Hammer A3-31 Has Arrived

[Tom W Armstrong]

Hi All,

After a three-month wait, the A3-31 arrived last week. Packing was excellent and all accessories that I ordered were in the box, etc. The Felder Field Service Rep even called to ensure any and all questions about setup were answered.

I finally got the holes drilled, greatlakes casters installed, and moved it off the pallet (what a beast!). However, now I need to hook up the electrical. Here's my question. Why such a stubby little cord on a $3.5K machine?

I know there are several members here with A3-31s and I was wondering what you did for the cord? I might be able to make it work, but such a wimpy cord seems out of place.

Thanks

[Jim O'Dell]

Not a Felder owner, but it looks like they put just enough cord on it to reach a junction box mounted to the floor instead of plugging into an outlet. You could either get a piece of cord the right size and replace it, or put a twist lock end there, and make an extension cord the right length to work. I replaced the cord on my Griz TS because I needed about 20' to get over up and over to plug in the ceiling outlet. Jim.

[Van Huskey]

Lots of machine come with short or no electrical cord. In fact I have never gotten a stationary piece of equipment with a plug in place, most are probably wired into boxes as Jim suggests.

[Ted Calver]

All my stuff is on wheels, so I just replaced the short one that came with the Hammer, using it as a guide (because I know nothing about electricity). Had to do the same thing for every major piece of equipment in the shop. All original chords were replaced with appropriate length/size chords with twist lock plugs to match my outlets. It's just something I assume has to be done with every new "big" machine.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Thanks Guys, Adding a twist lock and extension sounds like a great idea so that's what I'll do. All my Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Rikon equipment came with nice cords with plugs, and the Rikon was even 220. :)

I guess this extra work is just the price of upgrading the shop!

[Frank Drew]

Tom,

For those of us who haven't memorized every manufacturer's entire lineup of machinery by model number, what's the A3-31? (The photo wasn't much help in identifying it.)

[Tom W Armstrong]

Sorry Frank. It's a 12" Jointer/Planer combo. Please study up on the various vendor model numbers as all good SMCers know them by heart. :)

Plus here's a better picture complete with model number. :)

[Peter Aeschliman]

congrats!

Now if I could only find $3,800 to spend... ;-)

[Jim Becker]

That "stubby little line cord" is actually generous....many, many machines of this type don't come with any cord. None of my Euro equipment did. But honestly, I liked that as I was able to make up a cord to exactly the correct length for my needs using rubber #10 cord from the borg and twist-locks to match my electrical setup. My suggestion for you is to either use the factory-supplied stub as a pigtail with twist locks and make up an extension that is exactly the length you need or to just replace the stubby cord with a full length cord that is exactly the length you need. The former allows you an easy quick disconnect, especially if your outlet is not easy to reach as it sometimes can be in many shops.

Congratulations on your new machine, too. You'll really enjoy it.

[Rick Markham]

I think most 220 stationary equipment comes with no cord or plug, because there are many different plug styles for different applications, Twist locks, different patterns etc... Most commercial or industrial companies use different plug sizes styles for various reasons.

Me I would buy the 220 plug for you application make up a cord to length and use the current cord as a guide to make sure everything gets hooked up in it's proper place. I personally wouldn't pigtail it with twist locks (maybe it's my OCD) but your saving a whopping $5-$8 for a 2 foot piece of cord. Ya already spent a bundle on the machine ;) I say do it up right!

[Jeff Monson]

I think most 220 stationary equipment comes with no cord or plug, because there are many different plug styles for different applications, Twist locks, different patterns etc... Most commercial or industrial companies use different plug sizes styles for various reasons.

Me I would buy the 220 plug for you application make up a cord to length and use the current cord as a guide to make sure everything gets hooked up in it's proper place. I personally wouldn't pigtail it with twist locks (maybe it's my OCD) but your saving a whopping $5-$8 for a 2 foot piece of cord. Ya already spent a bundle on the machine ;) I say do it up right!


ditto on that, why pigtail a 3' cord?? Just get a new cord, I run about a 10' on my a3-31, its easy to wire in and put on a new end and you are done.

[Stephen Cherry]

You may want to consider SO power cord- I think Lowes it

[John Coloccia]

...every time I see one of those Hammer/Felder thingies roll into a shop. Oh if only I'd known then what I know now :)

Nice.

[Norman Hitt]

I really prefer a short pigtail with a twist lock on it that doesn't quite reach the floor and then make an extension cord of the appropriate length to reach an outlet. This method does two things, first it gives you a quick disconnect at the machine, and also keeps from having a long cord attached to the machine when you want to move it, (which always seems to fall off on the floor right in front of the wheels, OR hang on something as you are moving it). Did I mention that I HATE cords hanging off a machine when I'm trying to move it.:D

[Darren Brown]

Tom,

Congratulations on your A3-31. I'm still waiting for mine to return after it arrived damaged from shipping so seeing yours really rubs salt in my wounds. Thus, you stink!

On a serious note, I would just use a straight piece of the rubberized power cord from Home Depot. Why would you want to have a giant twist lock connection rolling around on the floor? The cord from Home Depot is cheap ($1.50 or less per foot) and is better quality than any OEM cord on all of my major tools.

I have those same Footmaster casters sitting in a box on my workbench. Can you describe your process for drilling the holes for the stems?

Best,

Darren

[Tom W Armstrong]

Darren, I remember the thread about the damage to your A3-31. That must really stink given we have to wait three months for these things to show up. Sorry about your ordeal, but it will be worth the wait. :)


Tom,
I have those same Footmaster casters sitting in a box on my workbench. Can you describe your process for drilling the holes for the stems?


Well, it wasn't pretty. I did something similar to what Alex Silva described back in your thread about lifting straps.

1) Unbolted the four brackets holding down the J/P
2) Scooted the J/P off the 2x4s running perpendicular to the pallet
3) Pried off these 2x4s as they just get in the way
4) Ordered a Milwaukee right angle attachment for my drill - waited
5) "Walked" the J/P to the edge of the pallet - Fairly easy
6) My son was home from college, but I didn't use him for help until the final step. Just FYI, it was easier than I thought doing this by myself.
7) Got several 2x4/6s and by angling the J/P between the slats in the pallet and using the 2xs for stability was able to get enough room to drill with the angle attachment.
8) Picture the J/P at a 30 degree angle on the pallet with me on the floor hoping the 700 lbs wouldn't decide to move.
9) Anyway, one side has zero holes and you have to locate and drill them. The other side has holes but they need to be enlarged slightly for the caster stem.
10) I went to 1/2" as I didn't have a 15/32" bit and using a washer everything fits tight.
11) Anyway, you have to man handle the J/P around and get each end hanging off the pallet and then tilt it up, drill, then do the next one. Don't put in the casters until all holes are drilled.
12) Once I had the holes all drilled, I basically put 1/2 of the J/P off the pallet and 1/2 half of it on, and put the casters on. You'll need a good 19mm ratcheting box-end wrench to help secure the nuts that are inside the cabinet.
13) At this point my son helped me get the other half off the pallet. Another option would have been to just cut the pallet sides and roll it out.

In the end, I really didn't need the right-angle attachment as you can really tilt the J/P and have enough room for the drill and bit. Stubby bits would have been helpful, but all I had were full sized bits. Also, I only smacked myself in the jaw once with the drill when the bit "torqued".

Just take your time and be careful. :)

[Darren Brown]

Thanks Tom.

Darren

[John Harden]

That "stubby little line cord" is actually generous....many, many machines of this type don't come with any cord. None of my Euro equipment did. But honestly, I liked that as I was able to make up a cord to exactly the correct length for my needs using rubber #10 cord from the borg and twist-locks to match my electrical setup. My suggestion for you is to either use the factory-supplied stub as a pigtail with twist locks and make up an extension that is exactly the length you need or to just replace the stubby cord with a full length cord that is exactly the length you need. The former allows you an easy quick disconnect, especially if your outlet is not easy to reach as it sometimes can be in many shops.

Congratulations on your new machine, too. You'll really enjoy it.

+1 on this. I have two Felder machines and went with a male twist lock on each that hangs off the pigtail cord supplied with the machine. I made up 3-4 'extension cords' of various lengths out of 10 gauge from the borg with matching twist locks on them. The idea is I can use the appropriate length for however I have the shop configured. I use the same arrangement on my MM20 band saw, so everything matches. In fact, I think it was the folks at MM who recommended this setup when I bought the saw from them.

I also agree with the fellow who mentioned how nice it is to have a quick power disconnect right at the machine for blade changes, etc. I don't need to walk across the shop and bend over and reach behind something to pull out the plug.

It works out very well.

Regards,

John

[Chris Tsutsui]

Congratulations.

When i'm not using the Hammer I find that it makes an excellent work table.

I just level the infeed and outfeed and remove the fence. Then I lay a partial sheet of 3/4" melamine on top and i've got a nice temporary work table!

I'm on a tight budget as I had to get my A3-31 from Craigslist, so my plug solution was to use the plastic yellow 220V plugs from HD. The one where one of the spades is tilted sideways. Then I made my own extension cord using 12AWG power wire and two more yellow plastic 220V compatible plugs.

My one tip is to make sure you adjust the A3-31 so that the table tops stay the same level even after you tighten the lever down. It will take some fine adjustement of the bolt stops under the wings to do this.

[Rod Sheridan]

Congrats on the arrival of the new machine.

I have a 2 year old A3-31 and it has a 3 metre long cord on it, however the Canadian machine is different electrically from the US machine.

Regards, Rod.