Originally Posted by
Prashun Patel
Just an update:
Both the FS30 and the A3-31 seem to be easy to use and changeover.
The critical differences for me are:
FS30: Has a Tersa head which users seem to love for its ease of blade change. I do mill a lot of from-the-woods lumber so having a beater and fine set of knives is appealing.
A3-31: The spiral cutter block seems to be a little quieter. Also, the digital gauge gets good marks. It also has the sliding fence which allows it to stay in place when flipping up the tables. I am not sure if that's good or bad because it seems like it'd require more space behind the unit. Hammer is also having a summer promotion right now, so the price is competitive with the Jet I was considering.
Exactly the dilemma I faced and a search will find a thread I started here to question it. If the MM had a spiral segmented head it would have been a shoe in but as good as the Tersa head is and I love the concept I went with the Hammer. One thing I like about the Hammer is the in handle height instrument, it is dead on and repeatable and I think is better than a digital readout as the resolution is better. I smile every time I set it to a thickness and it is spot on every time. I am going to make a few modifications to it when I get the time but they apply to any lower end combination machine, I have the stuff here to convert it to an electric lift and I would like to be able to set a target height on the lift but that may be a step to far.
Chris
Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening