Thread: Anyone upgraded to the Hammer N440?

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The 14 inch band saw machines are best for hobbyist and new woodworking. You have to get the right
blade and you're good to go. Hammer is a decent one .

I have been using my N440 since March 2012. Great machine worth the extra money and the wait to get it. Will last me out and when my son gets it it will probably last him out.
I tend to use it for everything my table saw doesn't get much use these days. Ideal with the right blade for cutting down larger pieces into usable slabs for toy making.
I had a small cheap one and although it did a good job up to a point the N440 does so much more and the blade adjustments extends the life of the blades
DJ

Hi,
I've done a matching upgrade from a 14" cast iron Carbatec bands to a Hammer N4400 bandsaw.
Here were the +ve differences I noticed:
No vibration on the cutting table, easier to change blades and set them up, everthing is adjustable so I could set up things like the alignment of the cutting table to the blade and ripping guide to be correct, setting remain the same for lots of repeated cuts, motor is very powerful, I enjoy using it as I can get good accurate cuts.
Here were the -ve differences:
Powerful electric motor means special heavyduty wiring needed to workshop and heavyduty plugs and power cords (It does not come with a power cord) which added $200+ to cost.
Bottom blade guide can be difficult to adjust (I had to drill a hole to make adjustments easy); I sometimes find the table too small;dust outlet is 125mm instead of 100mm; slot in cutting table is a non-standard width and depth so standard guides do not fit.
I believer Felder outsource the manufacture of the bandsaw body to an external firm so you may get a "Monday/Friday" lemon, e.g. on mine the mounting bracket for the cutting table is not parallel to the main body so I had to adjust my bottom wheel to be at around 15degrees to keep the blade in line with the table slot. Don't buy one without a visual inspection and insist on getting the bandsaw that you inspected. This only seemed to be a problem back in 2009 where I suspect Felder had shifted from one supply firm to another. They have hopefully moved back to their original good supply firm since then.

You should consider the JET bandsaws as well if you can get to inspect them. In retrospect, I'd go for the 16inch JET as its more appropriate to my woodworking tasks.
Regards
Paul