Hammer A3-31

[Brian Tax]

I am about to pull the trigger an a new Hammer A3-31, I have heard that the prices are going back up May 1. Does anyone know about the mortising attachment, I know it is a separate attachment, but the salesman mentioned something about the machine would need a special setup to be able to use it (for more money of coarse). He said it would cost a lot less to do it at the time of manufacture. I am not even sure I would want the mortising attachment, but I at least want it as an option. Any info would help.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Brian, I have an A3-31, you're going to love yours.

There are two items required for the mortiser,

- #500-118 2 jaw chuck (about $200)

- #501-117 Mortiser (about $900)

The chuck goes on the operator end of the cutter shaft and is probably what the salesman is mentioning should be installed at the factory.

If you are mechanically inclined you can install it yourself however at a later date. It's up to you.

One option you won't want to miss on the planer is the digital height gauge, order it from the factory, it's less expensive that way.

Same for the digital height gauge on the mortiser, if you order one, have the gauge factory installed.


Regards, Rod.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'll add one thing to Rod's list, you'll need a cart of some sort to lug that mortiser around. They are HEAVY. I made my cart, but you can buy one from Felder if you so desire. The mortiser works very well. Actually I guess I've never seen anything that Felder/Hammer built that did not work exceptionaly...

Make sure that you get compatible cutters if you get the mortiser. The salesman that sold me mine, no longer with Felder, said that I needed left hand cutters. This means that I have to run the j/p backwards, which involves the incredibly indepth process of turning a switch, as I don't know if the Hammer j/p is reversible, double check your salesmans knowlage of the product at the time of purchase. IMHO, the mortiser is a nice add on, and I use mine for all of my mortising.

[Rod Sheridan]

I'll add one thing to Rod's list, you'll need a cart of some sort to lug that mortiser around. They are HEAVY. I made my cart, but you can buy one from Felder if you so desire. The mortiser works very well. Actually I guess I've never seen anything that Felder/Hammer built that did not work exceptionaly...

Make sure that you get compatible cutters if you get the mortiser. The salesman that sold me mine, no longer with Felder, said that I needed left hand cutters. This means that I have to run the j/p backwards, which involves the incredibly indepth process of turning a switch, as I don't know if the Hammer j/p is reversible, double check your salesmans knowlage of the product at the time of purchase. IMHO, the mortiser is a nice add on, and I use mine for all of my mortising.

Steve, the Hammer is single direction only........Rod.

[Danny Burns]

Would you just need to get mortising bits that have the other spiral cut?
Up-cut or down-cut whatever pulls the chips out.

[Narayan Nayar]

Rod, I don't have the mortising attachment on my A3-31, but have considered it (usually right when I'm looking at doing a bunch of mortises with a router or a mortising chisel and mallet...).

Information on this unit seems pretty hard to come by. I've got the Felder brochures and videos, but no real-world user experiences. If you've got one, how do you like it? Is it worth the money? Is it pretty versatile? What kinds of mortising wouldn't you do with this unit?

I've never used a slot mortiser before, but I've read up on them and have some feel for how they work.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Danny, the cutters that get recommended the most are the straight ones, not the spiral types. I think this is because of tearout and chip discharge issues. The straight cutters work very well. Felder lists their products as commercial or consumer grade, and they have several options. I have the mid priced set, which I would gladly recommend.

Narayan, I think that the Felder mortiser is the same as the Hammer, I have the Felder though, so I'll leave the specifics of the Hammer model to someone who has one. My mortiser is of course adjustable on all three axis, with the plunge and side to side having limits and scales. The long lever gives plenty of leverage to precisely move heavy work. I use mine for all mortising now. The ability to cut any size mortise, repeatadly is where it shines. There are a variety of jigs that you may want to build for different jobs. Basically, the mortiser provides a fence perpendicular to the cutter, but if you are mortising the end of a stile or something, you will want to add a 90 degree sub fence. Just clamp on a piece of wood, and your good to go. The same idea would be used for angled mortises. Hope that helps.

[Rod Sheridan]

Rod, I don't have the mortising attachment on my A3-31, but have considered it (usually right when I'm looking at doing a bunch of mortises with a router or a mortising chisel and mallet...).

Information on this unit seems pretty hard to come by. I've got the Felder brochures and videos, but no real-world user experiences. If you've got one, how do you like it? Is it worth the money? Is it pretty versatile? What kinds of mortising wouldn't you do with this unit?

I've never used a slot mortiser before, but I've read up on them and have some feel for how they work.

Hi Narayan, I've used the Hammer mortiser, however I don't own one yet.....I'm waiting for Christmas.

The slot mortiser works very well, and it can make mortises on the ends of pieces, something my hollow chisel mortiser won't do.

Regards, Rod.

[Brian Tax]

Thanks for the advice on the mortiser and the digital height gage. How do you connect the unit to the Duct Collector. I think that it is 120mm, ~ 4 3/4in. I would prefer to connect it to 4in hose. So I think that the 120mm to 100mm reducer would work. I have heard people recommend the elbow connector ($50), and would still need the reducer.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It might be a good idea. A slot mortiser is the SHIZZ.



How do you connect the unit to the Duct Collector. I think that it is 120mm, ~ 4 3/4in. I use a plastic bottle I salvaged that happened to be the perfect size for both my shop vac and the Hammer.
Cut the bottom off and it fit around the Hammer nicely and the Rigid tube slid inside the mouth just fine.

As an aside you do need to use something to evac' the chips as the Euro Engineers didn't build chip ejection into the machine. They just expect you to have DC.

[Rod Sheridan]

Thanks for the advice on the mortiser and the digital height gage. How do you connect the unit to the Duct Collector. I think that it is 120mm, ~ 4 3/4in. I would prefer to connect it to 4in hose. So I think that the 120mm to 100mm reducer would work. I have heard people recommend the elbow connector ($50), and would still need the reducer.

Brian, I found that I needed the 5 inch hose, 4 inch didn't provide complete collection with my system.

If I remember I'll look up the airflow specs from my manual........Rod.

[Brian Tax]

I have a 1.5 HP collector with a 5in inlet, so I could go that route also. Will the 5in hose connect directly up to the machine or do you need the quick connect adapter?

[Rod Sheridan]

The adapter is much handier since you have to move it every time you convert from one function to another....Rod.

[Brian Tax]

I just talked to the salesman and he said that the chuck is now part of the cutter block assembly, so it needs to be added at the factory. Seems strange that they would change it now.

[Scot Ferraro]

I love this machine and I opted for 1 meter of the hose Felder sells sized for the 120 mm outlet. I connected this to a quick disconnect that ties into my main 6 inch trunk line -- works great. I do not have the mortiser, but maybe they changed it at the factory -- if you are still on the fence you could opt for the chuck now (which needs to be factory installed from what youa re saying) and then opt for the mortiser later. I do not think that it is the same as the Felder Series 700 morister (that connects to the combination machines or the 700 series joineter/planer). While it will work the same in function, I do not think it was engineered to have the same capacities and it weighs a little less. That being said, it is more than capable of a unit and I would not hesitate to get it if you plan on doing a lot of mortises. For the money I opted for a router and/or standard mortiser, but that's just me. As others have said, the digital gauge is a must-have and I would opt for Zambus casters if you need mobility over the kit Felder sells.

Scot

[Larry Edgerton]

What do you guys with the A3-31 think of it in comparison with say an SCMI F1 on the jointer capability? I am going to sell my Porter and buy a modern wide jointer, and these are less money than say an F1 and have the added benifit of the planer if my 520 should ever go down.

Just thinking..........

[Brian Tax]

Well I bit the bullet and placed an order for the A3-31. It is by far the biggest tool purchase I have made, but I think that it is worth it, especialy at about $1000 off the regular price. So in about 3 months I will get to play with it and post pics. Good bye Craftsman bench top jointer!

[Larry Edgerton]

Congradulations!

I still remember the day 20 years ago when I got my slide saw. It was awesome! I was on top of the world, and it was such a huge step up from the contractors saw I was using that my work stepped up accordingly.

Same thing when I bought my SCMI 520, my wife and daughter were there and I have pictures of them in my office climbing through the planer before the power was hooked up.

Yes, new tools are one of the better things in life.......

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Congrats Brian! Opening a crate with a sweet tool inside is every bit as good as Christmas when you where a kid! Enjoy!

[Scot Ferraro]

Hi Larry,

In answer to your question, the SCMI F1 is sweet machine and very heavy duty and rock-solid (I have used one at a WW'ing school) -- kind of along the same lines as your current Porter. The Hammer is a great machine and the finish is very, very good but it is not as large or heavy-duty. This is not to say that it is not a capable machine as it is, but I think that a better comparison of an F1 would be a Felder 700 or 900 Series machine. If you want to save money and space, then the Hammer might be the way to go.

Scot

[Rod Sheridan]

Brian, I found that I needed the 5 inch hose, 4 inch didn't provide complete collection with my system.

If I remember I'll look up the airflow specs from my manual........Rod.

Hi Brian, I finally remembered to check my manual and it specifies an airflow volume of 814 cubic metres per hour, and a velocity of 20 metres per second.

For non metric types that works out to 478CFM and 3,937 feet per minute..

That explains my problem with 4 inch hose.........Rod.