HAMMER (Felder) news

[Rod Sheridan]

This is a shot in the dark in case Erik is still watching this. I just received a A3-31 with some freight damage (dent in a cover piece). All is well, but it has a high pitch whistle/rattle while running. I did not get much help (they are very friendly) from the tech staff in Delaware. Any idea if this is something to worry about? I did not see any notice to fill up oils, grease etc. Any advice appreciated.

Hi Joe, does it make the noise while running without dust collection?

Obviously don’t joint or plane anything without dust extraction, just run the machine…..Regards, Rod

[Joe Cowan]

I will try that. I have only done a few boards to test. Today I will take the panel off to see if there was anything knocked loose during the shipment as there was a dent in the side. Thanks for the reply.

[Jim Becker]

Ooh...that's a good question. I remember when I first got my J/P years ago that the noise level really kicked up when the dust collection was turned on...it seems to amplify the sound. Maybe that's because of how the shroud to the cutterhead is shaped or something.

[Joe Cowan]

Hi Joe, does it make the noise while running without dust collection?

Obviously don’t joint or plane anything without dust extraction, just run the machine…..Regards, Rod

I ran it for a few minutes without DC. It started off quiet, but as it went along the high pitched whistle, whine type noise started. The noise fluctuated rapidly, so that may be the rattle type noise I thought I heard earlier. I do think the DC increases the noise as I always noticed that on my old planer when I opened the blast gate.

[Erik Loza]

Joe: In particular, check the motor cooling fan. See if it’s loose on the arbor shaft. You may not be able to easily remove the housing (panhead screws around the perimeter base) but “if” the sound is eminating from there, it should be immediately evident.

Erik

[Joe Cowan]

I will try that tomorrow. Thanks.

[Joe Cowan]

I took off the back cover and ran the machine. It appears the noise in coming from the area of the large flywheel that has a gasket cover to it. I could see the fan motor but could not get my hands around anything beyond the flywheel. All I touched appeared to be tight without any loose parts. As of now, I will just start using the machine and hope for the best.

[Alan Lightstone]

Congratulations, Erik. The forum will sure miss your advice and Felder connections. Please stick around for other stuff on the forum.

If I was still working, I'd say you transitioned from selling devices I love (my Felder machines) to ones that torture me every day (EMRs).

[Erik Loza]

Congratulations, Erik. The forum will sure miss your advice and Felder connections. Please stick around for other stuff on the forum.

If I was still working, I'd say you transitioned from selling devices I love (my Felder machines) to ones that torture me every day (EMRs).

LOL Alan. Thanks and here is a funny story about that: My wife is a Director of Product for the same EMR company I will be working for. She develops the patient portal, among other things. We were vacationing in Mexico recently and she injured her knee to the point where we needed to see an ortho doc here in Austin. It turns out that this practice uses her product. Here she was, in a lot of discomfort and hobbling around on crutches, still quizzing the check-in staff and doctor about how the software was working for them. I think she even tried to chat-up some random lady in the waiting area about how the check in was on their mobile device. Moral of the story: There ARE folks trying to make things better!

Erik

[Alan Lightstone]

Moral of the story: There ARE folks trying to make things better!

Erik

I have not doubt of that. And thrilled to hear it. It just pains me to watch primary care doctors and specialists spending all their time typing, and not looking at, or only briefly examining patients. And believe me, I'm no Luddite.

When I would do, lets say a routine CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting) operation, it would take me approximately 30 minutes to put the patient to sleep, put a catheter in their radial artery to monitor their blood pressure second-by-second and take blood samples, put another large catheter in their internal jugular vein via ultrasound, using this to pass a pulmonary artery catheter into their heart and out the other side into their lungs. Then place a transesophageal echo probe into their esophagus and visualize their heart function, valves, etc... Again, I could reasonably accomplish this in about 30 minutes.

The paperwork associated with this (we actually, strangely, were not on an EMR for the anesthesia) would be 12 pages, and would take me an hour just to fill out the preliminary paperwork, plus record all the vital signs for hours and hours until the operation was done. So using paper instead of an EMR was no picnic either. And imagine that in a fast paced critical trauma operation.

And the OR nurses spend an insane amount of time documenting all sorts of minutia on the computer. You really do need to play music in the OR to disguise all of the clicking noises from keyboards. Every once in a while they'll look at the patient or surgeon.

So get to work and make this easier for doctors. Nurses too, for that matter.

So you can imagine that woodworking was a nice relief from that scene.

[Jim Becker]

Wish she could straighten out the portal that our local health care organization uses...sheesh!

[Lisa Starr]

I'm a little late to the party, but congratulations Erik. I hope the new job suits you and that you and your wife both being able to be remote.

[Clifford McGuire]

I hope someone can point me in the right direction. In December, I ordered a A3-31 and put down a deposit. Last Monday I recieved an email with a link to pay the remainder via their Quickbooks system.

I'm trying to contact Felder because 1) the remaining balance doesn't add up. I'd like to see a detaied invoice and 2) I'd like to pay by credit card or some other way than a bank transfer.

I've tried to contact Felder by replying to that email (ar-us@felder-group.com) three times, another email to operations-us@felder-group.com. I called the person's number on the notification email and left a message. And I also called their main number, selected '3 for sales', and left a message. I haven't gotten an email reply or call back. It's almost like the whole company took the week off.

After trying each day for a week, I'm worried that they will give my machine to someone else. Anyone have a different method to get a hold of someone who could answer my questions?

[Kyle Stiefel]

I hope someone can point me in the right direction. In December, I ordered a A3-31 and put down a deposit. Last Monday I recieved an email with a link to pay the remainder via their Quickbooks system.

I'm trying to contact Felder because 1) the remaining balance doesn't add up. I'd like to see a detaied invoice and 2) I'd like to pay by credit card or some other way than a bank transfer.

They must have been doing some balancing of accounts last week as I received an invoice as well. I did pay by credit on the Quickbook system link. However, my balance wasn't a significant sum and perhaps if they are large balances a CC isn't allowed, no idea. Try calling the main office next week and start at reception and crawl through.

[Erik Loza]

Clifford, do this: Find your Felder customer #, which is a 5-digit combo of numbers and letters. It will be on your original quote or invoice. Yours will likely start with the number “3”. Have this ready and call 866-792-5288 x100. That’s Meredith’s direct desk line. She is the Sales Support Admin and will at least be able to get you in direct contact with your area sales rep (every customer has one, whether or not they realize it).

Customers receive their balance invoices when their container goes on the water, which is often at least a month before the machines arrive and are physically ready to deliver domestically. You should still have plenty of time to get the balance sorted out. Hope this helps,

Erik