Hammer K3 79 or 48x48

[Eric D Matson]

I am looking at the hammer k3 sliding table saws due to their cyber weekend pricing. I am trying to compare the 79x48 and 48x48. I am out traveling with family and only have a cell phone so I am having a hard time doing so. Do any of you guys have one of these? What are the cutting capacities? I appreciate any info you all have. Thanks.

[David T gray]

bigger slider the better i have a 10' one and i keep jigs on the end all the time also the added length u will be able to cut 5x5 bb

[Wakahisa Shinta]

Eric, I have the K3 79 x 48. I examined both of them at the northern CA show room and felt that the 48 sliding table was not long enough. At the time, adding the out rigger table to the 48" brought the price up very close to the 79". Rod will probably chime in soon, but you might also consider asking Felder/Hammer to shorten the rip fence guide bar a couple feet. I didn't do this and have yet to use the entire capacity of the rip fence to the right of the blade. The sliding table with the out rigger table on the left of the blade is more than adequate.

[Eric D Matson]

I have been talking to felder via email and she was saying the differences are the outrigger table, the scoring motor, and an additional 51" crosscut fence. I could see where it may be nice to have some of that rip fence guide bar shortened.

[Susumu Mori]

Hi Eric,

Mine is B3 with 79x34. I initially thought to buy 48x34, mainly due to a space issue, but was strongly recommended to go to 79.
I have used only few months now but it has already seen many applications using almost the full slide length.
So, I'm very happy to have the 79 inch. I guess there are ways around it but it is always nice to have the extra capacity.

The saw unit is more compact than I thought and the 79-inch slider doesn't occupy much space. Although you do need clearance fore and aft, when it is not used, the table extrudes only little. Of course, 96 inch would be even better if you use sheet goods often, but the 79-inch is a good compromise, I think.

What I found even more useful is, though, the outrigger. With the outrigger, almost the entire works happen in the left side of the blade. I found I don't use the rip fence so often that I replaced it with a cute short fence just for cross-cut indexing and parallel reference for the second rip.

If you are space deprived, 48x48 should serve you well, but if you have space, why not 79,,,, ok, except that you need to pay few hundred $ more.

[Eric D Matson]

Fore and aft space isn't a problem. I think I would be happier with the 79 as opposed to 48. I was looking at a sliding table saw about a year ago. From what I remember, the felder rep at the time told me it would fit through a 34" door. Does anyone know if this is true for sure? I'm not having too much luck finding true dimensions. Thanks again.

[Susumu Mori]

Mine went into my walk-out basement through a 34-inch sliding door. I had to remove the door and it barely went through the opening.
The widest part was the electric cord, which rubbed against the opening and I thought it was damaged but turned out to be fine.

So, yes, it was designed to go through the 34-inch opening.
To be exact, the opening is 1/8-inch shy of 34 inches after the sliding door was removed.

[Eric D Matson]

I just measured my door opening. It is 33 7/8". The frame is poured into my foundation wall so removing the door is not an option. I'd hate to order a machine and not be able to get it in my shop.

[Silas Smith]

Worst case you pop off some trim. Better than having a saw thar you always wish was a little better.

[Eric D Matson]

Does anyone know if you can add the shaper option down the road?

[Eric D Matson]

No trim to pop off the door. It's a metal door poured into the foundation. I have thought about cutting that door out and putting in a bigger door but that seems like a lot of work.

[Susumu Mori]

your opening, 33 7/8 is EXACTLY the same as mine, after the sliding door was removed.
If your opening measure is the net width with the door, you should be fine.
If not you need to remove the door. I understood that you can't remove the frame but you can remove the door from the hinges, can't you?

I don't think you can add the shaper later

[Eric D Matson]

Yes. I can remove the hinges. It's actually a 36" door but that is the measurement of everything I can't remove. It sure would make it an easier decision if I could add the shaper later. Not quite sure if I want to hold out for the shaper or not.

[Susumu Mori]

Yeah, that's exactly the problem of purchasing Hammer/Felder machines.
Start with a K3 48x48 which is not much more than a good cabinet saw. Then add a 79-inch slider, then add an outrigger, then, hey, adding a shaper makes a good sense.
All these additions are truly worthy but soon you find yourself looking at $9,000 bill.....

If you have a space, you could put off the shaper (F3) purchase, I guess. A separate shaper has definite advantages, because you can leave the hood, fence, and feeder.

[Rich Riddle]

I have the 48" x 48" model and wish it was larger on occasion. Do as you wish, but I recommend the 79" model if space allows.

[Jim Andrew]

I have the 79x48, use mostly solid lumber, and the saw works great to straight line rip stock. The outrigger works great with larger panels, without it would be hard to square up the larger panels, as they get heavy to the left of the slider.

[Wakahisa Shinta]

I struggled with the decision to get a shaper + saw combo back when I ordered the K3. Looking at the way I work in the shop, I thought it would have been quite a pain to switch back and forth between the shaper and saw configuration of the B3 Winner. I opted for the single-purpose machine in this case. For me, it is all about my work flow (or lack of it!). :)

[Eric D Matson]

That's kinda where I am leaning. I do have a smaller shaper I can use. It just would be nice to have the sliding table on it. I think I am going to go ahead a purchase the 79x48. I sure do appreciate all the info you guys have provided.

[Rod Sheridan]

Yes. I can remove the hinges. It's actually a 36" door but that is the measurement of everything I can't remove. It sure would make it an easier decision if I could add the shaper later. Not quite sure if I want to hold out for the shaper or not.

Eric, buy the B3 and have the shaper.

You've already paid for the cabinet, electrical controls and sliding table, so the shaper is extremely cost effective to purchase. I highly recommend you buy the B3 as opposed to the K3.

I have the B3 Winner with the 49" slider as I'm space constrained, and have no need to crosscut anything wider than a sheet of plywood. I do use mine for straight line ripping, if I need more than 48" I use the jig that slides in the groove on the sliding table.

The scoring saw is fantastic, as well as the stock feeder on the flip up bracket, which can be used on the saw or shaper if you buy the feeder with the extended arm.

regards, Rod.

P.S. If you order the shape, purchase the 1 1/4" and the 30mm spindle. You can use your dado cutter from the saw as an adjustable groover if you have the 30mm spindle, and 30mm tooling is often on sale from Felder for less money than the non standard imperial sizes. (Most of the tooling in the world is metric).

I also use the 30mm spindle with the sanding drum.

[Rod Sheridan]

Does anyone know if you can add the shaper option down the road?

Hi Eric, options are factory install only, accessories you can add at any time..........Rod.

[Eric D Matson]

That would be a pretty good trade off to get the shorter slider and the shaper. How long of board can you straight line rip with your jig? Do you have an outrigger support or is there enough support on the table for a sheet of plywood?

[Rod Sheridan]

That would be a pretty good trade off to get the shorter slider and the shaper. How long of board can you straight line rip with your jig? Do you have an outrigger support or is there enough support on the table for a sheet of plywood?

Hi Eric, I have the outrigger on mine ( most of the time it hangs on the wall as I don't normally need it for solid wood).

The jig allows for an 8 foot straight line rip...........Rod.

[Eric D Matson]

I keep going back and forth between the B3 and K3. The reasoning is I already have a smaller shaper with around 30 various cutters for it. It is only 1.5 hp and 3/4" spindle though and only has 7000 and 10000 rpm speeds. I have thought about buying an extra spindle and modifying it to work with my 3/4" cutters. I am looking at about $2700US difference between the b3 and k3 after adding the scoring blade, multi adjustable fence, and an extra spindle. I have thought about buying the K3 and if the need arises down the road for a more production shaper buying a standalone one but it sure would be nice to have the sliding table on it.