Hammer Time!

[Eiji Fuller]

I dont know what you guys are talking about. Yes the knives sit on posts but the posts are on the gibs. The knife+gib can be shifted freely. I have replaced the knives as the got knicked up on both sides. I need to be more careful about inspecting my rough lumber before milling away.

[Narayan Nayar]

Ah, you're totally right, Eiji, you can shift the gibs left and right then lock them down. I don't remember how much you can shift them off the top of my head--enough to offset a small nick, anyway.

Don, if you ever get around to doing this, just know that they put some locktite or something on the hex bolts which lock the gibs down (maybe for shipping) and you have to really crank on that little t-handled allen wrench to loosen some of them the first time.

[Rod Sheridan]

OK - pardon the disco reference. Just wanted to let you know I replaced my Dewalt 733 planer and Jet 6 inch jointer with a Hammer A3 31 Jointer/Planer.

Initial experience has been positive with a few caveats, which I'll describe below. Where applicable I'lll compare the experience to my experience buying and setting up my SawStop, which was a similarly priced piece of equipment.

First the positives:

1. Received in great shape with no damage, delivery service was exceptional. He helped me unpack the crate and brought it back to my backyard shop.

2. Jointing is fantastic. I don't know if my jointing problems on the Jet were technique or if it was the equipment, but I never felt like I was getting a consistent flat edge. I had perfect results with the Hammer on the first pass.

3. Planing is great, with no snipe even on 10 inch pieces. I liked my DeWalt, but shorter pieces ended up with snipe. Haven't seen it in the Hammer.

4. Fergus (the sales rep in Sacramento) was very good and kept me up to date on shipment and delivery dates. Better than the sales experience I had with SawStop.

Now, some disappointments:

1. For over $200, the wheel kit is poor. It would have been "clever" for $50, for $220 it is a joke. SawStop has perfected the cart for heavy equipment (hydraulic jack to raise equipment while moving and then lowers tool on original legs - everyone else should just license this design).

2. Manual is poorly edited and has a heavy european slant on things that can be confusing. For example, what we call "jointing" they call "planing" and what we call "planing" they call "thicknessing". The part labels in schematics are still in german. It isn't terrible, but if you're going to charge $4000 for a tool you should translate the manual completely.

3. I prefer a polished metal jointer and planer beds instead of a "brushed" metal surface that was hard to clean up after shipping. However, I'm getting used to it and it isn't that big a deal.

Overall, I'm happy with the unit and would buy it again. However, when compared to the SawStop I don't feel I got the same value.

Anyway, if you have specific questions about the system let me know.

Roger

Hi Roger;

1) I built this base for mine....http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=88687

2) The terminology issue does need correcting, however in my opinion it's the North American terminology that needs correcting. When you use a hand plane to establish a plane on the workpiece, you're planing. Just like the hand tool plane, a machine that does the same task would be a planer.

A thicknesser would make the workpiece the same thickness, what we call a planer cannot establish a plane on a work piece.

I agree that the parts designations need to be in the language of the country they're used in.

3) I like the surface finish on the tables, don't find it any different to use than the only other planer (jointer) I owned, an 8" General.

I'm curious as to the value comment, I sold two pieces of General equipment and replaced them with the Hammer. The Hammer is far less expensive than the 8" jointer and 14" planer combined (almost half price).

Planer performance is superior to the General, jointer the same, so I think it was excellent value. I certainly couldn't purchase any other good 12" jointer for that kind of money.

I put the metric handwheel on my planer and think it's fantastic, very accurate and repeatable.


Hope you enjoy your new machine.......Rod.

[Jamie Buxton]

I dont know what you guys are talking about. Yes the knives sit on posts but the posts are on the gibs. The knife+gib can be shifted freely. I have replaced the knives as the got knicked up on both sides. I need to be more careful about inspecting my rough lumber before milling away.

That's a good change from my older A3-31. The posts in mine are in the cutter block, so the blade can't be shifted.

In mine, the posts are what sets the knife height. In yours, if the posts are in the gib, what sets the height of the gib?

[Narayan Nayar]

In yours, if the posts are in the gib, what sets the height of the gib?

Three set screws at the bottom of the gib which rest along the bottom of the channel in the cutterblock which receives the gib(s).

I'll take some pictures today and post 'em.

[Doug Shepard]

Congratulations.
Now put on yer 80's parachute pants and start making some shavings

[Scot Ferraro]

I agree with the positives everyone has mentioned -- it is one awesome machine and I think it is a great value for the money hand's down. The digital handwheel works very, very well and worth it in my opinion -- it's one of those things that you use and wonder how you ever did without. I use the Zambus casters -- very mobile and you can spin the machine 360 degrees so that you can manuever it into tight locations easily. You do have to drill two holes in the back for the post on each caster and you need to widen the two holes that are already drilled in the front, but aside from that the install is pretty easy. I have one of the Euro-style mobility kits on my Bandsaw and while it works, it is not as nimble and the casters would be a much better option for the same cost or less. In regards to the manual, it is no different than the manuals for my other Euro machines -- they all leave something to be desired. It is good enough to get the machines set up and running and to perform maintenance so I can live with the translation issues.

The cost of the knives is not overly excessive IMHO -- look at what the knives cost on a Dewalt or similar 12 inch machines, which are typically one-sided, and compare it to two uses for each Hammer blade -- it works out to about the same cost per side. However, the blades last much longer on the Hammer. The blades that came with the machine did not last me all that long, but the higher-cost Cobalt blades have done pretty well and have a several hundred board feet on them and I just flipped them over. You can order the machine with a standard head and buy carbide blades as an option and another user (Brad Shipton) just bought a Byrd Shelix head for his (on an earlier post here) so there are other options for knife changes. However, when you factor the added cost to change the head and go with other tooling (carbide), the standard replacement baldes seem like a very cost effective solution as you would need 15+ complete blade changes just to break even with a head swap and standard carbide blades. The Byrd option is much more costly and you are probably looking at 25 -30 complete blade changes to break even on something like this. Of course the type of material you are working with and the amount of tear-out you have might justify one of these alternatives.

[Jeff Willard]

I don't dislike the wheel kit, but here is what you get for $127:

2 four inch plastic wheels (with bearings)
1 steel rod (axel) that runs through pre-drilled holes in the cabinet
4 collars with an allen screw to hold the wheels on the axel
1 metal bracket that bolts on to the cabinet with three bolts and nuts.

All that for $127. It doesn't include the handle to move the unit, which is another $95.

It is the one thing I regret purchasing. I wish my sales rep would have steered me away from it.

Oh well, it does what it is supposed to do. I only need to pull it out from the wall to flip up the jointer beds.

Roger

Don't feel bad. I just bought a baby Laguna bandsaw. The wheel set, er, 'scuse me, "mobility kit", consists of:
Two plastic wheels on a stick(axle).

Two more plastic wheels on a stick(johnson bar).

A bracket for one of the sticks to hook into.

Two bolts to attach bracket.

All for $175.