Which Hammer machine to buy?

[Charlie Watson]

I'm in the process of outfitting my garage shop and will be buying several new machines. The Hammer line looks pretty awesome and as much as I would like to, I can probably only afford one and will go with other brands for the balance of my floor equipment. If I can have only one Hammer product, which should it be? Are they best knows for their table saws, band saws, jointer, planer etc? Your opinions are appreciated!

[Ted Calver]

I think garage shop is the key word here. I would recommend the jointer/planer combo machines. I have the A3 31 12" j/p and really like it. If I had a do over I'd pay more and get the 16" A3 41 with the new silent spiral head

[Ralph Butts]

+1 on the A3 41 with silent power spiral head. I totally happy with my purchase of one.

[Mark Carlson]

Ditto what Ted said regarding getting the J/P. I have the 12in and would buy again in a second.

[David Kumm]

Keep in mind that no individual brand makes the best machines across the board. Hammer make great hobby duty combo machines and should be considered when space is short. Their JP with the silent power head is very good. Their saw shaper would not be as high on my list compared to others. Research each machine type first, then choose the brand. The N4400 is a good bandsaw but no better than several others for the price. Dave

[C Scott McDonald]

Charlie,

Hammer is taking the jointer/planer, Table saw and bandsaw out on the a woodworking show tour maybe they will be near you and you can go see them in person. I have the small slider and really like it. The jointer/planer is next on the list.

http://news.felder-group.com/html_mail.jsp?params=94557%20lbmdesign@comcast.net %203%200000u3q0000bi00000000000007ydwpz#anchor

Good Luck,
Scott

[Matthew Hills]

Most of the discussion seems to be on the J/P and the N4400 bandsaw.

The J/P is nice for compact footprint, a wide jointer, and the spiral cutterhead. Still see some discussion on the tradeoffs inherent in a combo machine.

The bandsaw seems to be a reasonable choice for a new saw in that class. Looks like they are also introducing a smaller bandsaw, too.

Matt

[Charlie Watson]

My shop is going in a 3 car garage of about 720 SqFt so I have room for either the JP combo or individual machines. That being said I would love a finishing room so the combo would give me more flexibility with the layout. I'm in San Diego so looks like the tour will pass us by. I always worry about tradeoffs with the combo machines but maybe at the higher end like Hammer it's not as much as issue.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Charlie, I have a B3 Winner with outrigger and power feeder and an A3-31 J/P.

Both of the above machines replaced individual General machines, and I'm extremely pleased with my decision.

The B3 Winner would be my choice if you only go with one machine.

Having a tilting spindle, sliding table shaper is fantastic, as is the sliding saw with scoring feature.

I don't consider the combo machines a trade off, as I have neither the cash nor space for a sliding saw and separate sliding table shaper.

Same with the jointer planer, I could not have afforded a 12 inch General jointer, nor do I have space for it.

With the B3, I normally don't have the outrigger on it, so it's a compact sliding saw that is used mostly for solid wood. If I have sheet goods, or longer solid stock, in a minute the outrigger is on and I can crosscut a solid wood desk top or sheet goods.

Pop the edging shoe on the saw and I can straight line rip rough material.

Flip up the power feeder and I can rip strips all day long, consistently, accurately and safely.

Cutting tenons? Pop the tenon hood and table on the shaper and cut tenons in one pass per face, or go crazy, add two cutters and a spacer and cut both sides in one pass, with full dust collection and guards in place.

The J/P is just as useful, a 12 or 16 inch jointer with matching planer is great, excellent performance, 3 minutes to change the knives with no adjustment, or go with the Silent Power spiral insert head, the only MAN rated head of that type in North America that I'm aware of.

Tradeoffs are the time it takes to switch from one function to another, for the J/P that's under a minute so for me it's not an issue. I have the digital height gauge on my planer, if I screw up a piece I can go back and make another, exactly the same size with no fiddling or measuring, that's a time saver.

For the saw/shaper, it's slightly longer to switch functions, however how many home shops have a 4 HP sliding table, tilting spindle 4 speed shaper unless it's a Euro combination machine?

Regards, Rod.

[Jamie Buxton]

You're going at this backwards. First figure out what machines you need. Then look for the best model of each machine. So for instance, first you make the decision about whether you want separate jointer and planer, or a combo. And you make the decision about whether you want a drag-around dust collector or a fixed one with lots of ducting. And you make the decision about whether you want a straight table saw or a slider, and if so how big the slider is. And you make the decisions about whether you want a lathe and whether you want a bandsaw, and again how big. After that, you look at manufacturers and models.

[Charlie Watson]

Thanks Rod, those are amazing machines!

[Charlie Watson]

Thanks Jamie, I know what I need and right now I am collecting information by tapping into the experience of the users here.

[Ted Calver]

... I always worry about tradeoffs with the combo machines but maybe at the higher end like Hammer it's not as much as issue.
Charlie, As others have said, switching from jointer to planer on the hammer machines takes less than a minute and is really no big deal. The other tradeoff aspect of the combo machines is the adjustment to your work flow that you will need to make if you are used to individual machines. For example, when I had individual machines I could joint a board and immediately send it through the planer until all my stock had been prepped, or even do one piece at a time as needed. Now I have to joint all my stock first then convert the machine and plane to finish the job....no big deal, but still an adjustment you have to think about. I have a two and a half car garage and it's packed with tools and wood. For me the combo space savings is well worth any inconvenience.

[johnny means]

If I had to limit myself to one machine from the Hammer level it would be the sliding table saw. It's the only one that actually increases your capability as compared to it's"regular" counterpart.