Hammer K3 Winner - What I've learned in the last 6 months

[Jim Becker]

Steve Wurster, as I've mentioned, has the 79" version and it's a sweet machine. I believe he commented to you about this shop size which is very modest..I've been in it physically as he lives nearby. (He actually helped me with my shop move this past summer) He does great work with his machinery and aside from skilz...he has things very organized so that the machinery works in the space he has available. While I believe you'd be happy with either size, I think you'll be even happier with the longer version, honestly.

[Rod Sheridan]

Many thanks Rod. Did you build your own F&F?

Of course, mine is very basic, no stops or scales…..Rod

[Chris Parks]

Hi Mike,

I'm curious as to what else you have learned since your purchase. I am in the market for a table saw and am considering a Hammer K3. One of my main concerns is repeatable, fast and accurate rip cuts. Some use the rip fence (either with the edge of the board resting on the slightly elevated slider or just short of it); some use a fritz and franz jig (but how do you ensure consistent width without fiddling?); and some use a parallel guide system. What is you experience to date?

Howard

I put a Wixey on the rip fence for that specific reason, I can return to the same dimension without fiddling. I rarely use the rip fence as such, I bought an extra rip fence and cut it up into 300mm lengths and sold all of them except one and that lives on the rip fence head as a measuring bump stop. If I was doing it as a new owner I would cut 300mm off the supplied rip fence as the fence is way longer than needed. Using the short length means that you don't have to walk around the thing when it is retracted as it should be to the middle of the blade and all up it is a way better way to work and the long fence can be installed in literally 30 seconds. It also clears the entire table area to the right of the blade for cut offs etc. The one thing I have learned above all else is how crude cabinet saws are to work with and I am one of the fortunate people who don't have to work with one because not everyone is as fortunate as us slider owners.

[Chris Parks]

Most F&F jigs are far snazzier than mine................Rod.
Attachment 406780

I don't even have a handle on mine.

[Greg Quenneville]

I put a Wixey on the rip fence for that specific reason, I can return to the same dimension without fiddling. I rarely use the rip fence as such, I bought an extra rip fence and cut it up into 300mm lengths and sold all of them except one and that lives on the rip fence head as a measuring bump stop. If I was doing it as a new owner I would cut 300mm off the supplied rip fence as the fence is way longer than needed. Using the short length means that you don't have to walk around the thing when it is retracted as it should be to the middle of the blade and all up it is a way better way to work and the long fence can be installed in literally 30 seconds. It also clears the entire table area to the right of the blade for cut offs etc. The one thing I have learned above all else is how crude cabinet saws are to work with and I am one of the fortunate people who don't have to work with one because not everyone is as fortunate as us slider owners.

I have a full combo so need to keep the full length of the extrusion for the planer (jointer). So I bought a small piece of 40mm extrusion from one of the usual suspects…it slides right over my Felder's mounting bar and is plenty rigid.

[Michael Drew]

If anyone is interested in zero clearance insert for the K3, this guy makes them, and they look very well made. He has a YouTube channel, and has thorough video detailing his process. He also has a few tips videos. https://ramonvaldezfinefurniture.com...er-k-3-winner/

I think I might order a couple. Not cheap, but I doubt I could build one any better than he does.

I'm also curious how others with this saw has their machines set up with filler and outfeed tables? I'm not all that impressed with supplied side tables. I must have spent half a day trying to get them mounted and level yesterday. I'm thinking about just making a cabinet with a laminated top and ditching the supplied metal pieces.

[Howard Dean]

Hi Michael. I bought a couple. Very well made. I had to file down both ends a bit to fit the saw, probably because he makes the inserts to fit his saw. For an outfeed table I use a 4x7’ MFT/router table/ storage table that I built using extruded aluminum. I designed it to be the same height as the saw. It has casters that lock in place and which I can unlock if I want to move the table. I purchased the aluminum from a company called Faztek. You sketch out a design and a designer creates a digital image for you. Once you agree on the design they tell you the price and, if you agree, they ship the parts to you. It was more expensive than I anticipated (about $1,800 including shipping), but it’s lightweight and strong. The only thing I didn’t like is that you receive bags and bags of parts with no instructions. I spent some time on the phone with them. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty smoothly.

[Michael Drew]

Thanks Howard. I just ordered a couple of his ZCIs. I'll have to look into the Faztek. Thanks for the tip.

[Steve Wurster]

If anyone is interested in zero clearance insert for the K3, this guy makes them, and they look very well made. He has a YouTube channel, and has thorough video detailing his process. He also has a few tips videos. https://ramonvaldezfinefurniture.com...er-k-3-winner/

I think I might order a couple. Not cheap, but I doubt I could build one any better than he does.

I'm also curious how others with this saw has their machines set up with filler and outfeed tables? I'm not all that impressed with supplied side tables. I must have spent half a day trying to get them mounted and level yesterday. I'm thinking about just making a cabinet with a laminated top and ditching the supplied metal pieces.

I have a couple of Ramon's ZCIs as well, and like Howard I had to modify them slightly to get them to fit. Well, actually, they fit fine if you moved the sliding table all the way to the left (rear) when inserting or removing the ZCI. That's the opposite of where you need to put the table when changing the blade, so that seemed wrong. A small modification to the bottom of the ZCI near the front edge of the saw fixed the problem.

As for the side extension tables, I don't remember having too much problem getting them aligned. I don't really have room for an outfeed table, but I do have one of the small Hammer extensions hanging off the back of my saw in order to prevent longer pieces from falling to the floor. Most of the time the keeper piece is on the sliding table, so a full-fledged outfeed doesn't seem *completely* necessary. That being said, if I had more room then I would probably build a little outfeed table with storage and possibly a router.

[Kevin Wells]

Gene,
I haven’t found the need for an adaptation of a cross-cut sled. I have learned that the sliding table is an “ultra” CCS in that it rides on bearings and has essentially zero play or side to side deflection. The rip cuts I get are glue up ready and with the addition of a F&F jig (mentioned elsewhere) I can cross-cut small pieces, rip long pieces (with less than .005” difference in width over 60”), I can cut repeatable tapers using the F&F jig (no taper jig needed). I feel much safer since my hands are to the left of the blade and never in line with the blade. I have the outrigger and this allows me to cross cut long pieces with no problem and I can angle the outriggers fence to cut miters and bring it back to zero within a minute using a 16” machinists square I got off of the Grizzly site. I have no regrets with my purchase of the K3 slider over a cabinet saw and am finding more and more unique and useful ways of using it. I hope you come to the same conclusion after using your slider for a while.

[Chris Parks]

There is no need to use a square when returning the fence to zero that I know of as the zero stop sorts that out. Something I have done is put a bolt in the top of the zero stop and use that to adjust zero, the bolt must have the end machined or made flat so turning it does not effectively alter the length of the bolt. The top hole in the zero stop is already threaded for a metric 8mm?? bolt from memory and why Hammer do not use the top hole has always puzzled me.