Dan Friedrichs
11-08-2016, 12:34 PM
A few months ago, I decided I’d had enough frustration with my little 6” jointer, and started looking to replace it (and my planer) with an A3-31 (jointer/planer combo). I figured it would be a good stepping stone into Euro-style machinery, and then maybe, some day FAR into the future, I’d be at the point of considering a sliding table saw.
Well, turns out the Felder was having a “60th anniversary sale”, and I could get the C3-31 (4-function combo machine) for about 2x what the A3-31 costs, alone. The C3-31 sale package also comes with a spiral cutterhead on the jointer/planer, which is an expensive upgrade on the A3-31. The sale price on the C3-31 with this “comfort” accessories package is $9,995, delivered.
Seemed like a rare opportunity to do a radical upgrade to the quality of my equipment, so after being put in touch with a local owner who kindly invited me over to see his C3-31, I pulled the trigger on it.
Felder definitely hasn’t quite figured out the “customer is always right” customer service mentality we have in the US :), but they were easy enough to work with and very efficient. Their time estimates for delivery were spot on, they knew exactly which (serial number) machine was being built for me and exactly where it was at. They had scheduled update emails sent to me to let me know what was going on, etc. They were REALLY on top of it. They sent me a nice catalog to peruse while waiting, and I think I have engineering textbooks that are thinner than this catalog…
ABF delivered the machine on a lift gate truck, with no damage and no problems. Their tracking was great and delivery estimate on-time.
The equipment I had before was nothing special, but it was adjusted/aligned/maintained to the point that I could do decent work with it. Decades ago, my dad got into woodworking and had a shop of Craftsman tools (which, obviously, have neither aged well nor were that great, to begin with). My old table saw, jointer, planer, and router table got re-located to my dad’s shop, so I feel good knowing that it all went to a “good home”, and I feel even better knowing that he won’t be trying to cut rough lumber on a wobbly table saw with a dull blade and crooked fence, any longer :)
Looks like I have some un-crating and setup to attend to…
Well, turns out the Felder was having a “60th anniversary sale”, and I could get the C3-31 (4-function combo machine) for about 2x what the A3-31 costs, alone. The C3-31 sale package also comes with a spiral cutterhead on the jointer/planer, which is an expensive upgrade on the A3-31. The sale price on the C3-31 with this “comfort” accessories package is $9,995, delivered.
Seemed like a rare opportunity to do a radical upgrade to the quality of my equipment, so after being put in touch with a local owner who kindly invited me over to see his C3-31, I pulled the trigger on it.
Felder definitely hasn’t quite figured out the “customer is always right” customer service mentality we have in the US :), but they were easy enough to work with and very efficient. Their time estimates for delivery were spot on, they knew exactly which (serial number) machine was being built for me and exactly where it was at. They had scheduled update emails sent to me to let me know what was going on, etc. They were REALLY on top of it. They sent me a nice catalog to peruse while waiting, and I think I have engineering textbooks that are thinner than this catalog…
ABF delivered the machine on a lift gate truck, with no damage and no problems. Their tracking was great and delivery estimate on-time.
The equipment I had before was nothing special, but it was adjusted/aligned/maintained to the point that I could do decent work with it. Decades ago, my dad got into woodworking and had a shop of Craftsman tools (which, obviously, have neither aged well nor were that great, to begin with). My old table saw, jointer, planer, and router table got re-located to my dad’s shop, so I feel good knowing that it all went to a “good home”, and I feel even better knowing that he won’t be trying to cut rough lumber on a wobbly table saw with a dull blade and crooked fence, any longer :)
Looks like I have some un-crating and setup to attend to…