Hammer A3-31 Owners, Please Help

[Matt Przybylski]

Hey everyone,
I’ve been contemplating upgrading my setup to the Hammer A3-31 for what seems like 6 months now. I have read and re-read everything I can find about it, watched every YouTube video I saw, and gotten quotes from the reps twice now. Recently there was a “review” of the A3-31 that was posted on LumberJocks, taken down, and re-posted in a total different light which didn’t help any of this. Basically the owner there was complaining about Hammer as a company and trashing them because his tables weren't flat, then after some exchanges that were very public between the owner and Felder (and a third party) and talks with the Felder CEO, a rep finally came out to his house and corrected the issue. He went on to delete that review and posted a new one that painted the company as if he had now been a part of it and was paid to write it. As this would be the biggest tool purchase I’ve ever made (for obvious reasons), I have some questions I wanted to see if I can get answered before making a decision. Here they are and I’d REALLY appreciate it if someone could shed some light on any and/or all of these:

1) If you have this machine, would you buy it again? Is there anything with it that you regret or would like to change?

2) I’m looking at buying the spiral head rather than the straight knives. The Felder rep told me that you can only purchase replacement cutters directly from Felder. Is this really the case? Can I not purchase the Byrd cutters as I’ve read that this is possibly a Byrd head?

3) If you’ve purchased this or other machines from Felder/Hammer, how has your support post-sale been? Did the machine arrive with any issues? If so, how did Felder handle it? I’ve read extremely conflicting reports on their service and I’m at a loss here.

4) Does the Felder Owners Group (the “other” FOG) still exist? I’ve read that it is a Yahoo group but I can’t find it ANYWHERE. I found a “Felder Users Group” but it only had 113 members and the last post was in May. If this FOG exists, how/where do I sign up?

5) I’ve also put the digital hand wheel in the order as well as two extension tables. I figured one on each side as I regularly work with long stock between 6’-8’ long and as I understand it the stock beds are rather short. Is this a good move? Have you possibly made your own infeed/outfeed for it and would not recommend these? Are there other accessories you’d suggest?

6) Is there another machine along the lines of the A3-31 that I should be looking at? I looked at the Jet (not as favorable as this machine in terms of reviews on performance whereas this machine performance wise usually gets very high marks), the Grizzly (not interested due to having to take off the fence), and the MiniMax FS30 (more expensive, can’t find that much info on it, I spoke with a customer once and he was all over the place so I worry that an actual MM rep couldn’t call me to talk it through and they had a customer call me instead, or as he termed it an owner that is now a local rep, whatever that means). My main criteria are a spiral cutterhead, ease of changing over from jointer to planer and vice versa, not having to take the fence off for the changeover, and 12” capacity.

7) How did you make this machine mobile? I have read mixed reviews about the Hammer mobile base and was going to make my own base with machine leveling casters (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/149...ed-4-Pack.aspx). There is a stem variant of this (although not sold by Woodcraft) as well which I understand may also be possible and the machine is already pre-drilled for them. Is this true? If so, how easy is it to install them?

I know I’m asking a LOADED set of questions but considering that I may be spending a down payment for a nice car on this tool I’d really like to make the right choice and not feel bad about it. Again, if you could help me in the decision making process by answering some of these questions I’d be forever grateful.

Lastly, I apologize if you saw this post on another forum but I cross-posted to the forums I frequent most often in hopes of getting the most answers possible from users that may not visit this forum so that I may get more insight and finally make this decision once and for all.

[Ryan Mooney]

1 yes. The main thing I'd prefer would be separates but that's been beaten to death anyway. Do get the digital dial it makes the conversion much less painful because you can repeat cuts on the planner much easier.

2 I understand there is a Byrd third party head, with buying new I don't see the point since the price delta would be bad compared to the Felder silent power. The Felder head is not a Byrd head.

3 good but I haven't rely had any problem either, and I'm just a honorary do probably less demanding than some.

4 yes it's quite active and lots of good info there. You do need to sign up for a yahoo account to access it but once that's done you can use any email address to read it.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...tions/messages

5 smart on ask of the above. I mostly only use the one extension on the planer out feed, the extension for the jointer sounds like a good idea but I ended up putting it on the out feed of my B3 winner instead. Other than that it's a fairly simple device so not sure on other accessories.

6 the mm. It is some where closer to the Felder AD700 lineup I suppose, the hammer does seem to be a bit lighter built (not that it's light, it certainly was a challenge to get off of the pallet anyway ). I've never seen the mm in person but haven't heard really anything bad either. There is an active member on here you should be able to find with a cursory search who is a mm sales Rep and I'm sure would be happy to answer questions if you pm'd him. The hate mail addressed at the jet kinda ruled it out for me and I decided I didn't need to spend the bucks to go more industrial (and there was a sale )

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=Matt Przybylski;2338924][COLOR=#444444][FONT=Tahoma]Hey everyone,
I’ve been contemplating upgrading my setup to the Hammer A3-31 for what seems like 6 months now.

Hi Matt, here are my answers to your questions

If you have this machine, would you buy it again? Is there anything with it that you regret or would like to change? I have bought it again as I gave my first one to my older brother as a thank you for acting as estate executor. The only thing I would like as an option on this is power planer bed adjustment, however I couldn't afford the Felder model,

2) I’m looking at buying the spiral head rather than the straight knives. The Felder rep told me that you can only purchase replacement cutters directly from Felder. Is this really the case? Can I not purchase the Byrd cutters as I’ve read that this is possibly a Byrd head? Yes you can only purchase the replacement cutters from Felder. This is not a Byrd head, it is far more developed. I beilieve it's the only MAN rated carbide head in production. You will not be dissapointed.

3)If you’ve purchased this or other machines from Felder/Hammer, how has your support post-sale been? Did the machine arrive with any issues? If so, how did Felder handle it? I’ve read extremely conflicting reports on their service and I’m at a loss here I have ordered 4 machines from them and have always received exemplary service. Their service has been so far ahead of other vendors that the only comparable company I can think of is Lee Valley.

5)I’ve also put the digital hand wheel in the order as well as two extension tables. I figured one on each side as I regularly work with long stock between 6’-8’ long and as I understand it the stock beds are rather short. Is this a good move? Have you possibly made your own infeed/outfeed for it and would not recommend these? Are there other accessories you’d suggest? I have two table extensions and 3 mounting brackets. One normally stays on the planer outfeed so I don't have to rush around to grab short pieces before they fall on the floor. It's not needed for planing as the machine has zero snipe, not a little, zero. I also have the metric digital height gauge on the machine. I suggest you do likewise as the imperial one is a pain. The machine of course is metric so the metric gauge is 2mm per revolution, so when you put an imperial gauge on it you wind up with a weird number per revolution

6) Is there another machine along the lines of the A3-31 that I should be looking at?[COLOR="#FF0000"]Yes, you certainly should look at MiniMax, they make an excellent machine as well. I'm Canadian and the MM support is terrible here so I dropped them from the vendor list. This may be the opposite of the American experience, I don't know.

7) How did you make this machine mobile? I have read mixed reviews about the Hammer mobile base and was going to make my own base with machine leveling casters The Hammer mobility kit, along with the one for MiniMax works far better than casters, they're the worst choice for machine mobility. The best choice is the semi live skid design using a tow bar. The machine is only a couple of mm off the floor, extremely stable and manoeuvrable. That said, mine is in a hallway so I needed to move it in the opposite plane to the Hammer Kit. I've included a link to the article where I built my mobile base.

4) The FOG is certainly still around, I'm a member. I'll see if I can find how to join up and let you know. You apply for membership, and then they accept you.

I would certainly buy another quality jointer/planer again. I went from General (not General International) machinery to the Hammer and the increase in capacity with the reduction in space usage was terrific.....Regards, Rod.

P.S. Link to mobile base

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...31+mobile+base

[Clint Baxter]

I received mine earlier this year but have not had much time to use it. I am happy with its performance so far. I did get it with the silent power head and definitely believe that is the way to go. I got mine with the optional slot mortiser, but that is something you'd have to make your own decision as to its value. I have not used mine yet. I did have one issue with an incorrect adjusting bolt with my slot mortiser, but when I identified the issue to their customer support, got it resolved and a new part was sent to me. It took about three weeks to get the correct part, but as I mentioned earlier, did not need to have it for use.

I know what you mean about the investment, but believe the item is worth the cost and would do it over again knowing what I do now.

Good luck on your decision

Clint

[Joe Samorodin]

1. I have the machine and would certainly buy another but I would get the spiral head on the next purchase

2. Byrd has a head and I might replace the head but time and money never seem to coincide

3. support is great from Ultimate Tools in Burnaby BC an hour away from my location but they will always return calls and update me if there are things that I am interested in

4. Don't know the status of FOG

5. I have at times needed extensions but have worked around not having them. I don't do a lot of long stock but am considering getting them as they are relatively cheap as I do a lot of custom pieces its just not high on the priority list. But having a wide bed makes up for the short length. If I was to regularly do wide pieces though a wide planer would be a must

6. Minimax is not well represented in western Canada, I have seen the Ricoh and it doesn't compare not having to take off the fence is a real selling feature

7. My machine is not mobile but there are options that are available depending on circumstances

A couple of thoughts though the scale that is stock is fine for my purposes I prefer a good set of calipers for reading thickness but I would really like to have a high torque electric motor for raising and lowering the bed which I do have in the works and really is not all that difficult to add think cnc machine steeper motors. The decoupling lever for the planer feed is a complete after thought and badly designed, why anyone would think that was an appropriate solution needs to give their head a shake but this is so expected in european
tool design there is always an element that seems quickly done,badly thought out and stubbornly sustained in the design. The Felder ones have the same lever. Also a note about the standard straight knives, they can be honed again and in my experience are better the second time around, but only once. I have had my unit for 2 years or so and use it regularly and its my living but have only bought a second set of knives.

[Mark Carlson]

1) I'd buy it again. I bought mine right before the new models came out and the newer ones are even better. Silent power head, better fence mount and the tables go up together.
2) I bought the byrd head and love it. I'd get the silent power cutter head in a heart beat.
3) 1st Hammer machine. Experience was really good but I havn't had any issues to test them. They did call to ask if everything was ok with my purchase.
4) Not sure
5) The digital hand gauge is awesome. I bought one extension for the planer outfeed so boards have a place to go until I get around to pick them up. Jointer tables are plenty long enough for what I do.
6)I considered minimax but wanted a factory installed byrd head. Minimax didn't offer that.
7) Leveling casters attach really easily (get the ones with stems). Lets you level the machine and keep it rock steady. Two holes already done, but you will need to drill the two others. Took me about 30 minutes to get it mobile with a car jack. If I remember correctly it was hard to reach one of the stem nuts but I managed. Maybe it took an hour.

~mark

[Matt Przybylski]

Thank you everyone for the replies, REALLY appreciate it.

@Rod, any chance you could take a picture for me of where the extensions mount? I was hoping to see the hole pattern on the machine that the mounting bracket mounts to so that I can see what that setup is like and if I should invest in the bracket/extensions or just consider making my own. These brackets/extensions really add up fast when you start adding 2+.

@Mark, which leveling casters did you purchase and where did you source them? You installed them directly to the machine? Would you mind sharing a picture of your setup as well?

@Erik, going to read it now, thank you.

Again, thanks alot, this is really helping me out tremendously.

[Rod Sheridan]

Thank you everyone for the replies, REALLY appreciate it.

@Rod, any chance you could take a picture for me of where the extensions mount? I was hoping to see the hole pattern on the machine that the mounting bracket mounts to so that I can see what that setup is like and if I should invest in the bracket/extensions or just consider making my own. These brackets/extensions really add up fast when you start adding 2+.

.

Matt, i would gladly do that, however you'll have to wait for the weekend as I'm working in Calgary this week.

I would just buy them, I agonised over it like you are, then I bought 2 tables and 3 brackets, then bought another bracket for another machine, they're extremely useful to add to other machines such as saws, shapers, bandsaws.

When you need them, they're there, then you unclip them and hand them back up on wall where they're not in the way..............Rod.

[Matt Przybylski]

Thank you Rod, your help is really making my decision easier. And you're right, I am agonizing over them just like this purchase in general :\

[Mark Carlson]

I buy my footmaster casters now from amazon. I really like the ratcheting versions but they cost more but worth it if you are moving your equipment a lot.. I dont use mobile bases anymore. Casters do raise the equipment but I'm tall and my back likes the machines a little higher. Not sure you can make it out in the picture but I bought two brackets, one on the planer outfeed and one on the jointer infeed. The extension lives on the planer outfeed. I can move it to the jointer infeed but never have.

IMG_0285.jpgIMG_0288 (1).jpg

Thank you everyone for the replies, REALLY appreciate it.

@Rod, any chance you could take a picture for me of where the extensions mount? I was hoping to see the hole pattern on the machine that the mounting bracket mounts to so that I can see what that setup is like and if I should invest in the bracket/extensions or just consider making my own. These brackets/extensions really add up fast when you start adding 2+.

@Mark, which leveling casters did you purchase and where did you source them? You installed them directly to the machine? Would you mind sharing a picture of your setup as well?

@Erik, going to read it now, thank you.

Again, thanks alot, this is really helping me out tremendously.

[Tyler Keniston]

Hi there.
I have the A3-31. My experience is a little different than the prevailing opinion on this thread.

I had some troubles with table flatness and adjustments. There was a big hump on the infeed right before the cutter head, supposedly within spec, but affecting the cut. (I know outfeed affects cut more, but with a wide pre-flattened board, the infeed can affect certain cuts, taking more off one side. Thus can affect things like taper jointer cuts) Also my infeed table needs to be 'racked' into contact with the mount bolts despite being told a few times that they should contact at the same time. I had some sour interactions with the service department that made this all the more difficult to deal with (I'm a U.S. customer I should note). There was some condescending tones, some misinformation, some contradictory information, and ultimately, a real lack of information concerning fine adjustments.

For more info on this, look to this thread i started: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ide-adjustment

Now with all that said, I still wouldn't say you should not get this machine. Just know that if you are a perfectionist, this machine might not live up to the expectations. And also if you need service help it might be a little rough. But in the end, I believe it will work for 90% of what I need done in a mostly satisfactory way. Things cost more than I'd like eh.

Straight knives change easy if you end up with em. I've done 8' stock with rollers (no extensions) fine, but if you could afford them probably would be nice. I might try to make a torsion box homemade extension. Oh and the only other thing that seems a but sub par is the fence. Perhaps I have simply not figured out its kinks yet (any advice would be welcome) but it moves out of 90 depending on where the mount is in relation to the table. Seems a bit finicky and not super reliable. But if you continually check with a square and don't push to hard on it, its sufficient. Best of luck in your decision.

Ty

[James Bilsky]

Hello

I have the A3-31 with the spiral cut head option & mobility kit, below are my answers to some of your questions.

#1 - Yes i would purchase again, if a power height adjustments was available on the Hammer JP I would certainly purchase the option, currently is only offered on the Felder line.
#2 - I have the Spiral Cutter head, guessing it will be a very long time before i need to replace the cutters, since each cutter has 4 cutting edges. Might need to purchase Hammer cutters - possibly a unique design for the Silent Power line.
#3 I purchase 4 Machine from Hammer, A3 31, N4400, AF14 & K3 Winner 48x48 - have had good service, no issues - Mobility kit on all machines.
#4 - Wasnt aware of a Felder forum
#5 - The Digital Indicator is on my list of accessories to purchase, concerning the out feed table don't have yet, although i frequently mill lumber 6>8' lengths have had no issues with snipe at all, to me I think a lot of thought went into the design to prevent snipe issues.
#7 - Use mobility kit designed for the A3-31, machine stay mostly stationary, move it for cleaning etc.

Final comments the A3-31 is well worth the investment, cuts very nice with Silent Power head, lots of power, very quiet compared to a regular joiner/planer and much reduced volume of shavings compared to regular planing knives. Switching between the modes Jointing / Planing had become tedious when I first purchase the machine (poor planning & sequencing), but after awhile you learn how to plan & sequence your jobs to greatly reduce the amount of changeovers.

Hope this helps!
Jim

[Scott Brihn]

I took delivery of my A3-31 with a silent cutter head in July 2013. It has performed as expected. I recommend the native "silent" cutter head. The noise reduction sold me more than the cut quality. I needed more maneuverability than the overpriced Hammer mobility kit provides and made mine mobile using Foot Master caster/levelers. Much to my surprise I needed to drill all four holes. A real pain without a jack/lift. Fortunately I had four guys helping me. The Foot Master caster/levelers are terrific on the click together laminate shop floor.

My experience with the Felder/Hammer sales/support model is mixed. I have experienced inconsistency on both fronts. Inconsistencies in the sales process contributed to me going in a different direction when I replaced my table saw last month.

I purchased one extension and use it primarily on the planer out feed. I also have the digital hand wheel and find it useful.

My unit arrived via lift gate in good shape. Other than the fence stops, the machine required no adjustments. The star knob on the euro guard adjustment arm broke the first week of ownership.

[Ted Calver]

I posted my experience on the older thread Tyler mentioned. If buying again I would save a bit more and go for the 16" version with the spiral head. The footmaster casters came from Great Lakes Caster and using a "CM" promotion code might save you some money.

DSC05125.jpg

[Susumu Mori]

1) Yes, definitely. Using about 3 months now. I got a mobile kit, a digital wheel, one extension table, and a spiral cutter. No regret and don't have anything I feel missing. All options are very useful.
2) My understanding is the spiral cutter is designed by Felder. Not sure Byrd fits or it is better. The spiral cutter cuts very smooth and very quiet. Very nice.
3) I had no problem whatsoever with A331. So, had no chance for post-purchase service. However, I bought a FB510 together with the A331, which had some strange noise from the motor. I was not sure if that was really a problem but a tech came and replaced the motor and the entire electric circuits for no cost. They have been very responsive and helpful. They also delivered the A331 and FB510 all the way to my basement too. Maybe I was lucky because I live close to New Castle. Anyway, the service has been just impressive.
4) Don't know.
5) I don't know how it can do it with such a short bed, but there is no noticeable snipe at all. I use an extension table only for the outfeed. I think infeed is not necessary because you hold the piece. The outfeed table is helpful because you don't have to rush from the infeed to outfeed side. Outfeed table is to keep the piece from falling. Not to prevent a snipe.
6) MiniMax is the only one I looked at. The spiral cutter and the Euro-style guide of A331 were big points, but after all, the fact I live near New Castle was the biggest reason. I think you can't go wrong with MiniMax, which seems a tad more sturdier.
7) I bought the mobile kit option. I believe these machines don't move very often anyway. You most likely put is against a wall and it stays there. So, I think it is not a bit deal. I don't have any complaints with the mobile kit.

Finally, I agree that the fence of the A331 can be better. You need some learning curve to use this fence. There is a room for a wobble that makes the fence out of square. You will eventually learn how to put the fence back always at square. Also the fence itself is slightly warped. When you do edge joint against the fence, you can't put the fence too wide. If you think about it, you need only up to 4 inch or so in terms of width when you do edge joint against the fence. There is no need to have 8 inch and wider. If the fence goes beyond 8 inch or so, part of the fence support falls out of the table and it becomes very difficult to keep the square in a reproducible manner. This flimsy fence design is a part of the reason why we can put this machine very close to a wall. So, there is a benefit too. Once I learn how to use it, I like this way.