Felder/Hammer Bandsaws

[Narayan Nayar]

Hi. I know there's a sizable contingent of Minimax devotees on this site, and recently there has been a lot of talk about Euro jointer/planer combinations. I can only find a few posts which discuss Felder or Hammer bandsaws, though, and seemingly none of them by people who actually own one.

Does anyone have one of these? I'm considering a Felder purchase before April 1st, and a bandsaw is on the radar. Thought I'd check out Felder/Hammer's bandsaw offerings--who knows, I might be able to get a package deal if I buy both. I guess I'd consider the FB500, the FB400, and the Hammer N4400.

The bandsaw I'm comparing the potential purchase to is the venerable MM16. I realize the N4400 isn't in the same class, and I know the MM16 is a fantastic bandsaw; just wondering how the Felder or Hammer offerings compare. What would I be missing? What would I be gaining? I currently have a Powermatic 14", which I may or may not keep.

Typical bandsaw requirements here: resaw, not-quite-scroll work but curved work, certainly. Ripping odd lumber.

Thanks in advance.

[Jamie Buxton]

The last time I looked into this, the Hammer and Felder bandsaws were being built by ACM. This Italian company builds most of Laguna's bandsaws, and it builds for several other retailers too.

[Bernhard Lampert]

I have a Felder FB640 bandsaw. As pointed out in the other post, ACM builds them for Felder. Felder adds the motor and controls.
I am very happy with the saw: rock solid stable, no vibrations. The saw will rip 8/4 white oak as fast as I can feed it.

Cheers,
Bernhard

[Jim Becker]

You almost can't go wrong with any of these Euro band saws...the company behind them is what you want to be comfortable with as well as the deal you can negotiate.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

When I was buying machines from them I asked my rep about the band-saws. He said not to buy a Hammer or Felder band-saw.

I didn't make him explain.

I'm looking at the MiniMax MM16 class saw.

I prefer the Felder/Hammer line of sliders but I don't think any one has a band saw that rivals the MM 16.

[Narayan Nayar]

Cliff, I saw your earlier post which contained that anecdote. Thing is, I do want to know what that means.

Seems to be a defacto conclusion that the MM16 is the best mid-range bandsaw money can buy, and I'm not disputing that. I just want to know what the delta is and from there, make my decision. I've put enough time into my PM14 that I think I have a pretty good idea of what I need, and I know the MM fits that bill. I'm not a professional and [have the luxury] of making some compromises if the price and feature set are compelling enough and needs are still met. If they aren't, well, there's always the MM16 :)

And yeah, I realize that "compromise" here is a relative term. There are people doing much more incredible work, either out of necessity or by choice, than I might ever do on much less functional equipment. That never ceases to humble me. (sadly, it doesn't do much to temper my gear acquisition syndrome...)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Cliff, I saw your earlier post which contained that anecdote. Thing is, I do want to know what that means.

Too bad I didn't press him then. On the Felder Yahoo list serve (FOG) I made a similar inquiry as are you now. I got a slew of replies that made line by line comparisons some very informed.





Seems to be a defacto conclusion that the MM16 is the best mid-range bandsaw money can buy, and I'm not disputing that. I just want to know what the delta is and from there, make my decision.

Bear in mind that all these saws are re-branded:

Felder and Laguna are made by ACM
Mini-Max is by Centaro
Euroshop is by Agazzani


As to the MM16 Which is the more expensive of the two Mini Max 16” saws (it’s the MM16):


Laguna’s blade brake isn’t as good as the MM16


MM has a high percentage motor and you get most of it at the blade.

MM fence adjustment and rigidity, re-saw height, frame construction, lower vibration, door design) is superior to all the rest in these areas.

MM16 class is known for frame rigidity ('cause it's got thicker steel) which you need to tension a blade properly for re-sawing with wide blades.


MM16’s lower blade guide is closer to the table than Agazzani’s and Laguna’s


MM has real customer service where as Laguna has voice mail

[Narayan Nayar]

Thanks Cliff, I'll go hunt down that FOG posting. I thought I had looked there too. Seems to be a lot of N6600 users elsewhere in the world; on some lists it was as prevalent as the MM16 is here.

I do see a lot of issues with Laguna, but few of them have to do with the saws; more of them have to do with the company. Anyway, like I said, the MM16 is still an option. I'm not swimming in money, so I just want to do the research diligently (which I understand also includes me going to see these things somewhere).

Thanks a bunch for your input. If you see anything else which might help, I'd be happy to have it. :)

[Doug Shepard]

I dont guess I knew Felder & Hammer even made bandsaws but I looked at their site just now. One thiing that jumped out at me right away with the Felders is that the table only tilts from 0-20 degrees. The Hammer goes 0-45. This isnt something likely to matter very often but I have had occasion to do beveled cuts on the MM16, and would find the Felder tilt range to be so limiting as to almost consider it a fixed table saw. Other than that they look like nice machines from what I can tell just reading the specs.