Bandsaw choices S400P, N4400 or FB510
Guys I'd appreciate some feedback on bandsaws from some owners and people who have to pay Australian prices for machinery, I've just moved from NZ and it is one of a few purchases I've been saving up!
I do this as a hobby, but in the past I've made the mistake of buying machines lacking capability and/or quality and it always ends up more expensive. I haven't had a bandsaw before, but I hope my typical workflow with a bandsaw will be something like making a set of outdoor chairs: Buy a pack of 100 x 50, lets say iron bark, dock to length on the kapex, S4S on a jet combo jointer/planer, resaw to 100 x 20 on the bandsaw with a 25mm? carbide? resaw blade, rip with the resaw blade where necessary (as table saw is pretty rubbish at the moment), change the blade on the bandsaw to a size suitable for curves 10mm? 15mm? and cut long and short curves from templates, drum sand and then assemble.
From this imagined workflow I think I need: Single Phase as I rent and I'm happy to pay for 15 amp circuits but not 3ph. Capability to tension and run at least a 1" resaw blade and down to 1/4" fine curve cutting blade. Capacity to resaw ideally 310mm, but mostly in the range of 100-250mm, lengths up to 2.5m. Speed to change from large resaw to small blade with very little effort as I'm not buying a second bandsaw. Good dust collection using a 3hp extractor with cyclone. The engineer in me demands accuracy from my machines and setup problems take the enjoyment out of my stress relieving hobby.
I've narrowed it down to the N4400 and FB510 from Felder and S400P from iwoodlike (Gabbets).
N4400 ~$3,000?
+ Cheapest. Well liked by a number of forum members. Extension tables (alloy)
- Fiddly adjustment reported of: blade tracking, drift, guide holder, mitre guage, table angle. Single poor dust extraction port. Limited resaw height.
? Capability to reliably tension 1" carbide resaw blades on current generation
S400P $3,900
+ Very solidly built, very well liked by the americans, adjustment, blade changing speed and ease.
- 400mm wheels, however people seem to run 1" carbide resaw blades on them regularly?, No extension table system. Cannot get to melbourne to have a look.
? Dust collection
FB 510 ~$4,200?
+ biggest wheel diameter, cast extension tables available, twin dust extraction ports
- Most expensive
? Does this saw suffer the same fiddly adjustment problems as the N4400?
I haven't confirmed prices or availability.
Thanks in advance for your opinions.
Looking Forward to Your Feedback
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Austin_Turner
I got the FB510 ex-stock for a great price delivered with wheel kit.
Interesting choice, some similar looking designs to the Hammer N4400 so I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the saw.
GR