Are the Hammer/Felder JP Table Extensions Worth The Money?

[Julie Moriarty]

Since purchasing the Hammer A3-31 I've been to the Felder e-shop website many times and loaded up the cart with the necessary parts needed to allow for infeed and outfeed table extensions that can be interchanged between the jointer and planer as needed. One long extension and one short extension, plus (3) mounting rails.

Then I would see the total price and walk away. It's almost $860. How can this little convenience be worth that kind of money? They are only 6" wide, not helpful if you're feeding several narrow boards into the planer at once. The short one is less than 16" and the long one about double that. That's around $215 per foot. Yikes!

I don't know if I'm looking for someone to agree with me or someone to talk me into the purchase. But at lease I got it off my chest. Thanks for tolerating me.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have both of those for my A3-31. The short one stays permanently mounted to the planer out feed and is definitely worth it from my perspective.

The long one, I use occasionally, mostly on the out feed side of the jointer, but only when I’m doing a board close to 8’ long. This one I would probably not purchase again.

[Mark Carlson]

I have the shorter aluminum one on my planer outfeed. I think its around $200. I could also put that on my jointer infeed if needed but I never have. So I dont think the longer one is needed for the jointer infeed. The planer outfeed? Not sure if it improves the cut, but it does offer support if I'm slow getting around to catch the piece. The really nice accessory is the digital thickness scale.

[Andy D Jones]

First, you only need at most two mounting rails for the extension tables. There are only two places to put an additional rail: on the jointer outfeed, and on the planer outfeed.

The jointer fence shares the same rail as an infeed extension table. Both the fence and an extension table can be mounted at the same time. There is no other place to mount a rail on the infeed of the jointer.

You cannot mount a rail on the infeed of the planer, because a table there would interfere with the elevation handwheel, and obscure the digital insert if you have it. There are no holes for mounting a rail there either.

Second, a short extension table, and rail, are VERY useful on the planer outfeed. An extension practically lives there on my A3-41.

I purchased two rails and one short extension table with my machine. I plan to purchase another short extension table. For the rare times I need a jointer extension table on the A3-41 (you may want one more often on a shorter A3-31), I can move the one from the planer outfeed. The second rail is on the jointer outfeed. So I can move the short table there or to the jointer infeed very quickly and easily if needed.

The long extension tables have an adjustable support leg that goes to the floor, so it is not useful on the planer outfeed, which constantly changes height. I do not plan on needing any of them.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Malcolm McLeod]

... It's almost $860. ...

I own neither the J/P or the accessories, but am loosely familiar with the construction. I don't know if the parts are patent protected, but so many companies do something to protect their IP - or in some way force you to play in their 'sandbox' only. And prices reflect this exclusivity.:eek:

For that kind of coin, could you interest a local machine shop in fabricating them..?? A new design modified to your specs? Perhaps a Creeker could provide details and measurements?

Don't take this wrong :: i support any company's right to a suitable ROI, and I don't mind being part of that ROI, but I hate feeling like I am ALL of it.

[Warren Lake]

do you have a photo, with out seeing it it should be easy to make something up for cheap that works just as well. Ive done horses or even the welded metal spray stand that is adjustable with Melmine on top. This was outfeed support for 14 - 16 foot boards. I just took a saw horse and some offcuts of Melmine, stuff slides nice on melmine. You dont need a precision table the machine has that, you only need support.


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[Bill McNiel]

Julie,
I have the A3-41, purchased "used" it came with the short extension and mounting bracket. IMHO, it works quite well cantilevered on the outflow side of the Planer.

In the last year I have run a ridiculous amount of 8'-14' VG Fir through both the Jointer & Planner with the aid of two $50 roller stands. I have not come up with any better ways, or a need, to support material regardless of cost. I don't need, or want, an additional extension attached to either of the Jointer beds or the infeed of the Planner, as they would add to the "hassle" of switching over.

And yes, the cost of the Hammer add ons is absurd.

Just my 2 cents and possibly not worth that - Bill

[Brad Shipton]

The need for these all depends on your projects. If you are doing passage doors then they are helpful. I owned 16" extensions for both the infeed and outfeed at one time, but I found they would deflect some with larger 8/4 pieces. I sold them and replaced them with Aigner extensions (not great cost wise) that work for this, the saw/shaper, and bandsaw. The Aigners are more time consuming to setup since they have legs, but they work well for me. I rarely use them anymore on my J/P since most of my projects are furniture size.

The casting for the tables have tapers, so the mount mechanism is not a simple chunk of steel. Building the extensions yourself will only be cheaper if you can do it all yourself. The extrusions they use are not cheap and unless you have a good source that will sell small lengths, you may end up buying a full length of the material.

[Mick Simon]

I also have the A3-41 with rails on the jointer outfeed and the planer outfeed. I've never needed my short extension on the jointer, but might if it were the A3-31 The short extension lives on the planer table. I agree that the long extension is not worth it. It requires a support leg that looks like a pain when you switch to planer mode.
So, put me in the group recommending two rails and one short extension.

[Jeff Monson]

Hi Julie, I have 2 of the short extensions and mounting rails that I may consider selling. I sold my A3-31 for a Felder and was hoping to use these on one of my machines. Kinda crappy of them to not make them interchangeable it appears they only work on Hammer machines. Shoot me a good offer and I may just sell them.

[Erik Loza]

...So, put me in the group recommending two rails and one short extension.

^^^ My standard recommendation, as well. We sell the short extension tables at a ratio of probably 10:1 over the long ones.

Erik

[Derek Cohen]

Julie, as Brad notes, it depends on the work you do. I rarely, if ever, joint and thickness anything over 2m in length. For the “medium” size furniture pieces I built, the extensions are quite unnecessary. Unless one is regularly building large dining tables, then it is better practice to dock rough sawn boards to a manageable size, or a working length. Jointing and thicknessing full length boards, and then cutting to part length, is uneconomical (wasteful of thickness), and poorer practice.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Alan Lightstone]

The short one lives on my Felder D951 planer. Occasionally I put it on my Felder FB-710 bandsaw.

I never added the extension rails to my jointer. I didn't realize that you could. Oversight on my part.

When needed, incredibly useful.

[Ben Rivel]

Hi Julie, I have 2 of the short extensions and mounting rails that I may consider selling. I sold my A3-31 for a Felder and was hoping to use these on one of my machines. Kinda crappy of them to not make them interchangeable it appears they only work on Hammer machines. Shoot me a good offer and I may just sell them.
PM sent. I might be interested in those A3-31 rails and extensions depending on condition and price.

[Warren Lake]

julie asked if its worth the money. Lets see what you get for the money. Julie as far as tolerating you, you asked a logical question.

[Rod Wolfy]

I had a couple on my BF6-31, which I found very useful for longer boards on the jointer. I had a Jet J/P and was always frustrated by the planer not having any outfeed table for running multiple short pieces through. I have a A3-41 on order and am getting two short ones; one to leave on the planer outfeed and one for the jointer, as needed for long lumber (some of the 6'+ wide 8/4s are pretty heavy to start).

[Brian Holcombe]

The Felder extensions are nice. I have their cast iron extension mounted to the Maka, and the wide aluminum tables on my router table and on the Ulmia tablesaw. For indeed/outfeed on the router table, jointer planer and bandsaw I have abs prefer Aigner.

[Rod Sheridan]

I added the rails to my jointer and planer outfeed and my saw/shaper outfeed.

One of the short extensions is always on my planer outfeed, one is always on the S/S outfeed and I have a long one that's really useful when running really long material on the jointer od shaper outfeed........Rod.

[Anthony Barbatto]

For those of you that installed the extension on the planer table, did your coupling need to be shimmed to allow a big enough gap for the "hook" on the extension table to fit?

I noticed the mounting holes on my planer table are slightly deeper than the holes on the outfeed table. This causes the coupling to sit too close to the table when snug and prevents the table from hooking to the coupling. I have a ~20mm gap at the outfeed but on the planer, the gap is ~17. The extension hook is 17mm.

I can shim the coupling with a washer as I don't think it's that critical of an alignment but I'm curious if this is common or just a small manufacturing defect.

Thanks!


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[Phil Gaudio]

Minimax FS41E: different machine, but another reference point. I have never found a need to use any extension tables on the jointer or planer. That is a lot of $$ to spend on something that you may or may not need. FWIW

[Greg Parrish]

It’s been a few years since I sold my machine so I can’t remember how it was actually attached, but in your picture I noticed what looks like a crack in the middle right. Not sure if you’ve noticed it or if its worth worry.


For those of you that installed the extension on the planer table, did your coupling need to be shimmed to allow a big enough gap for the "hook" on the extension table to fit?

I noticed the mounting holes on my planer table are slightly deeper than the holes on the outfeed table. This causes the coupling to sit too close to the table when snug and prevents the table from hooking to the coupling. I have a ~20mm gap at the outfeed but on the planer, the gap is ~17. The extension hook is 17mm.

I can shim the coupling with a washer as I don't think it's that critical of an alignment but I'm curious if this is common or just a small manufacturing defect.

Thanks!


488361

[Anthony Barbatto]

It’s been a few years since I sold my machine so I can’t remember how it was actually attached, but in your picture I noticed what looks like a crack in the middle right. Not sure if you’ve noticed it or if its worth worry.

Thanks for pointing that out. I did a double-take looking at the picture and went down to the garage to take a closer look.

Turns out, it was just some dried, crusty gunk that was left on the table. Under the shop lights, it was thick enough to cast a small shadow that made it look like a crack in the photo. It was easily scraped off with a fingernail. :)

[Warren Lake]

Ive used them on long stock and no way to have done it without them jointing stock up to 14-16 feet. If you didnt need them its just the work you do. I know of at least one person who lost fingers from not having proper support for some heavy maple. The extension tables are there to support the material so you can focus on using the machine properly and not trying to stop it from tilting off the outfeed. Same time id never buy the fancy stuff that is available as simple stuff in the shop will work just as well.

[Greg Quenneville]

I made my own using heavy extrusions and a homemade F-rail (to use the Felder name).

Felder uses 10 x 40mm steel bar to mount things (except on their newer x-roll sliding tables). Its pretty straight forward to make your own mounting brackets.

I have an older Felder which uses a dovetail mount. I have the cast iron extension pieces but they all need milling because they sit 0.008” high. No bueno.

[Steve Wurster]

For those of you that installed the extension on the planer table, did your coupling need to be shimmed to allow a big enough gap for the "hook" on the extension table to fit?

I noticed the mounting holes on my planer table are slightly deeper than the holes on the outfeed table. This causes the coupling to sit too close to the table when snug and prevents the table from hooking to the coupling. I have a ~20mm gap at the outfeed but on the planer, the gap is ~17. The extension hook is 17mm.

I can shim the coupling with a washer as I don't think it's that critical of an alignment but I'm curious if this is common or just a small manufacturing defect.

Thanks!


A quick check of mine shows about a 20mm gap. In fact, there is a slight gap between the cast iron planer bed and the extension itself. I don't remember doing any shimming. Did you double check that you have all the washers setup correctly? Those are ... odd.

On a related note, I leave the extension on the planer permanently.

[Greg Parrish]

A quick check of mine shows about a 20mm gap. In fact, there is a slight gap between the cast iron planer bed and the extension itself. I don't remember doing any shimming. Did you double check that you have all the washers setup correctly? Those are ... odd.

On a related note, I leave the extension on the planer permanently.

Now that you mention it, I recall something odd about the washers too. They either went on the opposite side from what you would expect, or they were concentric or cam’s or something. Don’t remember the detail but do remember having to redo mine because of the washers.

[Erik Loza]

Now that you mention it, I recall something odd about the washers too. They either went on the opposite side from what you would expect, or they were concentric or cam’s or something. Don’t remember the detail but do remember having to redo mine because of the washers.

I remember something like this as well. Last show I did for Felder, my tech ran into a similar issue with specific arrangement of the washers. It’s been a while but I recall that once we identified the idiosyncracy, the rest was downhill. Hope this helps.

Erik

[Robyn Horton]

I have attached pictures from the install sheet for the Hammer extension coupling. The washers are spherical ( 2 of them make 1 set), one fits into the other to take up any misalignment when tightening the coupling to the machine to keep it straight.

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[Anthony Barbatto]

I double checked my washers and they are in the correct sequence as indicated in the photos from Robyn.

On my planer table, the #3 spacer (per Robyn's picture) sits just slightly deeper in the hole causing the gap to be too narrow.

I ended up adding an M10 nylon washer between the table and the #3 spacer. I didn't measure the thickness of the washer but would guess it's about 1.25-1.5mm. With the washer in place, there's now plenty of room to fit the extension table hook into the gap.

My plan is to leave the table permanently attached to the planer.

Thanks guys!

Anthony