Hammer B3 information

[Susumu Mori]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about buying a B3 Winner and wondering if I can get some information from the users of B3 or K3 in this forum;

1) What is the footprint of B3 Winner? I can find some numbers from their catalog but they don't look right. For example, from the blade to the right side (the right end of the rip fence bar) is listed 61 inch while there is only 31 inch of rip capacity.

2) The Comfort package comes with a 79-inch slider and an outrigger with deep discount. I do mostly solid wood and have occasions to need a straight line rip. So, a long slider would be good but I understand that there is a straight line jig by Hammer that allows to rip any length. I'm worried the extra space the slider wood take. I do sometimes sheet goods and the capability to process 5'x5' ply would be great but I can do it with my Festool track saw if needed. How do you think about the extra-length slider and outrigger? would it worth the space it occupies?

Any information and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[ian maybury]

I run a K3 with an 8ft slider, and have found it hugely useful to break down sheets of ply - despite having a Festool track saw too. The jig using the plastic T strip is to my mind not much use. Like yourself i thought it might be an option, but the fit in the slot in the slider is pretty sloppy. The classic advice is that nobody (unless they have no use for it) regrets buying a longer slider. Be careful, in that the specified lengths are the actual length of the slider and not the practical capacity - you likely need a few inches extra to fit in a clamp.

My space is very tight too - the outrigger takes up a lot of space, especially if you leave room for it's use at full extension. It might be best to get the drawing from Felder as my saw is a UK spec Perform with the long cabinet which i think is not sold in the US any more.

One to bear in mind if you get a long slider and outrigger is that you don't necessaarily have to run the slider through it's full travel, or the outrigger fully extended all the time. A side benfit of the long slider is that you can leave a short mitre fence set up on one end, and the outrigger on the other...

[Susumu Mori]

Thanks Ian.
I see, the jig is indeed an inferior alternative to a real slider. That makes sense.
My sense is that the longer slide does take a considerable amount of a stroke space (4 m for a 2 m slider vs 2.4 m for a 1.2 m slider), but at the stationary position where it is in most of the time, it won't be too much space-occupying?

As for the outrigger, I initially thought it is not that much of use unless I do a lot of sheet goods, but it seems to have many advantages such as a crosscut fence in the fore position. How do you like the outrigger?

[Rich Riddle]

Hopefully Rod will see this thread and reply as he has the saw. I have the K3 Winner. The size of the footprint depends upon the size you choose. What specific saw are you contemplating?

[Paul Cahill]

[portable QUOTE=ian maybury;2385065]I run a K3 with an 8ft slider, and have found it hugely useful to break down sheets of ply - despite having a Festool track saw too...[/QUOTE]

Hi Ian: I know you are not overly thrilled with your slider being shorter than you originally wanted, and granted I don't have a slider at all, but I do have a track saw with a long rail and it is wonderful! Ultimately it all depends on what you want and what you want to pay for, but my process is:
- buy sheet goods, either near home or in Atlanta (lower cost, better selection);
- when arrive home, setup portable sawing station with track saw, vacuum etc., and breakdown sheets as I remove them from vehicle, according to cut plans (takes a while to plan, but it's a hobby??);
- carry everything to basement, now that it is a weight that I can carry without hurting my back;
- create masterpiece (sort of)!

Paul

[Susumu Mori]

Hi Rich,

You are right. Forgot to mention the dimension. The rip capacity is listed as 31 inch and 49 inch is optional. The slider is 49 or 79.

Yes, I wonder if Rod could chime in here.

[Rich Riddle]

Hi Rich,

You are right. Forgot to mention the dimension. The rip capacity is listed as 31 inch and 49 inch is optional. The slider is 49 or 79.

Yes, I wonder if Rod could chime in here.

So are you looking at the 31 or 49 inch model? and are you looking at the 49 or 79 inch slider attachment. I own the 48" x 48". The slider profile takes twice the length of the slider since it can move either all the way forward or back, but that's only a factor when using it, not storing it. I have mine on wheels and the 48" x 48" doesn't take all that much room. I remove the attachment that goes on the slider when it's stored. That takes about two minutes each time it's used.

DSCN0827.jpg

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I'm teaching a course at present, will reply tonight.

Here's the drawing I made for my B3 Winner.

Visio-B3 Winner Drawing.pdf

Regards, Rod.

[Susumu Mori]

Hi Rich,

What is the actual width of your saw (right-left in your pic)?
That is without the crosscut fence.

[Susumu Mori]

Thanks Rod, this is exactly what I needed!
I'll go back to my basement and see how it fits.

[Susumu Mori]

By the way, how important is the outrigger for you?
Is it something you consider "must", "preferable", or "can live without it"?

[ian maybury]

Hi Paul. It turned out that the slightly short slider was less of an issue than it might have been - basically because it's possible to run with an adapted clamp that cantilevers/hangs out of the end of the slider. My feeling is just that it's potentially misleading when the the number is an actual dimension as opposed to the (comfortable) capacity.

There are various photos about of people's arrangements of these clamps - often an F or a quick clamp standing vertically on/welded to a steel strip that fits in the T slot.

The other helpful aspect of the situation is that for most projects i find myself cutting 8x4s across the shorter dimension - so the missing length is rarely at issue. To Susumu - my take on use of the outrigger is that even on this (cross cutting full sheets) i don't always use it - certainly not at full extension. I have a set of parallel bars (mine are DIY but Brian on the FOG/Felder owners site does a very nice set: http://www.lambtoolworks.com/products.html ) that project about 1200mm from the T slot in the side of the slider, and these are often sufficient to support a panel. They have turned out to be a very handy item to have about even if only used for this purpose. Rod may see it differently, but I guess it's really only when you need the stops on the outrigger the full extension has be used.

To qualify the comment on the T strip. It's not a precision item, but probably is just intended for use in getting long pieces cut up - with the finished edge/cut probably tidied up by other means. The practical difficulty is that a close fitting long strip would probably end up jamming in the T slot...

[Jim Andrew]

I have the K3 with the 79" slider. I like the outrigger for big pieces, for smaller pieces I use the small crosscut fence. For straight line ripping the slider is wonderful. I have the strips they sell for longer rips, but have not used them. You have to fasten them to the workpiece, so the piece can slide on top of the slider. The biggest improvement I could see for this saw is if you could move the latch on the slider even with the fixed undercarriage for ripping with the fence. The slider extends beyond the fixed undercarriage about 7", and keeps you that much farther from the blade when you rip using the rip fence.

[James Bilsky]

Hello

I have the K3 48x48 would recommend that you get the rip fence fine adjuster & mobility kit if you purchase.
jim

[Rod Sheridan]

[QUOTE=Susumu Mori;2385162]By the way, how important is the outrigger for you?
Is it something you consider "must", "preferable", or "can live without it"?[/QUOTE

When I purchased my B3 Winner I didn't purchase the outrigger.

A year or two later I purchased it and installed it.

I mostly make solid wood furniture however when processing panels (even hardwood) I use the outrigger. Acouple of years ago my daughter was making herself a dining room table. She crosscut the table herself, even though she needed help lifting it onto the saw. Sure beats having an accident with a crosscut sled.

I also use the outrigger when breaking down rougn lumber if it is long or heavy.

You can add any accessory as you wish, things that are options can only be factory installed.

I have

- tilt away bracket for feeder,
- dado
- scoring saw
- fine adjust rip fence
- full table to the right of the cast iron table
- outrigger with precision mitre index
- tenon hood and table
- Euro curve guard for shaper
- 1 1/4" and 30mm spindle
- mobility kit (home made)
- edging shoe
- hold down clamp
Regards, Rod