Hammer K3 Winner - Help

[Tom W Armstrong]

Hi All,

Well, the CFO recently approved the SawStop to replace my current Ridgid contractor's saw. However, Hammer is having a fantastic sale on the K3 Winner right now and I'm looking to move up the budget to get the K3 instead. I'm looking for comments to either push me over the cliff (to the K3) or pull me back from the brink and stay with the SS. :)

My use is general purpose woodworking, mostly furniture and built-in type (cabinet) work.

If anyone is currently looking at getting a Euro Slider, here are the particulars of Hammer's current deal:



Basic K3 Winner Saw
Dado setup
49" Rip Capacity (table extension)
Scoring Option
Cast iron re-fence / round bars
79" Slider
Outrigger
51" Crosscut fence
Blades (plus scoring) - I guess they usually charge for these?
$8600 worth of saw for $4999, but today only. :)

Please help me make this decision.

Tom

[Sean Nagle]

If I had the space for the slider and the $$$$, that's what I would replace my 16-year old Uni with.

[Marshall Gayton]

Just placed the order for the K3 on Monday. Replacing a very old and well used Jet contractor saw. Go for it. :-')

[Eric McCune]

Hey Tom,

I'm going through the exact decision process right now. I was sold on the SS, but having spent the past few days learning about sliders, I feel that it's the best choice for me.

I'm down to these choices:
1) the K3 that you describe and a A3-31 J/P
2) the C3 Combo (basically the K3, with a shaper, 12" J/P for $9,999)
3) and to make matters more confusing I have added the Felder CF 531 combo to the mix.

I'm flying out to LA next week to investigate. I'll post what I learn.

I think if you only need a saw, the K3 deal is hard to pass up.

[Ray Schwalb]

IMHO you can't go wrong with the K3. I went down that road myself last spring, went to the showroom in Delaware, saw the demonstrations- the Felder folks, particularly Geoff Doubet, are great to deal with. I wound up getting a used Felder KF700, which showed up on Woodweb in my neighborhood, but had been ready to pull the trigger on the K3. The slider is a wonderful thing, enabling me to make cuts I never thought possible, safely and easily. Get the longest sliding table you can possibly fit in your shop, which is what everyone told me. I have the 78" which is fine, but wish it was longer, sometimes.

[Rod Sheridan]

Tom, you're a fool if you don't buy the K3 with those options for a steal of price like that:D.........Regards, Rod

[Tom W Armstrong]

Tom, you're a fool if you don't buy the K3 with those options for a steal of price like that:D.........Regards, Rod

Thanks Rod, that's the kind of motivation I was looking for. :)

[Tom W Armstrong]

Hey Tom,

I'm going through the exact decision process right now. I was sold on the SS, but having spent the past few days learning about sliders, I feel that it's the best choice for me.

I'm down to these choices:
1) the K3 that you describe and a A3-31 J/P
2) the C3 Combo (basically the K3, with a shaper, 12" J/P for $9,999)
3) and to make matters more confusing I have added the Felder CF 531 combo to the mix.

I'm flying out to LA next week to investigate. I'll post what I learn.

I think if you only need a saw, the K3 deal is hard to pass up.

Eric, If I didn't already have the Hammer A3-31 J/P, I would be seriously looking at a combo machine like you are. In hindsight, it would have been a great option for my garage workshop.

[Rod Sheridan]

Thanks Rod, that's the kind of motivation I was looking for. :)

Yeah, that's me, Mr. politically correct.........:D

That sure is a deal on the machine, and I'm really happy with my B3.....Rod.

[Leigh Betsch]

Go for the slider you'll not be sorry.

[Thomas love]

SLIDER............ You will never look back.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Thanks for the replies so far. At this point it's unanimous for the K3. Is that right? :)

[John Harden]

I owned my PM-66 for about 12 years before selling it in favor of a Euro slider.

IMHO, the cabinet saw is a 100 y/o design from a time when operator safety was an afterthought. The newer versions now have riving knives and the SS even has a gadget to stop the blade if you touch it.

These are workarounds to what is an outdated design that places the operator in front of a spinning blade.

I work in solid wood almost exclusively and opted for a 9 foot slider on mine. They work fantastic and for most all operations, you're safely off to the left side of the slider and 18+ inches away from the blade.

Add to that the the Euro sliders already have a generation of experience under their belts with riving knives, electric brakes, dust collection, etc., and you'll discover that their offerings simply work very well. The Western saws are only recently catching up on some of these features. The concept of an electric brake to stop the blade is something that is still lost on them for some reason.

Give Felder/Hammer a call and they'll put you in touch with someone near you who has the saw you're looking at (or one very similiar). Kicking the tires is a great way to get to know them so you can compare them to the others you're considering.

Hammers are good saws. The important internals are designed and made in Austria. They use Chinese manufacturers for the less critical components to keep the price down.

Regards,

John

[Leigh Betsch]

I'm not sure how the Felder/Hammer line runs but I'd buy the most slider that I could afford. I have a MM saw/shaper combo and if money and space were no object I would buy seperates next time. Only because I think I'd use may shaper more if I didn't have to mount the hood each time. But I will never trade my slider for any cabinet saw.

[Bijesh Jacob]

Thanks for the replies so far. At this point it's unanimous for the K3. Is that right? :)

Tom, I went through the same thought process and ended up ordering the k3 from geoff. Great guy by the way, he was patient and went through multiple calls with me.
I am upgrading from a Bosch portable and decided to go with a slider rather than a cabinet saw.
Bijesh

[Rich Engelhardt]

Well, the CFO recently approved the SawStop to replace my current Ridgid contractor's saw.
I'm assuming here that the "CFO" is she who must be obeyed....

That being the case,,,it all depends on what your "honey whine" stategy is/was.

If you played the "sad bassett hound look", saying your just trying to save your fingers w/the saw stop - so you could work them to the bone, providing her with shoes, meals out and,,,etc,etc,etc,,,

You might have dug a pretty deep hole.
;).

OTOH - $$ saved can always trump any concern for life/limb..
;)

I always toss out to SWMBO, that by saving nearly half on something, that will give her more $$ if something happens to me.
Then she and her 25 year old boyfriend will have that much more to spend while they lounge around the beach in the Carribean ;).

(just kidding of course :D)(Although SWMBO does get this kind of whistfull faraway look in her eyes when I tease her about a ficticous boyfriend half her age...)

[Mike Wilkins]

If your wife is like mine, any time money savings come into the picture, her eyes light up. She won't move unless a sale sign is attached.
I went from a Unisaw to a Laguna slider last year, and have not looked back.
I never even looked at the SS machine due to its foundation as just another cabinet saw. The slider is much more of a safe machine placing your digits far away from a spinning blade.
Happy sawing.

[Rod Sheridan]

(just kidding of course :D)(Although SWMBO does get this kind of whistfull faraway look in her eyes when I tease her about a ficticous boyfriend half her age...)

Rich, that's funny,

Diann always says she doesn't want a boyfriend half my age, she spent so much effort training me, with such poor results that she wouldn't go through it a second time.:D

regards, Rod.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Thanks all for the great comments. It seems to be an easy decision based on all the feedback. Now the hard part, opening the wallet and waiting a couple months for delivery. :)

[Paul Hingco]

Nice problem to have :)

[lou sansone]

go with the slider

lou