Felder K500 Sliding Table Size Recommendation

[Joe Hollis]

Hello,

This is my first post. I am considering either a Hammer K3 Winner Comfort, or more likely a Felder K500, since it looks to be a more robust unit and has the better sliding table assembly. I have never used a sliding table saw before. My workshop is a double car garage, and I want to be mindful of my very limited floor/working space. I visited a local showroom and looked at the K3 Winner Comfort, which was equipped with a 78" (approx.) long sliding table. The shop strongly recommends that I do not consider anything shorter, however the largest panel I would ever cut is 5' x 5' Baltic Birch plywood. Even then I could consider a track saw, and cut in outside. I would rather not have to walk around a long protruding sliding table if I never need that capacity. I would appreciate your thoughts on what the shortest recommended sliding table length should be. This is a certainly a once in a lifetime purchase, so I want to make the right decision.

I am sorry for the long post.

Joe Hollis                                 

 

[HowardH]

Welcome to the FOG!  This post will probably get moved to the other tools section.  However, I have a K3 Winner with the 48" slider.  Get the longest slider that will fit in your workshop.  I do very little sheet work with it so if you have a TS series track saw, you could easily break down plywood to a manageable size.  I didn't get the comfort package to due to shop space but it would have been handy in many circumstances.  I wouldn't bother with the Felder 500 series.  It's nothing more than a Hammer (not a bad thing!) with better sliding table.  The guts of the machine is Hammer.  The Hammer sliding table works great and the unit is a few thousand dollars less so you can buy their very expensive accessories.  I recommend getting the fence micro-adjust, the side table and the mobility kit.  You really have to jump up to a 700 series to get the true Felder experience. 

 

[southrider]

I have a K3 Winner 48x48 and love it. Of course after owning it a few years I wish I had a longer slider. I honestly don't think the 78" slider will be much better than the 48 because it still won't do 8'. Having the outrigger though would allow you to do more large crosscutting, small pieces with "Fritz and Frans" jigs, etc. So it depends on what you will be doing.

With the 48x48 what you have is more of a "hybrid" between an American cabinet saw and a true Euro slider.  With no outrigger and the short length you tend to use it more traditionally (that said I would still buy it over a sawstop, powermatic, etc.). I have a larger shop and could accommodate a bigger saw, but still may not. If I was buying from scratch today I would buy a longer table with outrigger, but I have more space than you.

Since I bought it I have purchased a TS55 with 2-55" and 1-75" tracks, an MFT, and have added an MFT topped roll around cabinet as an extension table for long rips. This setup give me the option of breaking down sheets, large crosscuts, and more. I can also straight line boards as long as I need.

Basically I recommend a tracksaw to everyone who cuts wood, and once you have that the table saw becomes a different tool than it was before. It beats a track saw all day long for repeated same size rips, while since I set up my mft properly I rarely put the crosscut fence on my Hammer. For cabinet or furniture I break down 1/8 over on the track saw and then finalize on the Hammer.

 

[egmiii]

I recently went through the purchasing process and ended up with a KF700s (3200mm table). I know not everyone has the space or budget for this type of machine, but I would strongly consider getting the B3 combo if you don't already own a shaper. It's far cheaper and more space efficient to get the capability now and add tooling/accessories later than to add a separate sliding table shaper down the road. If you do end up getting a shorter slider, be sure to buy the outrigger and crosscut fence. This will replace 95% of your miter saw cuts and gives the full euro saw experience. Just my opinion.

 

[lwoirhaye]

It's the long rip fence capacity that will eat up space in your shop.  I have a k500 I've arranged to sell because with a 50" rip fence and the fence on the carriage it's about 9' wide.  I have a lot of other machines and it's just too crowded.

 

[JSlovic]

I've got a K3 and love it.
Unless you're going lots of work with panels I'd stay on the smaller side.
I also agree about watching the width of the rip fence; I got an extra wide one and frankly it just takes up room, especially the guide bar that's about a foot past the extension wing.

I'd also consider the combo shaper, I didn't get one because my shop is on the 2nd floor and I couldn't get up the stairs and thru the door.

 

[Motown]

Hello there and welcome!

I went with the B3 Comfort (K3 w/ a shaper) and love it. That said, its worth thinking about the type of work/builds you are doing as I went with the bigger outrigger but the Comfort model is not large enough to rip a full sheet of ply. It's great for crosscuts. I use my Festool TS55 for ripping.

I am very happy with my Hammer but would probably go with the 48x48 if I had to do it again. Let us know what you decide.