Felder 24" bandsaw - newly acquired

[Jonathan Jung]

Yesterday I picked up this Felder FB 640 for $1800. Came with mobility wheels and 3 Lenox Woodmaster carbide blades. Runs really nicely, is 5.5kw 3-phase, made in 2002, is quite clean, was not used much by the 1 previous owner. He didn't believe in dust collection, there was 3-4" of dust sitting on top alone. Electronics appear italian so I assume it's made in Italy and not Austria. Look forward to putting it in service and selling the Grizzly 17" which was a good saw for the money. The thing I'm most looking forward to is the power and the brake. When looking at the machine before purchase, I showed my wife how the brake works and she was instantly sold. Funny that. I think I did ok on this saw and it should serve my shop for a long time. I welcome feedback on the machine and purchase, and advice for setting it up, are the existing guides going to be easy to use, etc.

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[Justin Rapp]

nice find.... That thing is a beast.

[Bruce Page]

I think you did OK too. That is a sweet deal. Do you have 3-phase?
A lot of people love the Euro-Style blade guides. I didn’t care for them and installed Carter guides on my MM16

[Greg Quenneville]

Excellent score Jonathan. Yes, those saws are Italian made, possibly by Meber back then. There is a long wait for those new, and a hefty price tag too.

I have had two similar saws with euro guides…they were pretty good. My current 24” saw was bought well used without working guides, so I installed Laguna ceramics which I like. Your saw at 7.5 hp should be excellent.

[Tom M King]

Nice find!! After having a 24", I wouldn't want to be without one. I don't keep mine in a woodworking shop because I push it outside to make shingles sometimes. It's the easiest to move machine I have because it's on the largest casters-6".

I have Carter guides on mine, but ran it once for a large resaw without the table or upper guides, and it did just fine. I don't think guides make much difference for a 1" blade.

[Albert Lee]

What a find... that thing is a beast. looks like ACM made, rebadged Felder.

[Jonathan Jung]

Thanks everyone. It's 7.5hp? I have 3 phase, a good RPC, which runs a 16" jointer, 37" widebelt, and now this. Good to hear about the guides. I was not familiar with them, as my other machines have either bearing guides or blocks. Are the round discs on this machine meant to spin? If so, the thrust disc doesn't spin very well.

[Randall J Cox]

Very nice saw, nice score. Enjoy. Randy

[Greg Quenneville]

Those guides are meant to spin. They can be serviced, and likely need it given what you mentioned about the prior dust collection scheme (shovel?).

I think the thrust guide runs in a bushing, perhaps retained with a circlip at the back. If it is reluctant to spin you can end up wearing grooves in it when the blade makes contact. Like all guides they are not meant to be in constant contact with the blade.

I always thought that those guides were a counter-intuitive design, but they do work.

Oh…and Albert is correct…that saw was made by ACM.

Joe Calhoun posted about a month ago about APA guides (found in the Panhans safety catalogue) which he finds much better than the standard units.

[Alan Lightstone]

You should love the machine, Jonathan. I have a newer FB710. A total beast, and incredibly solid. Once you sort out the guides, it will do everything you throw at it.

[Mike Wilkins]

Nice find; that is some serious horsepower you got there.
Check Amazon or Barnes and Noble to find some good books on bandsaw set up and usage. I have 2; one by Mark Duginske and one by Lonnie Bird. Very knowledgeable folks.

[Steve Mathews]

Nice find Jonathan! The Felder looks similar to my recently purchased SCMI 24", Model SC600 except the wheels are solid instead of open spoke. The guides are different too.

[Jonathan Jung]

Well, after trying to get the saw ready for work, I'm a fair bit miffed. It's never a good feeling to have to take a grinder to a machine, just so it can do its job.

First off, the table wouldn't tilt to 45 degrees, it stopped at about 41. First issue is, the trunnion bound up on the frame, so I ground away the frame for clearance.

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Next, the reason it wouldn't get to 45deg is because the tightening bolt hit the ends of the slot in the trunnion. Again, grind away, and now it works.

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Oh, it also won't go to 15deg in the opposite tilt, like it should. More grinding.

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[Jonathan Jung]

When reattaching the trunnion, I noticed the thick washer was bending. Well duh, the bolt is way off center and/or the washer is too small diameter.

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Not sure how to fix this, other than using a larger washer.

[Jonathan Jung]

Next up, the table isn't flat across the blade access slit. The response I got from Felder is that the table will have to be reground. Maybe I can bridge the slit somehow? I won't be removing the blade except when it needs sharpening, and that's not often.

In addition, the table has some low spots, it's not very flat, certainly much less flat than my SCMI widebelt bed, Sawstop top, or Grizzly planer and jointer beds even.

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