# Can't go wrong with Felder



## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

An impressive looking saw; what would one sell for new?


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

About 16k right now


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## djwong (Aug 2, 2009)

Dustin, 
It looks like your slider is sitting in a rather confined space. Are you able to use the full length of the slider? I would love one, but have been afraid that it would be too large in my small 2 car garage.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

It does sit in a rather small shop. I have approximately 18 feet which turned out to be perfect. I literally have about 1 inch to spare but I can use the entire span of the slide. However it's only 12 ft wide so I can only use 84 inches of the outrigger, but with what I do it works very nicely.

I think any size slider is going to make using a table saw so much easier but when it comes to spending that much money on a saw I definitely say get the biggest one you can fit in your area.

It also makes sense to get a used Felder for the price of a new Grizzly any day.


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## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks for the review. I doubt I will ever be able to afford such an impressive saw, but it would be nice to have.


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## vikingcape (Jan 3, 2013)

Well I officially have major table saw envy. Sigh…..... That is one amazing machine!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

That's very impressive ,thanks for the review. I guess the thing that makes me scratch my head is paying $16K for a table saw that makes it kinda hard to rip on(because that's 90% of what I do on my table saw),unless your a cabinet maker then I can see how this puppy when really increase you out put.


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## Béla (Feb 12, 2013)

Certainly an impressive machine and an incredible buy! I think most of us would love to have a space large enough and pockets deep enough to have one for just for cutting sheet goods and other really big stuff. Undoubtedly a wise investment for a pro cabinetmaker. But, like a1Jim, my table saw is mostly used for ripping and joinery which are the strong points of our non-sliders. And I'm both space and dollar challenged.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

Nice saw Dustin. I have a 2004 7.5 HP KF700Sp with the X-Roll slider and recently picked up a full Combo Felder with a rare 4' slider. I split the jointer/planer section from the saw/shaper in order for them to be more user friendly. The 4' slider makes the tablesaw perform more like a standard one. These are great tools.

Jim, the slider allows one to clamp boards to it and just push the slider for ripping operations. They are very fast and accurate. I have a parallel/taper jig for the slider that is easy to use. A sliding saw is extremely versatile and is much safer than a conventional saw.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

That's a good way to go John. I still haven't found anything that slows down my 5.5 hp so I can't imagine what the 7.5 hp would be like!

I was thinking about getting a bigger conventional table saw and just sticking a power feeder on it for ripping but my Felder still does a better job on the cut than any conventional saw I've used. I'm going to look for another Felder with a shorter slider to use for a rip saw maybe, otherwise I'm pretty good with what I've got.

If someone has been using just conventional table saws then even a ten year old slider is going to blow their minds on capability and ease of use. I've seen some tiny sliders go for as little as 3k. That's something to jump on.

If I had to chose a workshop with a brand new 4k Powermatic table saw or an old tiny used Felder slider for 4k I would take the Felder without hesitation. Even if all I was doing was ripping even though it might be a little slower.


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## Routerisstillmyname (Oct 16, 2008)

This is in a home garage ?


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

This is another shop I built just for the saw. It's 12×18 or so, nothing fancy.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

Well, I have been trying to refrain from posting, but the thread keeps coming up. It does depend on your personal experience, I went with Felder and it was the worst purchasing experience of my life. Let me put it this way, here in Mexico (which is not know for outstanding CS) I rate Felder as the worst company I have ever dealt with. Granted I bought a Hammer Jointer/planer and a bandsaw, not a slider, but now that I am looking for one, I am going with Minimax or Altendorf, I would quit woodworking before I gave Felder any more money….so here is to hoping CS is better in the US and that your slider never breaks down.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

I am a big fan of Altendorf, Martin, and of course Felder. But I didn't buy from Felder, I bout a used saw soooo who knows. I don't recommend buying new though anyway. And I have heard that people have had a tough time with Felder before, not many, but it's there. I think it's true that 10% of consumers will have a problem with the product.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Sliders are a different breed of saw, and they take a different approach than what we (Americans) are accustomed to. From my view, the Slider is a much more safe design, regardless of whether you're working with dimensional lumber or panels - the saw does the work; and is engineered to do so.

Customer service tends to be person-specific; that is, whomever you deal with at the company (or call-center) is our view of that Company's whole Customer Service function - having created and managed call centers in India, the Phillippines, and the US, I can tell you they're a nightmare to hire good people, train them, keep the good people, and manage user expectations. That being said, Felder seems a bit Germanic in their approach to customer interactions - also, one person does not a customer service function make! If someone's customer service is being poorly represented then it's our responsibility to kick-it-up-the-ladder, until you find someone who thinks like a consumer - maybe getting the rotten ones fired in the process (which should happen, anyway). I kjnow as the manager of a CS function, I wanted to know who was poorly representing my company

MJCD


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

As a follow-up comment, my interactions with Felder - Delaware have been excellent; and I look forward to buying additional Felder equipment - the K500 Slider and AD531 J/P are on my 2013 list.

MJCD


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

also, one person does not a customer service function make!

You know what they say about making assumptions. I did not deal with just one person, I dealt with 5 people up to the general manager. In fact I rarely deal with the first person to answer the phone, I have learnt to bring problems to the people who can solve them, which rarely is the person answering the phone initially.

If you are glad with Felder, good for you, but please do not assume that the rest of the people who have had bad experiences with them are stupid and that we color the company with the same brush because of one person. I had to threaten legal action to have my machines working somewhat properly, not even close to what they show in their videos.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

Jorge, I don't think that's what MJCD was saying. He's merely stating some basic truths about customer service and how sometimes peoples opinions are affected. However it's hard not to assume anything about your story because you really didn't say much about your experience.

My KF700SP is one amazing machine, and it does more than I expected from watching videos on it on youtube. So obviously our experience is different already. And it looks like MJCD's experience is too. But let's keep this a positive forum about the product in question, and not the customer service or other products by Felder 

If I were to have written a review about a Makita drill, and you had a problem with Makita customer service when you had problems with your contractor saw, I don't believe that it's all that relevant. So please be specific and relevant.


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## levan (Mar 30, 2010)

I agree sliders are great. Although I have never used a felder, only altendorfs the amount of work they save is amazing. You comented that is is more difficult to rip solid wood on a slider, I never had any problems with that. Our saws are used to cut 80% hardwoods. It did take some time to get use to.
I'm wondering if you use the saw to straight line rip, which I always found to save on handling time, not having to go to the jointer. When making lots of rips we have the saws set up for mounting a powerfeed , works great. Enjoy your saw, The acurracy takes so much work out of work.
Best wishes


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

He's merely stating some basic truths about customer service and how sometimes peoples opinions are affected.

This is why I try not to make blanket statements. If you ever worked in the service industry (and I don't mean McDonalds) you know that everybody can have a bad day, or that sometimes things are overlooked. The measure of a good company is how they treated you after they made a mistake. It insults my intelligence when someone posts or implies that my "view" of a company is based on only interacting with one CS rep, I did not buy a hand held router I bought two machines that together totaled $6000, I expected better from Felder and my view was not based on the first interaction I had with the guy who answered the phone the first time.

This is why I did not want to post in your thread, my problem was with the Hammer units and not a slider specifically. But since this is an international forum, and there are a lot of Spanish speaking people (and many from Mexico) I thought it was appropriate to post that not all was good with Felder *in Mexico*. That in fact supposedly new machines arrive not working and that the CS sucked.

How can you keep a thread "positive" about a machine? The gizmo either works or it does not, if it does not, how was the CS? A great part of choosing and buying a machine is based on the support you will get if things do not work. Another reason I did not post my experience is because I did not want to derail your thread with a two page long story about my nightmare with Felder, if anybody wants to know it, PM me and I will be glad to respond, but it is not something I thought it was appropriate for this thread.

Let me give you a small taste of what I went through.

My machines were supposed to be delivered on a Wednesday, they called me and set up the date of delivery. On the day of delivery I called them first thing in the morning and asked them, "are you still delivering the machines today?" The responded yes, that the truck was already loaded and on its way. I had told them(since they did not have a bob tail truck) that I was going to hire a rental fork lift and people to help unload the machines. So I needed to be sure they would show up. They assured me the truck was on its way.

1 pm rolls over, no truck. I called them and asked them what happened. Now they tell me that they had a delay because of inventory. I said, you told me the truck was on its way. He demurred told me some BS but swore to me the truck was really on its way this time…..

4 pm, no truck, 7 pm no truck, I call, no answer, they have all gone home. 8 pm, the truck rolls in. No apology, no explanation, nothing. Since I had paid all the people to unload and I was already stuck with the rental fee for another day for the fork lift I let them unload. Now, when I purchased my machines I told them I wanted them installed and ready to work. The informed me they came without a plug and cable, so I said I will pay extra for the plugs and cable but that they make sure they were delivered with the machines to have them connected and working.

The machines are unloaded and the tech tells me they do not have cable. I said, wait I paid for it and I want these machines running NOW! or you load the machines back up and leave here. As you might guess I was not in a good mood anymore. So they go back to their truck, get a piece of cable from another machine they were delivering and proceed to connect the machines. Very unprofessional connection, wires hanging out from the junction box, etc. Once connected they turn them on, and tell me…we are done, we are leaving. I said, no you are not, you need to make sure the jointer/planer is working as it should. Here is a piece of wood I want it perfectly square. After you are done with that I want you to re saw it. Well, the jointer fence would not lock, the bandsaw had the tilt lever broken and would not tilt the table. 12 am rolls around and these guys were still working and could not make the machines work. So I told them to get the hell out of my building and to send someone who knew what they were doing with spare parts.

Two weeks go by, no tech from Felder. By now I am e mailing the general manager as he would not pick up the phone. His last e mail to me before I kicked things up to Felder in Austria was : "well the tech does not want to go to your business because you treated him badly" I responded, really? So the tail wags the dog in your company, you do what the tech tells you?

From here things got progressively worse, and I will not bore you with the details, but as you can see my opinion of Felder is not based on one phone call and dealing with one guy.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Jorge:

I didn't call anyone STUPID - don't ever put words in my mouth. If you have a ranting problem - take it elsewhere.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

I didn't call anyone STUPID

No, you did not spell it out, but blaming the customer for bad CS because it is "really hard to find good ones" is a poor excuse. I am not ranting, I am posting that your post about CS would only apply to a neurotic teenager who demands instant gratification, the rest of us most of the time have good reason for posting bad experiences.

BTW I will post wherever the hell I want, you have no say in the matter….get it!


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Again, I didn't say what you're implying - no one is stopping you from posting whatever you want; no one is asking you to stop posting anything you want; and I never said that I had a say in the matter - Yes, I get it - a did along time ago.

From the way you are interpreting things, you may want to revisit the 'neurotic teenager' comment.


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## JGM0658 (Aug 16, 2011)

From the way you are interpreting things, you may want to revisit the 'neurotic teenager' comment.

I guess you could not stop and let it go, you had to throw last zinger huh? I really take these things from whom they come…for example..

Customer service tends to be person-specific;

No ******************** Sherlock, did you think we thought it was a consensus experience? real insightful.You are probably a business management major who knows little about not making assumptions. So I am done with this.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

To the other posters - my apologies.

MJCD


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

Jorge,

I think I'm seeing why you had problems with Felder.

If I had to deal with you I would have run you through a nightmare before actually helping you.

Thank you for posting you all.


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## Delta356 (Aug 2, 2010)

WOW…. That is one big A$$$ saw….. I know cabinet makers love these types of saw's… I notice you have a 3Hp Shop Fox dust collector. How do you like it ? Thanks for the review and for sharing with us.

Take Care, Michael Frey
Portland, OR

FREY WOODWORKING INC.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

Delta356
I have two Shop Fox 3hp Shop Fox dust collectors. I like them over the Grizzly because they have the cloth bags on the bottom instead of the plastic bags. It's just easier. They are great but if you do a lot of sanding you'll want to get a hanging air filtration system too. 
It's more than twice what I needed for that saw really, but I want to expand so it's all good.


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## MJCD (Nov 28, 2011)

Dustin:

Any thoughts on going to a HEPA filter, or some type of separator (Oneida, Thein, ...) - pre-filter? I found the Wynn Environmental HEPA to capture virtually all of the fines (0.5 microns vs. 5.0), with the pre-filter separator keeping the majority of the dust pre-filter. Just a thought.
MJCD


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## mbs (May 8, 2010)

I installed a CF741 in my shop last fall but haven't had a chance to do much but set it up.

Are you Felder users using any hold down clamps? I have a pair of the manual clamps and so far they're a pain to use. I may make some pneumatic clamps if I like using the machine a lot.

There is a yahoo website called "Felder Owners Group" that is very informative. The website isn't user friendly the the information is great.


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## Dustin (Dec 14, 2008)

I need to look into some hold down clamps, I've never used one before. That information would be very helpful. I don't really use the shaper on my KF 700 Sp but I will later this year.


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## oldworld124 (Mar 2, 2008)

I made a hold down clamp from a Minimax clamp and a Felder clamp. The clamp works like a dream. Never liked the Felder clamps. Pneumatics are the way to go.


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## WelshRabbet (Nov 15, 2009)

I've been seriously considering upgrading from my 30-year old Delta Unisaw to a Felder 700 series slider-or perhaps go whole hog and get a Felder 700 series combo machine. I've been tracking listings for used Felders, and now and then I see what looks like might be a good deal. My concern is moving one of these behemoths. How is it done safely-but inexpensively? I am presuming that my reasonable market zone for a good but used machine is up to a 500 mi radius from Raleigh, NC. So, assuming if and when I've found one, how should I move it across perhaps as many as 5 states without damage to get it home and in my shop? I'm guessing most rent a box truck with a large, beefy lift gate and bring along an equally beefy friend or two. As a woman, I'm sort of useless in that department. How do you folks who have bought something big and heavy manage it? Or should I just bite the bullet and spend the bucks to get a shiny new one from my Felder rep and have it shipped directly to me? (I do have a forklift on my compact tractor, but it can only do 1,000 lbs.)


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## loyalnine (Dec 30, 2016)

Dustin, it's been over six years since this post. I'm looking at buying a new KF700 Pro S in about 18 months and would love to read an update on yours.


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## mmlaing (May 6, 2009)

I have had my CF 741P for 15 years it is a solid quality machine.

Mike


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