Urgent call to Hammer A3-31/41 and MiniMax FS-30/35/40C Owners

[Steve Catts]

All,

Believe me, I understand your buyer's remorse. I really do. You probably are feeling really pleased with your machines and even more so if recently acquired. But I know that deep down inside, those of you that got 12" machines are really pining for 16". Even those that got the Hammer A3-41 are now wetting your pillow each night wishing you had gotten a AD541/741 or 941. Imagine all that beautiful weight!

For those many of you finding yourselves in such a predicament and wondering "how in the world can I extract myself from this living hell?" I have an solution for you. It's elegant in its simplicity actually. Buy up! Get what you really wanted all along. In a spirit of COVID-induced brotherhood, I want to help you along the way. You will need to make room for your dream machine and that is where I come in. For my part, I have determined I will not be filled with hollow sadness if I end up with an A3-31/41 or FS-30C. I will actually be VERY happy to help you and myself at the same time. Win-win.

So...Please DM me with your thoughts. I'd be happy to offer a listening ear to help resolve your regret and anxiety. The good news? It can soon be in your past. I know many of you will reach out, and please know, I am here for you. Please reach out quickly! I want to solve my, uhm, I mean your problem as quickly as possible.

Kind regards,
Steve (in Houston)

[Malcolm McLeod]

Truly, a momentous expression of HUMANITARIANISM!! We grow 'em big in Texas! ...There's a hospital just waiting to be named after you.

(pssst....Let me know if it works. I might try it too.)

[Thomas Crawford]

I ordered an A3/41 in May for September delivery, what is the lead time out to now?

[Steve Catts]

End of year...

[Bob Hinden]

I first ordered an A3-31, but after some thought, called the local rep and changed my order to an A3-41. Took longer and was more expensive, am very happy with the larger machine. No regrets.

[Erik Loza]

Steve, please check your email. I'm handling the Houston area at least for the foreseeable future.

Erik

[Jim Becker]

Few of us are immune from realizing that a few more millimeters of width could have served us well. :) Another 60mm should have been my goal, but alas, "back in the day", the deal was really good for the 350mm I got. :) :D Fortunately, I know someone nearby who did get that extra 60mm and well, I've been known to visit him accordingly. LOL

[Ben Rivel]

Ah the old demon in the shadows of buyer remorse. Creepy little bugger. Thankfully it was easy for me. No room for separate planer and jointer and no room for anything larger than the A3-31. So, A3-31 is was. And haven't been bothered by it since :D

[Joe Adams]

Ah the old demon in the shadows of buyer remorse. Creepy little bugger. Thankfully it was easy for me. No room for separate planer and jointer and no room for anything larger than the A3-31. So, A3-31 is was. And haven't been bothered by it since :D

Same here except I went with the Minimax FS30 when I couldn't find a dimensional board in my shop over 12-inches. Every square foot of floor space in my shop is precious and all of my machine tools are on mobile bases. I could not justify the added size, weight and cost of the 16" model. The primary reason to go with a combo machine in the first place is limited shop space. I have no regrets at all after two years.

[Mark e Kessler]

Totally true, can’t avoid that dilemma - I went with AD941 and wish I had just gone with the AD951. The limiting fact for me at the time was the 20” was 3p only which only added to the cost, now that I am upgrading to the K940 which is 3p only and I scored a Phase Perfect for 1/2 the cost... if only I was looking now to upgrade the j/p...

With that said I had an SCM FS 350 paired with an SCM S63B and rarely ran into width issues with the jointer an I was doing a lot of commercial work at the time. Th one short coming was the table length and weight, my opinion is you always want the biggest heaviest....

mark

[Brian Holcombe]

Until you see that 24” Hofmann...

[Jim Becker]

Until you see that 24” Hofmann...

WHere would you put the rest of your power tools? That think would literally take your entire "machine room" space! LOL

[Andy D Jones]

Got the A3-41, and ain't lookin' back... Mine was my retirement gift to myself.

I don't have to justify it to anyone but me.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Brian Holcombe]

WHere would you put the rest of your power tools? That think would literally take your entire "machine room" space! LOL

Hah, exactly. When I eventually have more space that one is definitely going to become a strong maybe :D

[Jim Becker]

Hah, exactly. When I eventually have more space that one is definitely going to become a strong maybe :D

Honestly, I think you need to find yourself an industrial building that you can add living quarters onto. Of course, that might also result in a divorce... :) :D

[Brian Holcombe]

:D In that case I won’t need to take up so much room with the living quarters.

[William Chain]

I also have an A3-41 headed my way, ETA December. If all goes well, I'll have an RC-33 and a DJ-20 for the classifieds around Thanksgiving.


End of year...

[Erik Loza]

Speaking for Felder, here is the situation regarding Hammers. As many may be aware, the covid situation in Europe shut down our production line for nearly two months. There was always a little lead time, even pre-covid. A3’s are hands-down our most popular machines. What we experienced was that orders continued to come in while the factory was shut down. The lead time is just a function of us digging out of that backog of orders. The factory is has been back up and running for a while now and even brought in a bunch more workers on the production line to help deal with this backlog. What I can share is that the factory has allocated several containers of exclsively A3’s just for the US market. As some members have mentioned, these are going to be arriving December through February. “Yes”, lead time is long right now but hang in there, the machine will be worth it.

Erik

[Ben Rivel]

Yep, always has been a lead time for Hammer A3s for the years I have been watching. I waited a few months for mine to come in a few years ago and that was actually just luck as the West Sacramento warehouse had two orders canceled and I was able to grab one drastically shortening my wait time. Machine is amazing though and for what I use it for and my available space, its absolutely perfect! So glad I didnt try and save a bit and go with something lesser like a Jet or Grizzly combo J/P!

[Tom Bain]

I own 4 Hammer/FELDER machines, and never regretted waiting for any of them.

[Mike Wilkins]

Upgraditis is a serious but fun problem to have. My jointer journey started with a bench-top Craftsman, to a 6" Jet, to an Asian made 12" J/P machine. Got my forever machine in 2018 in a Hammer A3-41 16" machine. I do have some boards in the stash that are over 12" wide, but the full capacity is not used often. But overkill is over-rated. Get what you want and save the regrets for someone else.

[Brian Holcombe]

I use full width on mine all the time.

[Bill Dindner]

I have just a perfect narrow area in my shop that I keep the A3-31, My shop is in the shape of an L with the foot being a very narrow 16ft. If I had the A3-41 I would not have a good spot for the machine. I have drum sander, so the few times over the years where I needed the extra capacity the drum sander got me there.

[Robert Mayer]

I have been trying for 3 days to get pricing and order a blade guard for a A3-31 I recently bought used. Their customer service is really slow to answer. They told me to call in and every time it says to leave a message, which they don't reply to. If I bought the machine new and got that kind of service I would be furious. I made a blade guard out of wood to replace it.

[Ben Rivel]

I have been trying for 3 days to get pricing and order a blade guard for a A3-31 I recently bought used. Their customer service is really slow to answer. They told me to call in and every time it says to leave a message, which they don't reply to. If I bought the machine new and got that kind of service I would be furious. I made a blade guard out of wood to replace it.
Huh, thats odd. Try hitting up folks in the West Sacramento, CA office. I have worked with Liz Rogers for years and a couple years ago when I bought my A3-31 Ryan Kodani was newish and handled that purchase. He was awesome help.