Thanks to Brendan making a Hammer N4400 bandsaw available to the NSW Woodworkers’ Association during the Timber & Working with Wood show, I had the opportunity to play with it. Brendan had asked us to test it and give him some feedback. As well as the saw, he also loaned us an AF22 dust extractor, which we ran to three machines concurrently.
The first thing you notice about this bandsaw is the attention to detail in its design. Little things like the table pin being attached by a light steel cable, the screw adjustment of the table insert level, the finish and the precision of all the adjustments tell you that this is a machine that has been thought out by someone who has used a bandsaw. All the adjustments are precise and convenient – the blade guides, table tilt, blade alignment – everything is convenient to adjust accurately and lock in position.
The cast iron table is solid and machined to a fine finish, and the fence is mounted on a solid tubular rail. Although the fence is aluminium rather than steel, there was no flex or movement in it. A dust extractor port is at the back of the lower wheel.
When you switch the saw on, it whispers. There was no noticeable vibration or imbalance in the wheels. The switch is conveniently located – no need to bend to switch on or off. The saw tested was fitted with a 5/8” 3TPI blade. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to try out the bi-metal blades, but the saw will take up to 1” blades.
Brendan also supplied some 150mm thick pine, to be used by the WWA to make toys, which were sold to raise funds for the Westmead Childrens’ Hospital, so this was used to test the saw’s cutting power. The pine was pretty resinous, so even though it was nowhere near the capacity of the saw, it should have provided a bit of a challenge. When it was fed into the saw, though, the saw ripped through it like a hot knife through butter.
With or without the fence, the saw cut a dead straight line through the pine, with fine, even tooth marks on both faces. As a test, I cut a veneer that was less than 1mm thick using the fence. There was no noticeable slowing of the motor, and I’m sure that even cutting hardwood to the saw’s full capacity would not overtax it.
I suppose even the best machine could be improved, but it’s hard to work out what on this machine. Perhaps a second dust collector port – there did seem to be quite a bit of sawdust collecting on the table – wouldn’t go astray. Also, the door to the top and bottom wheels is a single unit. I imagine that if you were ham-fisted enough, and attempted to open the top door without undoing the bottom latch, you could damage the door. However, these are minor points, and certainly don’t detract from the quality of the machine.
When Brendan asked if I’d like to try this machine, I told him I wasn’t in the market for a bandsaw. After using this machine, I’m trying to find a reason to need another one.
(Edit) Sorry, should have put in the usual disclaimer - no connection with Felder/Hammer. Brendan was referred to me by another forumite who didn't have time to do the review.
