Some Felder news

[Derek Cohen]

I visited my local Felder outlet today. I had emailed them a few days ago to enquire whether I could purchase a second blade winder (more in a little while). Con, one of the owners, emailed back to say he would give me one, and then opened the warehouse specially for me Saturday morning (he lives nearby). I love these guys!

Con mentioned a couple of new products, three of which were interesting enough to mention here.

The first is that Felder have their own version of the Sawstop technology, and apparently it is a whole new generation of electronics. It sounds a little similar to the Bosch Reaxx in that the blade drops down, and is not damaged. Just reset. Unfortunately, it is only going to be available at first on the top-of-the-line sliders. I guess we will eventually see it filtering down the lines.

The second item, and one that is of interest to me, is an insert for the T-slot that will effectively extend the length of the slider. It is made of plastic or similar to slide easily. I recall seeing jigs along these lines, but this one will be made specially for the Hammer/Felder models.

The third item was that an aluminium handle is available for the blade angle adjuster with a built in digital protractor (similar to the digital gauge on the thicknesser/planee).

The saw blade winder? Well, owners if the K3 will understand this. The K3 comes with a single winder, which gets swapped between the height and angle settings. K3 owners will likely also identify with my irritation each time one goes to adjust the blade height, as the handle has loosened and needs to be pushed deeper onto the spindle before it can be used. And then it needs to be swapped over to the angle side when the blade is to be tilted. Enough ... I wanted a second winder.

I got it



Each handle is attached now with a set screw (drilled and tapped in a couple of minutes) ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[Greg Parrish]

I’ll be interested to see the protractor. They have them for sale now with the aluminum winder/handle but they are not calibrated for the hammer models. They are for the k700. I bought them for my KF500 and they would t work. Had to return them. Mine apparently has the hammer internals.

[Mike Kees]

Very interesting stuff. So is the digital protractor handle supposed to be really accurate ?

[Derek Cohen]

Very interesting stuff. So is the digital protractor handle supposed to be really accurate ?

Mike, I assume so ... the digital gauge on my A3-31 jointer-thicknesser/planer is super accurate.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

I"m glad to hear about the blade safety feature including that it's non-destructive to the blade. In that manner, false sensor triggers don't cost hundreds of " local monetary units" but the worker has more protection. Folks are less likely to have hands near the blade with a slider for many operations, but accidents still happen. This is a step in the right direction, IMHO.

Good call on getting the second wheel...I can appreciate why you wanted it as it would be maddening to me to have to move a single one around with any frequency at all.

[Derek Cohen]

...
Good call on getting the second wheel...I can appreciate why you wanted it as it would be maddening to me to have to move a single one around with any frequency at all.

Jim, it has been a constant source of wonder - and frustration - why Hammer cheaped out like this. I cannot imagine other similar brands doing this.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

I will speculate that because the wheels don't recess into the machine like the tilt wheel does on my MM Slider, having it removable would be more comfortable for the user when standing next to the slider, rather than behind the saw as with a cabinet saw.

[John Kee]

Interesting development of SS adoption since its general excepted that the tech is waste of time on a larger slider. I can see a better adoption rate in the shorter stroke sliders with a small chassis that some use like a traditional cabinet saw. Another euro saw maker already tried that tech and it crashed and burned. The aluminum handles with the digital angle readout have been available as a separate part in the NA market for years.

[Greg Parrish]

Not calibrated for the hammer machines that I’ve seen. The rate of angle change doesn’t match the same as the felder saws. I had purchased two for my unit and had to return them which was a painful experience. Regardless one that matches the hammer saw and shaper unit would be really handy.

Interesting development of SS adoption since its general excepted that the tech is waste of time on a larger slider. I can see a better adoption rate in the shorter stroke sliders with a small chassis that some use like a traditional cabinet saw. Another euro saw maker already tried that tech and it crashed and burned. The aluminum handles with the digital angle readout have been available as a separate part in the NA market for years.

[John TenEyck]

I thought SawStop had that safety technology locked up with their patents. I wonder how Felder thinks they will be successful where Bosch was not?

John

[John Kee]

Sawstop is now owned by the entity that owns Festool. Could be something with patents because those patents don't apply to Canada and many other countries. Bosch was only not successful in the USA.

[Mark e Kessler]

Sawstop is now owned by the entity that owns Festool. Could be something with patents because those patents don't apply to Canada and many other countries. Bosch was only not successful in the USA.

Patents have to filed in each country that you want protection in, then they have to be maintained which can be very costly.

[Mark e Kessler]

I thought SawStop had that safety technology locked up with their patents. I wonder how Felder thinks they will be successful where Bosch was not?

John

I believe Felders solution will be with electromagnetics which will easily get around SawStops and Bosch's Patents and the disposables that they require.

[Andrew More]

I believe Felders solution will be with electromagnetics which will easily get around SawStops and Bosch's Patents and the disposables that they require.

I believe that Bosch also believed they could get around the SawStop patents, and their approach appears to be different enough from SawStop's to make a good case, from what little I know. Bosch's system used CO2 canisters to propel the blade below the table, while SawStop uses an aluminium break that jams into the blade bringing it to a stop. However the judge thought different, perhaps because of the necessarily similarity in making the determination of initial contact.

[Erik Loza]

Guys, regarding Felder's "Preventive Contact System", they are aware of the possibility of legal challenge in the US market and it's only going to be available on the big Kappa sliding panel saws. At least for the foreseeable future. Whatever the actual mechanism is, that is being a closely guarded secret. They're showing a machine with it at LIGNA next month and we apparently will have one in the booth at IWF next year. Someone on the creek needs to order from me so we can all find out. Here's the official link: https://www.felder-group.com/fg-en/pcs.html

Erik