Tom Trees]

Thank you very much John
I must buy a dial indicator and mount for myself someday, even the cheap ones seem to be too pricey for me.
I would love to hear the ping from a good blade at over 20k psi for the moment.

Enjoy your new saw Mick, congrats.
Best of luck with it, it's a beast.

Tom

[Mike Wilkins]

Satisfied owner of a Laguna LT18 since 2005. Upgraded to the ceramic guides and a Resaw King for the thick stuff and resewing. Never a problem since unloading the heavy beast solo in 95 degree heat solo. I would get another if a UFO crashed into my shop. Fine Italian made machines.
Don't forget to check the used market. Unless it has been abused you should be able to find a good one.

[Mick Simon]

That was my second choice. That's a nice bandsaw. In the end it came down to having a familiarity and comfort level with the Centauro machines. I'm certain I'll be very happy with my decision for many years to come.

[Matthew Hills]

Nice saw you ordered. Do get a good blade to go with it.

Matt

[Patrick Walsh]

Saw awesome and I’ve used a few now and also own a 500 sp.

Imop it’s heads an shoulders above your other choices.

You will without question enjoy it.

Don’t skimp on the blade.

1: Lennox woodmaster ct is awesome and not to expensive...

[Brian Holcombe]

I have the SP500 also, great saw.

[Mick Simon]

Don’t skimp on the blade.

1: Lennox woodmaster ct is awesome and not to expensive...

I ordered the Woodmaster CT as soon as I got off the phone ordering the saw.

[Dave Cav]

Not wanting to engage in the tensioning discussion too much as everyone has an opinion, but interestingly Sam Blasco emailed me after I placed the order with a nice note and attached, among other things, a write-up he did on blades and tensioning. He tensions all his blades (of any size) to about 21,000 psi, plus or minus some wiggle room.

I got the same saw from Sam at the 2017 AWFS; wonderful saw. I have been running a 1" WM CT as well, mostly for resaw and heavy rips, but occasionally crosscuts, too. Great blade.

I would appreciate a copy of Sam's tensioning article if possible.

[Mick Simon]

I would appreciate a copy of Sam's tensioning article if possible.

How do I PM you? Can't seem to find the link the new layout.

[Jim Becker]

How do I PM you? Can't seem to find the link the new layout.
There is no "new layout". Nothing has changed. Check your "view" to be sure it didn't inadvertently get changed to mobile which isn't very full featured on this older software. Or just click on "Settings" at the top of the page and select "send a new message" in the menu on the left side.

[Mick Simon]

Thanks Jim. It must have somehow switched to Mobile. I went to settings and chose Full Layout and it worked.

[Alan Lightstone]

I would appreciate a copy of Sam's tensioning article if possible.
I'd love a copy too, please.

FWIW, I have a Felder FB710, and have no problem tensioning above 25K on a 1" blade. Yes, I know, it's a bigger beast.
Not sure how much higher I can go. I'll use my Starrett gauge at some point and see.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

FWIW, I have a Felder FB710, and have no problem tensioning above 25K on a 1" blade. Yes, I know, it's a bigger beast.
Not sure how much higher I can go. I'll use my Starrett gauge at some point and see.

The above statement is reassuring. I was ready to plunk down some changes for the SCMI s600p, received contact for a dealer for my region, but was totally turned off by the whole process and the sale person/company. Ended up placing an order with Felder for the FB710 with intention of puting a Woodmaster CT 1" 1.3 TPI blade on it base on reading the bandsaw blade sticky thread here.

Alan, do you release the blade tension at the end of the day?

WS

[Jim Becker]

The above statement is reassuring. I was ready to plunk down some changes for the SCMI s600p, received contact for a dealer for my region, but was totally turned off by the whole process and the sale person/company.
WS
Why didn't you just order it direct through Sam Blasco? (merely curious...)

[Alan Lightstone]

Alan, do you release the blade tension at the end of the day?

WS

Yes. I put a small magnet on the machine with a label that says “Blade Tensioned?” With yes and no locations.

So yes I do release the tension every day.

[Mick Simon]

Follow up. I picked up my new saw in Albuquerque Friday morning. Kind of a nerve-wracking drive home and off-loading process, but it's in its new home and I'm really pleased. It's one of the only bigger purchases I've made that I didn't have 'buyer's remorse.'
I decided to repurpose the crate material for hanging up the jigs and fixtures, blades, etc. Blades are due to arrive tomorrow! Can't wait to try it out.
415041

[Steve Jenkins]

Looking good in the shop. Enjoy

[Jim Becker]

Looks like it belongs there!