Hammer A3-31 dust collection

[George Yetka]

For me, the 90 connector is particularly useful on the J/P because it keeps the connection point in a very accessible orientation, regardless of whether you're using the jointer or the planer. Good ergonomics, I guess I'd say. As a combination machine owner, I can add that the same 90 connector can then be used and is perfect for the dust collection on the shaper hood, just pull it off the J/P port and push it onto the dust collection port on the back of the shaper hood, and with the Magport it's easy to connect your hose -- tons of clearance, keeps everything out of the way.

My DC drop is off to the left of the machine so the hose runs across the floor behind the machine so when i am running the Planer i flop the hose over the jointer bed and it keeps it out of the way

[Steve Wurster]

I see the Magport 5001 but have no idea how it works. It says you need more than one for it too work. The Felder adapter is backordered for up to 8 weeks. I need something sooner.

You put one Magport connector onto the end of your flex hose that comes off the DC (or DC piping). You then put another matching Magport connector onto every machine that you want to use with that hose. Some adapting may be required on the machine side. For example, my drum sander has a 4" outlet, so I just have a piece of 4"-to-5" HVAC adapter connected to that and the Magport connected to that. As I noted previously in this thread, for my A3-31 I just have a short piece of 5" hose connecting the Magport to the A3's outlet.

[Mike Wilkins]

If my metric calculations are correct, 120 mm is just under 5" (4.72 inches). Visit the local big box store (Lowes or HD) and find one of the thick rubber plumbing adapters. My DC only allows a 4" connection (upgrades in the future) so I had to get a 5" to 4" reducer. Check Felder to see if they have adapters available.

[Joe Cowan]

I am getting ready to order the magports but do not see any 5" blast gates. I hate to have to reduce to a 4" after getting the 5" pipe connectors. I have an Oneida with 5" hose going to the machine. On my previous machines, I just reduced down to 4". What do you guys with 5" hose use for this?

[Joe Cowan]

I will order a 5" blast gate elsewhere but still confused on the adaption to and from Magport. I guess I need to buy 4 of their coupling to adaption to and from the blast gate.

[Steve Wurster]

I am getting ready to order the magports but do not see any 5" blast gates. I hate to have to reduce to a 4" after getting the 5" pipe connectors. I have an Oneida with 5" hose going to the machine. On my previous machines, I just reduced down to 4". What do you guys with 5" hose use for this?

Correct, there are no 5" blast gates with Magports built in. I'm not completely sure I see the need for Magport-based blast gates anyway. If you're running with 5" flex hose then your duct between the DC and the flex hose should be no less than 5", and ideally larger if your DC can support that.

When I had a smaller DC with a 5" inlet Super Dust Deputy, I ran 5" HVAC pipe and used 5" blast gates that I bought from either Oneida or BlastGate Company (I don't remember which).

Last year I upgraded to a larger system (Oneida V-3000) with a 7" inlet. My main line is 7", and the "drops" are 6", and so I have 6" blast gates on the drops. After the gates I split the line into 5" and 3" lines. On the drop that has my flex hose the 5" hose has a Magport adapter on the end, while the 3" hose has a slip-fit adapter. The 5" host gets used on its own when connected to the drum sander or the A3-31, and then it gets used in conjunction with the 3" hose on the router table and band saw.

[Joe Cowan]

Correct, there are no 5" blast gates with Magports built in. I'm not completely sure I see the need for Magport-based blast gates anyway. If you're running with 5" flex hose then your duct between the DC and the flex hose should be no less than 5", and ideally larger if your DC can support that.

When I had a smaller DC with a 5" inlet Super Dust Deputy, I ran 5" HVAC pipe and used 5" blast gates that I bought from either Oneida or BlastGate Company (I don't remember which).

Last year I upgraded to a larger system (Oneida V-3000) with a 7" inlet. My main line is 7", and the "drops" are 6", and so I have 6" blast gates on the drops. After the gates I split the line into 5" and 3" lines. On the drop that has my flex hose the 5" hose has a Magport adapter on the end, while the 3" hose has a slip-fit adapter. The 5" host gets used on its own when connected to the drum sander or the A3-31, and then it gets used in conjunction with the 3" hose on the router table and band saw.

Am I correct that I will need four of the 5" Magports? Two to adapt from the machine to the blast gate and then two to adapt from the blast gate to the 5" dust hose going to my Oneida.

[Steve Wurster]

I will order a 5" blast gate elsewhere but still confused on the adaption to and from Magport. I guess I need to buy 4 of their coupling to adaption to and from the blast gate.

Here are some pictures of my setup. The first shows the end of my 5" flex hose with the 5" Magport attached.

hose.jpg

This next picture shows the back of my router table with a 5" Magport screwed into the opening in the back of the cabinet. That opening was originally only 4" back when I only had a 4" setup, but I enlarged it somewhat and installed a 5" setup. Note that this was done before Magport released that 5" "machine adapter" or whatever it's called that you can just attach directly onto a flat surface. (The Magports ship with that sticker, so that's where I put it).

router table.jpg

These next pictures show the (single) Magport that I have connected onto my A3-31, using a short piece of hose between the Magport and the machine outlet. That flex hose from the first picture is attached in both of these pictures, showing it operating in Jointer and Planer modes. The hose basically comes in from behind the J/P, so it's easy to pop it off when switching modes and then reconnect before using.

jointer.jpgplaner.jpg

Not shown are my band saw and drum sander hookups; sorry, no pics of that were already available.

[Steve Wurster]

Am I correct that I will need four of the 5" Magports? Two to adapt from the machine to the blast gate and then two to adapt from the blast gate to the 5" dust hose going to my Oneida.

My other post from this morning that includes pictures might help. You need one Magport for each machine that you're going to support with Magports. And then you need one additional Magport for each flex hose that you're going to use with those machines.

So for my setup, I have 5 machines with Magports: A3-31, Drum Sander, Band Saw, Router Table, Spindle Sander. And then I have just 1 flex hose with a Magport on the end. The other end of that hose is clamped to the duct work / blast gate; it is not connected on that side via a Magport. So in total I have 6 Magports. And, no, that wasn't cheap, but the Magports just work.

[ChrisA Edwards]

[Joe Cowan]

I think I finally have it clear in my dense head. Thanks guys.

[Clifford McGuire]

Just wondering, Joe. When did you order your A3-31? I placed my order in early December and they estimated an April delivery.

I'm curious if they are delivering close to their estimate.

[Pat Rice]

I purchased a fitting, SPC05 5" HOSE FIT TO 120MM ID CONNECTOR, from the Blastgateco that allows me to connect my 5” flex hose to my A3-41. Simply slide it on and off, friction fit is fine and the connector was $8.00

[Joe Cowan]

Just wondering, Joe. When did you order your A3-31? I placed my order in early December and they estimated an April delivery.

I'm curious if they are delivering close to their estimate.

They had someone cancel and switch to the 41 and mine became available. I ordered in December and this one just became available, even though it was still on a boat. They asked for final payment last week, so I guess it is close to being delivered..

[Erik Loza]

...I'm curious if they are delivering close to their estimate.

So, we (US sales team) get an updated production calendar every week that shows current delivery times. We also get un updated availability list at least three times a week, if not daily. This is because all US sales reps are selling from a single pool of available machines. Based on my experience, the factory is pretty accurate with regard to the Hammer machines. A3's are pretty straightforward to crank out and don't have electronics, so they can forecast pretty accurately when a given container is planned to leave the factory. That being said, there are a few factors to consider:

-Both East Coast and West Coast ports are seeing delays in getting containers actually into port. You may have read about this in the news. So, even though the factory can be quite accurate as far as when they plan to put a container on the water, there are stateside issues out of anyone's control. Perhaps just me, but I am adding an extra month to machine ETA's because of this. Would rather over-deliver than over-promise.

-When a container arrives, the warehouse team offloads that container, then re-crates each machine with framing lumber for the domestic leg of the journey. As you might imagine, that's a time consuming process. The warehouse prioritizes machines whose owner's have paid their open balances first. I'm mentioning this because there always seem to be folks who are slow to pay once they receive the balance invoice from headquarters and then what could have been a week turns into another month. My advice to any customer is to pay your balance ASAP. That moves you to the front of the line.

All this being said, BE PREPARED FOR DELAYS. For better or worse, it is the new normal. Hope this helps clarify.

Erik