Any hammer owners A331 Jointer planer

[Rick Fisher]

I am struggling with making a decision on this machine. I need a machine that fits in a smaller space. There are extentions available, which will make the bed about 100" long if needed, so this seems like a pretty decent design.

(1) Does anyone have this machine and the extentions? Are they decent (the extentions).

(2) I have a new planer with a helical cutterhead and absolutely love it. Amazing upgrade over straight knives. The Hammer comes with straight knives only.
Can anyone comment on the knives? Apparently easy to change out.. Are they comparable to a Byrd style head?

(3) This machine will never get used as a planer, unless my planer breaks down. If there where a Hammer Jointer only, that would be ideal. Any other suggestions? Felder makes a jointer only but its out of my league, price wise.

(4) Can anyone tell me the overall depth (Width) of this machine and what the height is behind the machine, under the part that sticks out. There are no pictures of the back of the machine online or in the catalog.

The jointer goes beside the workbench and creates an isle between the planer and jointer. The wider the machine, the narrower the isle. I wouldnt mind if the rear portion sat above the table.. (hope that makes sense).

Otherwise, I was told today, by a guy who owns one, that its like owning 600lb swiss watch.

Are they loud like straight knife machines tend to be?

[Don Abele]

Rick, I have the Hammer with one of the extensions. I keep it primarily on the outfeed side of the planer. It's an aluminum extrusion and is VERY stiff. It connects by way of a bar that bolts to the beds. I have the bar for both sides of the jointer bed as well, so I can move the extension where I need it.

The knives are AMAZINGLY quick to change. It comes with the allen key you need to change them...loosen the bolts, remove the blade, insert new one, tighten the bolts. It takes longer to explain it then to do it.

I haven't run a lot of wood through the planer, but a fair amount through the jointer. The stock knives cut very well...just as good as any other knife I've used, including the Byrd Shelix head on my 6" Jet Jointer. The Hammer is not as quiet when cutting than my Jet with the Shelix head, but it is quieter than a standard knife setup on any other jointer I've used. This is primarily due to the thickness of the bed and the scalloping on the bed when it meets the knife head. This helps alleviate the air "gulping" that causes a lot of the noise. Again, not as quiet as a Shelix, but quieter than a standard jointer.

I'm away until this weekend so can't give you any measurements. This is not a small machine though. The back is pretty flat from top to bottom. The fence rides on a rail along the right jointer bed so doesn't stick out the back (which is a feature I like). I have mine pressed back to back with my 6" Jet forming an island in the middle of the shop. The Jet looks so small sitting there.

A 600 pound Swiss watch sounds about right. It is solidly built and runs smooth as glass. I've no complaints what so ever about the machine.

Be well,

Doc

[Narayan Nayar]

Quite a few SMC members joined the ranks of A3-31 owners in the past few months, myself included.

Everything Don said. The extensions are very solid, and you can use the same extension on either the planer or the jointer. I had to mess with my knives a bit (weren't registered very well out of the factory) but once dialed in, I'll never have to mess with them again. Very smart system.

I can't tell you whether it makes sense to get a combo jointer planer machine which will never get used as a planer...that's up to you. Is it space reasons? There are plenty of good 12" jointers out there, probably for less money than a combo machine.

I can take measurements tomorrow.

[Jim Becker]

I don't have that machine...rather a competitor's product is in my shop...but I can tell you that most of the time, you'll not really need to be worrying about those bed extensions. The few times that I've had to work with really long stock (and that generally just for some quick skimming/flattening before skip planing), I just used a roller stand on the outfeed side to help me keep the board from sagging near the end of the cut. If I felt that I needed some "real" bed extension, I'd either buy the Aigner extension tables or make something similar...and use them around the shop on other tools, too.

Many folks using combo J/P machines have found the same to be true...the bed length is less important than one might imagine, especially if you are pre-cutting components to slightly over length prior to final machining to "true".

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

(1) Does anyone have this machine and the extentions? Are they decent (the extentions). Don't waste your money. I have run 10' lumber through mine no problems at all. I think these items were put forward to take the money from people who are accustomed to inferior machinery.


](2) I have a new planer with a helical cutterhead and absolutely love it. Amazing upgrade over straight knives. The Hammer comes with straight knives only.
Can anyone comment on the knives? Apparently easy to change out.. Are they comparable to a Byrd style head?
The straight knives are exactly what they should be. A true helical is always an improvement no matter how good the knives or cutter head. Even Northstate uses a true helical carbide insert cutterhead.


(3) This machine will never get used as a planer, unless my planer breaks down. If there where a Hammer Jointer only, that would be ideal. Any other suggestions? Felder makes a jointer only but its out of my league, price wise.

In such a case, you are wasting your money getting a JP combo. All that engineering and cost for a combo and you have a planer you like?
Get a good 12" stand alone jointer instead. Get one with the fence that is cast iron and supported not at the end but right over the cutterhead.



(4) Can anyone tell me the overall depth (Width) of this machine and what the height is behind the machine, under the part that sticks out. There are no pictures of the back of the machine online or in the catalog.The Felder catalog has foot print info that translates dorectly to the Hammer line.
I'll try to remember to measure mine.
I still think it's a mistake if all you want is a wide jointer.


I was told today, by a guy who owns one, that its like owning 600lb swiss watch. They are great machines. They do have "issues" that simply can not be eliminated without another couple of Grand worth of metal and engineering.

When you have a machine that does more than one thing you have "issues." It's just a fact of life. the only way aroiund them is by pouring money into the engineering and manufacture. The Felder engineers have done a fine job and it's a grat machine. However if you are keeping a good planer I just can't imagine why you'd want a J/P combo.


Are they loud like straight knife machines tend to be?Well they are straight knife machines, so yes.

[Albert Buczkowski]

How can I take this 600 lbs beast in my basement, that is the only thing that stop my from buying it for the moment.
Piano movers are $150+ but the safest way.
I have to make my mind now, the special end tomorrow.

[Jamie Buxton]

How can I take this 600 lbs beast in my basement, that is the only thing that stop my from buying it for the moment.
Piano movers are $150+ but the safest way.
I have to make my mind now, the special end tomorrow.

The exact answer to your question depends on how you get into the basement -- interior stairs, exterior access, etc -- and what equipment you have. Use SMC's Search function to find lots of threads about moving big equipment into basements. They may give you some ideas.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

How can I take this 600 lbs beast in my basement, that is the only thing that stop my from buying it for the moment.
Piano movers are $150+ but the safest way.
I have to make my mind now, the special end tomorrow.

I'd remove the tables. That would lighten it substantially and make it a tighter package. Then use a block and tackle to lower it using a couple of 2x12s as a ramp.

If the stairs are interior and you gotta turn a few corners I'd build a rubber-tired dolly or rent one.

Then, before the jointer tables were re-mounted I'd perform a little tweak that these machines all need.

Take a tap and drill to the hinge knuckles that rotate around the steel shafts and bolt a piece of 1/2" of 3/8" steel bar across the knuckles. In the middle of that bar mount a cam lever to apply locking tension between the iron knuckles and the shaft when the machine is in the jointer mode. You could just use a big set screw but that'd damage the shaft and make adjustments difficult

These machines do tend to move a little when under the pressure of heavy work. It takes a fair bit but, with an indicator on it you can see motion when you lean on the tables.

The best way to have eliminated this flaw would have been to built it with tapered roller bearings at the hinge points much like the wheel bearing on an auto axle. or the tapered bearings on the spindle of a good machine lathe.

[Rick Fisher]

Well. The issue is space. Most 12" jointers are about 80" long and 30+ inches wide.

[Scot Ferraro]

I also have the A3-31 and I am very pleased with the performance. The shorter table lengths have not been an issue for me. You can always use roller stands or the stands that HD carries if you need some extra length and as a cheaper alternative to the ones Felder carries. Mine measures about 23 inches wide (this is not 100% accurate as I had some stuff blocking my measurement, but it is pretty close. I think that the width for face jointing is the biggest advantage to the machine and it does a very nice job -- I actually have suction of the wood to the outfeed table to give you an idea of how flat my boards are. The knives work extremely well and put a very nice finish on the wood.

I know you said that you would not use the planer function, but keep in mind that you can plane close 9 inches on this machine (think edge planing to get boards exactly parallel to one another). This allows easy ripping on a bandsaw and planing boards straight and true. I have also been able to get work pieces under 1/8" on the planer with no issues (and this is better than the machine's specs). With the digital guage you get 100% repeatable results and there is no more trial and error when planing parts to match -- just dial it in an go.

Good luck.