large bandsaws

[wascallyrabbit]

looking to buy a large bandsaw something like the agazzani b20 or b24, or the new felder fb 600.  all are about 3k or so.  i have been offered the b24 for 3095 new plus shipping, the felder is on special for 2995 plus shipping.  minimax would be considered but there are more than 3k.  felder is now making their own bandsaws in house the n4400 being the first all felder model and the fb600 being the second all felder built.  which one would you get and why.

 

[richard.selwyn]

I don't KNOW for certain as I have never visited the Felder factory, but as I had actually bought the FB 600 before Felder realised that they couldn't sell me one - I need single phase- I was led to believe that all their saws are made in Italy and then finished off in the Felder factory. Nothing wrong with that tho. The 600 is pretty well identical to the ACM saw - which was available for about the same price but slightly different spec from ACM. I WANTED to buy from Felder as I already have two of their machines and was quite disappointed. I have now bought the Aga 24” or N'RA 600 which should arrive within the next week or so. Problem is here (France) that I have had to buy direct from the factory-communicating was fun tho !
I have heard great things of the California Aga dealer on other forums. Some also seem to like the Italian built Lagunas.
When the saw arrives I'll post an update.
Hopefully wiser people here will be able to help more.
Richard

 

[Guy Ashley]

Hi Wascallyrabbit

First of all,  [welcome] to the FOG

I have a joinery shop in the UK and I am only 15 minutes away from my local Felder showroom.

When I set the shop up 3 years ago I visited and looked at Felder and the "budget range" Hammer and to be honest the build quality was about the same. The extra cost seemed to be on the gizmos (digital readout as opposed to looking at a dial)

I have the Hammer N4400 and it has been worked hard and is a great bandsaw. Would buy it again in a heart beat.

 

[ccmviking]

    You really can't go wrong with any of the models mentioned and it may just come down to price, availability, etc.  I own a couple of Felder machines and while I really like them you will wait months for any parts unless for some strange reason they have them in stock (not likely) or you wanna pay air frieght from Austria. 

    I have owned a Luguna B18 herehere and an Aggazani B20 and liked them both.  I currently have the Agazzani and personally like it best but not by a huge amount. 

Laguna - 18" resaw height, ceramic guides are nice, full depth miter slot, Baldor motor, you can probably get them to throw in a $300 resaw king blade which is awesome, Laguna guys have some mixed feedback online but they seem nice enough.

Agazzani -  Dual dust ports and zero blade clearance plate make dust collection better,  20" wheels are easier on your blades (probably slight, but) Independent upper and lower doors, Euro guides that you don't have to lock down with a sep. nut, just set them and leave them alone, clear vue window to tension blade IMO is better than the add on device that Felder and Laguna use, Nicer overall finish than other machines, Jesse and Raul at Eagle tools in L.A.  here are very nice folks and will work hard to make sure you get everything you need and are happy.  They are great Festool dealers as well.  [big grin]  Their e-commerce site has been in the works for quite a while now and still isn't up.  Give them a call and they will email or snail mail you any info you want.

 

[joraft]

Agazzani -  Dual dust ports and zero blade clearance plate make dust collection better,  20" wheels are easier on your blades (probably slight, but) Independent upper and lower doors, Euro guides that you don't have to lock down with a sep. nut, just set them and leave them alone, clear vue window to tension blade IMO is better than the add on device that Felder and Laguna use, Nicer overall finish than other machines, Jesse and Raul at Eagle tools in L.A.  here are very nice folks and will work hard to make sure you get everything you need and are happy.  They are great Festool dealers as well.   [big grin]  Their e-commerce site has been in the works for quite a while now and still isn't up.  Give them a call and they will email or snail mail you any info you want.

I agree on all points, especially about Jesse and Raul. They are great to deal with, know their stuff, and stock just about everything Festool makes.

Here are some shots I took of the Agazzanis on the floor at Eagle Tool. I bought the B24, but for those of you who like to saw planks from large trees, that 24-24 has a resaw capacity of 24".  ;D

           

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[WarnerConstCo.]

I know of 2 36" moaks that are in primo shape for about 1400 bucks each.

That would be way better then a tin box like those others.

 

[wascallyrabbit]

I know of 2 36" moaks that are in primo shape for about 1400 bucks each.

That would be way better then a tin box like those others.

i think that would be great, but i know i don't have 3phase power or the space for one that big.

 

[wascallyrabbit]

thinking aggi b24 but can get the mm20 shipped for about the same cost.  this decision is beginning to make my head hurt.  how much does the weight of a machine matter?  the mm20 is heavier than the b24 by almost 100 lbs.  so thinking its down to b24 or mm20 still have a week or two to figure this out.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

The heavier the better.

 

[tiralie]

The heavier the better.

Because???

Budget not withstanding, is bigger better as well?
Are there any inherit problems with say a 24" over lets say an 18"?
Just wondering...
Tim

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

The heavier the better.

Because???

Budget not withstanding, is bigger better as well?
Are there any inherit problems with say a 24" over lets say an 18"?
Just wondering...
Tim

If you want to re-saw with one, the heavier the better.

 

[wascallyrabbit]

so the thinking would be similar to a milling machine heavier is better.  the more mass you have the more it takes to make it vibrate.  so the more mass you have the better the vibration damping. is that about right.

 

[stvrowe]

I went through the same decision last December and it boiled down to the same two saws.  I ended up going with the Aggazzani B-24 (newer generation about $200 more).  The primary reasons were 1) range of blade widths on the Aggazzani were greater than the Felder and, 2) a bit more resaw height on the Aggazzani.  There are several other differences which may or may not be important to you.  The FB600 table tilts to 20 degrees where the B-24 tilts to 45.  This feature was not important to me as I can count all the times I have used the tilt feature in the last 10 years on one hand (yes - I still have all my fingers ;D)  One thing nice about the Felder is the F-channel on 3 sides of the table which can be used to attach extension tables and other accessories.  I ended up attaching Aigner rails to the Aggazzani and it works just as well.

 

[DavidCBaker]

I just bought the FB 600 and couldn't be happier. Glad to answer specific questions if you have them.

 

[wascallyrabbit]

I just bought the FB 600 and couldn't be happier. Glad to answer specific questions if you have them.

is this your first big saw?  what other bandsaws did you consider? what finally drove you to buy the fb 600 over the others?

 

[DavidCBaker]

Yes, my first one. The other one I strongly considered was the GRIZZLY G0636X. Ultimately I thought the Felder was a better machine, and the nice sales price didn't hurt.

 

[wascallyrabbit]

got to demo a fb 600 nice saw.  since felder is local (150 mi) to me compared to agazzani and minimax i maybe getting the felder.  there is something to have local support.  since all three are italian i would think getting parts for any of them would be time consuming.  still looking to demo a mm or b 24.