Care of Hammer A3-31 jointer and planer beds

[Roger Jensen]

Hi All,

I have an A3-31 and have been very happy with it. My only issue is the surface of the jointer and planer beds. For those of you that don't have have one, they have some sort of grooved steel instead of the polished surface like my other tools. It seems like wood pieces don't slide as easily on this tool as on other tools.

I am wondering what other folks are using to clean/prep their Hammer tools. I have tried TopCoat and wax, but neither of them give me the slick surface I am looking for.

It mostly affects surface jointing wide boards. Sliding a long, eight-inch-wide board is a hard to push with a smooth even motion. I need to have a push stick behind the board to push it along (vs. a rubber-bottomed push handle pushing down on the board).

Thanks,

Roger

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Roger, I'm using paste wax on mine, you do have to keep it waxed.

Felder sell Super Gleit (SP?) for that purpose, I don't know if it works better than wax........Rod.

[Jeff Monson]

Roger I had the same concerns on my a3-31 when it was new. So I took my ROS and sanded them, it took the roughness out of the cast IMO. I cleaned them really well, waxed them, and now have no complaints.

I'm not really sure this was the "correct" thing to do but it did help mine out considerably. When my machine was new, you could not wax the tables without shredding the cloth, as the beds were that rough.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Man, not trying to give anyone buyer's remorse here. But I'm surprised that's what you get for a $4k machine!

[Rod Sheridan]

Man, not trying to give anyone buyer's remorse here. But I'm surprised that's what you get for a $4k machine!

What, a machine that planes with zero snipe, and can take a 3mm cut in one pass jointer or planer mode?

I don't have buyer remorse, I have a big smile every time I use it.

I think the term "rough" leads to an impression of not accuratly machined, however the opposite is true. The machining of the beds is exact, which leads to a sharpness.

I removed the protective surface treatment on mine with Scothbrite pads and solvent, which cleans up the protective coating and removes the sharpness from the table surfaces.

I can't remember if it's mentioned in the manual, however it is a common approach to cleaning machine tables.

P.S. The table also gets better with continued use and waxing, and doesn't suffer from the stiction common to extremely smooth surfaces.

regards, Rod.

[Peter Aeschliman]

What, a machine that planes with zero snipe, and can take a 3mm cut in one pass jointer or planer mode?

I don't have buyer remorse, I have a big smile every time I use it.

No doubt it's an awesome machine... but it seems odd that the surface would shred up a cloth if you tried to buff it!

[Paul B. Cresti]

I have owned numerous european machines and they all have the milled surface on the cast iron minus my current bandsaw. I prefer the milled surface to the shiny tops, no issue what-so-ever with it not being slick enough....just use paste wax and get to work

[Brad Shipton]

I quite like the Felder Gleit, but I must admit I have not tried wax.

Brad

[Jamie Buxton]

I have a first-generation A3-31 -- about eight years old. Although the surface is milled (like my Unisaw and my Laguana bandsaw), it isn't rough. It certainly wouldn't shred a paper towel. I put paste wax on it occasionally.

[Glen Butler]

Paste wax doesn't last more than a few boards, then they start sticking again. Am I doing something wrong? I apply an thin even coat then buff off.

[Paul B. Cresti]

This is what I have been doing for years now

1. put one coat on and then remove with a buffing motion... this "cleans" the cast iron
2. put on the next coat and let it dry for a bit. Buff this coat until the surface is dry...you will get a sheen to the surface

Surface will now be slick and well protected.

[Jamie Buxton]

Paste wax doesn't last more than a few boards, then they start sticking again. Am I doing something wrong? I apply an thin even coat then buff off.

I pad on a little wax, and rarely buff it. It might be weeks or before I do it again, and I'm in the shop a lot.

Maybe your table is rougher than mine, like you said in your first post. When my table saw gets a little rusty, I polish it with my random-orbit sander. I use the aluminum oxide paper I use on wood, so it doesn't last long on the steel. But it does polish the steel. You could try that on your tables. I'm not sure, but maybe silicon carbide sandpaper (the black wet-or-dry stuff they sell in auto shops) might last a little longer on steel than aluminum oxide, but then I don't know of a source for hook-and-loop discs of the stuff.

[Sam Babbage]

If it's like a similar machine I recently set up then I think the roughness is caused by tiny burrs at the edges of the grooves created by the maching process. From what I've been told these will smooth off with use, or you can be a bit more aggressive and remove them with either an abrasive pad or stone. Don't go overboard with the abrading! I found that instead of using a cloth to wax or Silber Gleit (sp? it's Silver Glide in English) using a piece of white, abrasiveless Scotchbrite worked well while the table was still a little rough.

I've used older machines with grooved tables that are as smooth as silk, so Ithink with time it will sort itself out.

[Roger Jensen]

Thanks Sam. I don't want to do anything too drastic, but I also want a slicker surface.

Did you you any solvent/fluid with your Scotchbrite pad? Did you do it by hand or use your ROS?

Roger

[Martin Serre]

I second that! Waxing the tables (I have a C3-31) is extremely important. I make my own wax (it's easy) but I'm sure the stuff that Felder in Mississauga sells is much better. Without waxing (which I do before every big job), the boards become increasingly hard to push through.

Hi Roger, I'm using paste wax on mine, you do have to keep it waxed.

Felder sell Super Gleit (SP?) for that purpose, I don't know if it works better than wax........Rod.