Hammer C3-31 first impressions

[Andy Giddings]

Just received my new C3-31 Comfort combination machine over the weekend and thought I'd post my first impressions for those considering this brand or machine in the future.

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The C3 was purchased on the basis of the current Felder anniversary discount, which saved around $5k off of the list price. I had been looking at a combo for some time and the discount, specification and the Hammer reputation made the package the right one for me.

Waiting time for the C3 was around 4 months. The Comfort bundle comes with popular additions including the Silent Power cutter block for the jointer/planer, interchangeable shaper spindle with router collets and scoring unit.

Felder service has been excellent in terms of delivery, answering all of the questions I've had over the last four months and providing manuals etc up front of delivery.

It was delivered right into my double garage with no issues or shipping damage. Getting it off the pallet was straightforward using a pallet jack and ramp. Setup took about a day, a lot of which was spent unpacking everything. All of the components went together easily and fitted perfectly.

I'm a hobbyist woodworker so the set up times for the different parts of the combo were not a concern. Even if they were, changing between stations is very quick, especially from sliding saw, to jointer and planer.

Using the combo is a lot of fun - its very powerful (4HP motors are standard) and just feels very smooth, well engineered. The Silent Power cutter head is very quiet - no hearing protection needed as its much quieter than the saw! I've only made a few parts so far but have tested out everything apart from the shaper. All of the parts have been accurate, flat and square without any adjustments to the factory setup.

Will update this post as my experience with the C3 develops. If you are in the market for a combo of this size and cost, I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

[Bob Varney]

Thanks for posting

Bob

[Craig Behnke]

very nice setup and shop Andy. Hammer makes nice stuff.

[John Lankers]

Very very nice.
I noticed the miter indexing bar on the outrigger, you're gonna love it's accuracy.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Would love to hear more of your impressions once you get a chance to put some hours on it. I'm seriously considering replacing all my stationary tools with a combo in the near future, based on the highly positive comments people here make about them.

[Patrick Curry]

Thanks for the review. I'm curious about the price and if you would care to share? The distribution arrangement makes it hard to find these answers directly

[Rick Fisher]

Really good looking machine.. I really like that big rip fence.

[Frederick Skelly]

Congratulations on getting your dream machine!
Fred

[Rod Sheridan]

Would love to hear more of your impressions once you get a chance to put some hours on it. I'm seriously considering replacing all my stationary tools with a combo in the near future, based on the highly positive comments people here make about them.

Hi Dan, I've found that the 5 function combo needs a square shop, whereas the jointer/planer and saw/shaper approach works best for the more rectangular shops like mine.

You'll really like having the combo machines..........Regards, Rod.

[Andy Giddings]

Patrick, have sent you a PM with the details. Not sure about the rules for showing price in the open forum

[Rich Riddle]

You can post the price you paid; but you cannot advertise in this section. It's a nice looking machine. My K3 Hammer feels much safer to use than the table saw I use with the flesh detection technology. Enjoy your purchase.

[Andy Giddings]

Thanks everyone for your comments and good wishes.

A few have asked for pricing - list price for the Comfort with the Anniversary package (includes Silent Power head plus a number of the most popular accessories like quick change shaper spindle, scoring blade) incl. delivery was $15k. The anniversary discount is $4,960. Net price before tax $10,152. Hope this helps

[Anthony Avila]

Hi Andy,
I just pulled the trigger on this same package to take advantage of the anniversary discount myself. I put down my deposit 3 weeks ago, and expect it to be here in the next 30 days or so. I'm curious to know if you got any additional accessories when you got your machine or if you are considering getting some now after having been setup awhile.

I'm thinking of also getting the mortising unit (501-117), edge shoe (500-109), dial indicator handwheel (01.1.202), and trimming equipment (500-110) to rip longer stock.

Anthony

[Andy Giddings]

Hi Andy,
I just pulled the trigger on this same package to take advantage of the anniversary discount myself. I put down my deposit 3 weeks ago, and expect it to be here in the next 30 days or so. I'm curious to know if you got any additional accessories when you got your machine or if you are considering getting some now after having been setup awhile.

I'm thinking of also getting the mortising unit (501-117), edge shoe (500-109), dial indicator handwheel (01.1.202), and trimming equipment (500-110) to rip longer stock.

Anthony

Congrats Anthony - you're probably counting the days!. In terms of accessories I didn't buy much with the machine purchase - wanted to get the hang of how to use a slider before deciding on what additions I'd like. The dial indicator for the planer is probably the most essential as it gives very good repeatability. I also got a Felder Silent Power Silver Cross Cut and Rip blade (they have a great deal on a 3 blade set right now).

I did get the edge shoe but have not used it - I use a home made Fritz and Franz jig for trimming long stock.

I've never needed to trim stock longer than the sliding table as I generally cross cut to rough size before trimming/jointing etc, therefore the trimming equipment isn't useful to me (yet)

I did get the 30mm spindle for the shaper, adjustable rebate head cutter, a few other shaper cutters and the Dado cutter fairly shortly after delivery - and they've all been good quality/useful.

Recently got the mortising unit and, after a learning curve on birdsmouth cutters, am impressed with how easy and accurate this makes M & T/Dowel joinery. Unless you really want to use birdsmouth style cutters, I would recommend end mills and/or spiral router cutters. Both are available in left hand (which is what you need) and both are a lot quicker, cut just as cleanly/accurately. The setup of the chuck is a bit tricky as tightening the setscrews unevenly can really throw the concentricity of the long cutters

Now that I've had it a while, its probably easier for you to ask about a specific accessory as I've built up a collection, and other Hammer users will also jump in. Would also recommend joining the Felder Owners Group on Yahoo

[Dan Friedrichs]

Hi Andy,
I just pulled the trigger on this same package to take advantage of the anniversary discount myself. I put down my deposit 3 weeks ago, and expect it to be here in the next 30 days or so. I'm curious to know if you got any additional accessories when you got your machine or if you are considering getting some now after having been setup awhile.

I'm thinking of also getting the mortising unit (501-117), edge shoe (500-109), dial indicator handwheel (01.1.202), and trimming equipment (500-110) to rip longer stock.

Anthony

Anthony, Andy gave you a great answer, but I also bought one of the C3-31's, so thought I'd give some feedback, too.

Before receiving it, I had a huge list of accessories I thought I needed. After I received it and starting running through the functions (and figuring out the included accessories), my list got parsed down to nothing. Unless there's a huge sale, I'd recommend waiting until you've had your hands on it awhile before ordering anything major. They really did try to include everything you'd need in the "Comfort" package.

I know some people love the dial handwheel, but it's expensive (especially in imperial). A Wixey DRO ($80) or iGauging DRO ($30) seems like a good alternative (and, personally, I prefer it). The mortising unit looks like a bit of a pain to mount/dismount, and for less money, you could buy a Domino (which is probably more versatile and would hold its resale value much better). Just my opinions, of course...