Thread: advice on panel saw

i have a altendorf for sale. it has been in use in a commercially operating joinery shop for 6 years. it is unbelievably accurate and will cut 3mts in a single pass on a sliding bed. digital angle and many accesories. this is the ducks guts of panel saws.

Altendorf F92T
Table saw 3 Phase
Cut 3150 Long
Serviced not long ago
Extra table not included
Cut off bin not included
Duel Bag Dust extractor included
Through cut 1270 to overhead arm
All calibrated and very accurate
Spare blades included
Spare scribe blades included
Angle arm ancillary included
Excellent Condition
$12000 ono

glen

Looks great Glen,

But is way out of our price range and I don't think it will fit in shop. Still I will pass info on to my son and get back to you.

Thanks for prompt response

Rocky

Rocky,
There is a range of price sourcing places you should look at before going to far down the pathway. At this time it is a real buyers market and there is some great bargains out there.

Have a look at the sponsor on this site for Buy,Swap and Sell:
www.machines4u.com.au - Panels saws. That will give you and indicator of the brands available in the price range you want to pay. As a panel saw you should be looking to ensure it has a scribing blade. Does he want tilt? Length of sliding table is subject to your site requirements.

Then have a look at ebay - Business and Industrial- Woodworking -panels saws small and large and various ages. Brands from Minimax to Altendorf.

Then there are the sites like Felder, Ron Mack. Gregories Machinery in there second hand listings.

Research homework like that will give you a good base to determine what you should be looking for in the range you want to pay.

Don't be shy of older second-hand as they can often be excellent saws, but brand plays a part there.
PEN

hi glen, just out of interest, now that you are selling the altendorf, what will you upgrade to next?

thanks, justin.

Pen,

Thanks for the great suggestions they are much appreciated.

Also Glen I have passed on the info to my son. Do you think 7.3 m x 4m is large enough area for the altendorf?

Regards

Rocky

hey justin
i have closed down my joinery business and is just taking room up in a shed with no 3 phase or possibility for 3 phase. i will buy a smaller saw but i don't know how i'll go (especially after owning this saw)

hey rocky
yes that is enough room ....but.... that would be the minimum amount needed. so if this includes room for assembly bench or other toys ... then no.... this saw is a gliding bench table...so you defiantly cant use the bench top to work off.

thanks
glen
ps justin...it is breaking my heart to sell.

Rocky I would seriously consider the altendorf it is a good price, minimax and the like to a proffesional cabinet maker, are little more than toys, they just can't hack it and are not designed to

china

Thanks China,

I appreciate your advice and will talk to my son. I am also concerned with the size as he also needs an edger, compressor and dust extractor and is yet to build benches in the 7.3 x 4m area.

Thanks for all the advice Pen, Glen, and China I will take it all into serious consideration.

China - why do you believe the mini max is a toy as I am looking at a sc4ws 4hp seriously at the moment. Have you heard bad reports on them? Reviews on panel saws are hard to find.


Rocky

SCM are a good saw, however the scribe blade adjusters (leavers behind the tilt wheel) can be a bit of a pain.

Cheers Scott

Originally Posted by rocky00au

Thanks China,
China - why do you believe the mini max is a toy as I am looking at a sc4ws 4hp seriously at the moment. Have you heard bad reports on them? Reviews on panel saws are hard to find.
Rocky

I'm not China, but I'll answer in part.

I'm a trade cabinetmaker but have a 1997 MiniMax 6 in 1 for use at home. The saw bench is good but I had to rebuild the sliding table so that it wouldn't flex under the weight of a panel, the scriber is fiddly and gets knocked out of adjustment easily, etc.

For the jobs at home and the occasional foreign order, the machine's perfect. If I was relying on it to make a living, however.....

I should add that the modern machines have fixed a lot of these problems so they should work a lot better than this one.

The SCM machine you're looking at should be perfectly fine for home use, and would also work in a cabinetmaker's shop. It'd be a wee bit more fiddly than a higher end machine, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with SCM. I've previously worked on an SCM SC2W, which was a good machine but a bit lightweight. The #4 is a much bigger machine.

Cheers,

eddie

Hi Rocky,
I was just wondering whether you might be better to consider a wall saw as 7.4 x 3 metres is pretty tight to fit all those machines. I haven't had any experience with wall saws so may be barking up the wrong tree. The literature from the manufacturers seem to say they are great. but then again all brochures say that don't they. I used to run a very small kitchen workshop out of a 9 x 7.5 metre shed and for me I found that using the services of "Handycut" for cutting and edging worked out well. Once you get a few cabinets assembled space seems to vanish in a workshop. Pricewise it seemed reasonably competetive considering there was not the capital outlay and maintenance of the machines. I did have a festool plunge saw and rails for if I needed to recut a part.
Ben

hi canetoad
i have been in a workshop(a competitors) and they had a wall saw...it was purchased because of space... i asked them about it and the owner said he is unable to get the guys to use it as moving lots of sheets to cut mean you must lift the sheet every time to cut. a panel saw you just spin and drag material so the handling is allot easier. this was in a commercial situation though. we had the mel sheet rack beside the machine...so no one ever lifted a sheet except the first and last. so for oh&s reasons that is easier and faster. yes i gave the wall saw a go and it was very smooth. the stops were very notchy in operation and the saw was noisy as it was in your hand next to you. big panel saws are surprisingly quiet in operation as long as you keep your blades good.

hey rocky
i also have edge bander, dust extractors, big compressor, spindle moulders (yes 2 of them) thicknesser, jointer, bluim hinge drill, and many spares for all of them. about 3k of spindle moulder cutters. yes and all this stuff is of excellent condition. if you want to see what i have then pm me to get email address.
as for the altendorf...yes allot of money... until you get it.. then once you have it...the smile is permanent and it takes ages for the pain in your cheeks to go away..
its a bit like a festool railsaw...once you use one on site...then nothing can be cut until i bring the saw in tomorrow.
good luck
glen

Roocky I think your question about the minimax has been answered, the fact is a panel saw that is a pain to use will just make life hard, you don't need that running a business is hard enough to start with, the altendorf is the rolls royce of saws and will be a pleasure to use. In my exprience wall saws are not as accurate as a proper panel saw/ dimension saw.

Hi Rocky,
Does your son have to fit his benches in that area aswell. If he does i think you will struggle to fit any sort of panel saw in. Maybe I was reading your post wrong but materials storage and finished carcass's do take up a fair bit of space.