Bandsaw advice?

[Zach Miller]

Hi everyone. I’m a newbie. First time posting. I’m currently in the market for a bandsaw. I’m looking hard at the FB610 Felder and the LT24 Laguna. I’ve googled around a bit reading reviews but I didn’t find anything definitive to lean me one way or the other. I’m not overly concerned with resaw height, throat depth etc... I may even go with a smaller saw. I’m just trying to determine who has the better quality, accuracy and overall performance. I’m sure both saws are really good on some level. Any info and opinions are greatly appreciated.

[Erik Loza]

Both are good machines. I assume you are shopping used (the FB600 is no longer made)? I think the reason you won't find any "this one is better than that one" reviews is because bandsaws mean different things to different owners. Like automobiles. Maybe share with us your budget and goals for this machine.

Erik

[Tom Trees]

Are they not the same ACM SNA/star sourced machines, well at least the frames, or at least the exact same design?
Guessing it's a newer Felder machine, made in Austria IIRC, aren't the older ones sourced in Italy?
It seems that Felder used to sell the SNA, and also the SNAC series with the extra 40mm.

I'd love to know if there was any difference, in these designs, compared to the ACM,
talking before the newer 'again' models came along, i.e the extra 10mm (wheel size I presume)
The tensioning system definitely looks different on the newish or newest generation of Felder 20 something inchers.
So quite possibly a lot of variety as to which machine that the Felder is.

Someone took a recent video of the LT24 and what I can see..
The table on the Laguna looks heavier (deeper slot in the table) than my ACM 600
Not sure about the table on Felder machines
Does either have a rack and pinnion trunnion, that might be the deal breaker, if it did...
both look to have foot brakes .

Been doing a heck of a lotta searching lately to try and compare carriage designs, (with no luck, I might add)
My old 1997 saw is getting a bit of an overhaul, it had a fall at some time, and wasn't cared for.........Hrm?
Some bits needed to be replaced, or Centaurolized since I'm doing this on a shoestring.
The carriage on my saw was a bit skewed, so if looking into the nitty gritty, might be worth seeing with a flashlight through the holes in the wheel
to see if that section of the carriage is parallel with the frame.
If everything else the same, including tires.
ACM are vulcanized, not sure about Felder's way of doing things.

Suppose that would be nice to actually have a deep enough slot, that might make me want to make a nice crosscut fence for it, or use a runner for a ripping sled
for cutting logs.
The Laguna has this, unsure about the Felder.

Hope some of my waffling makes sense.
I have an ACM SNA/starbandsaw teardown thread on the net, if you want to see what I mean by the carriage being parallel,
That's a rare occurrence from what I've seen, most of these seem to be trouble free.

Tom

[Zach Miller]

Hi Tom. Thanks for your reply. I'm not familiar with the ACM

[Zach Miller]

Hi Tom. Thanks for the reply. I think I accidentally hit "return" and sent my reply before I was finished. Newbie. I"m not familiar with the ACM saws but I think I"ll give them a look. I appreciate your input.

[Zach Miller]

Hey Erik. I meant the FB610. My budget is around 5k. I own a cabinet shop but I'm hoping that I'll be able to do more furniture pieces and chairs in the future. Someday.. LOL.. I honestly don't have a justifiable reason to buy a bandsaw this big for anything I'm currently working on. It's just a tool that I hope to start using more and would love to have. It's tough buying tools that you can't test drive like a car so I'm just trying to get a feel for what this woodworking community thinks. Thanks for your reply..

[John TenEyck]

I love my Grizzly G0636X, but if I were looking for a larger saw and had $5K to spend I'd be looking hard at the MM20, or whatever they call it now. I've never heard anyone say they were disappointed.

John

[Alan Lightstone]

Can't specifically speak about the FB610 (certainly Erik can), but I do own the FB710, and it's a great machine. Huge, but great. Love the large table. What a difference that is over my previous Laguna LT14. But not a fair comparison.

I can confidently say you would love the Felder.

[David Kumm]

The Laguna LT 24 and SCM 640 should both be ACM sourced machines and a little heavier build than the FB 610. the 710 is the better comparable in build to the 640. Dave

[Zach Miller]

Thanks Alan. The larger table is what is most appealing to me about the bigger saws. More so than re-saw height. I appreciate your response..

[Zach Miller]

Ok. Thank you Dave.

[Zach Miller]

Thanks John. I have heard good things about the MM saws as well. Thanks for chiming in..

[Tom Trees]

Thanks Alan. The larger table is what is most appealing to me about the bigger saws. More so than re-saw height. I appreciate your response..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQw_ylk2cM8