Felder K3 Hammer allignment

[Joseph Mazey]

Reaching out to people who may own a Felder K3 Hammer to get recommendations on alignment. When I got my K3 is was partially disassembled and I assembled it. From day one it has not been in alignment and when I reach out to Felder they want to clip me another $2k to send someone out which I find insane.

So a few questions I have, is it best to align the rip fence to the blade and then align crosscut fence to blade?

If both of those are square, should a be able to take a square sheet and butt it against crosscut fencer and rip fence and it should be a near perfect 90 degrees?

Also any recommendations on what to us like framers square, giant t square, etc?

The crosscut fence is probably the easiest to work with. The rip fence is more of a pain because bolts that hold the bar in place is the adjustment.

[Chris Parks]

David Best has a number of videos for setting up a slider on YT. He is also a member of the Felder Users Group on Yahoo. Ask there and you will find the help and documentation you need, just be prepared to spend a few days sorting it out. There are quite a few threads over at FOG and they hold an archive of documentation as well as some video.

Sam Blasco on YT has some good videos both using and calibrating a sliding table saw.

Don't use the rip fence unless the wood is too long for it to be ripped on the sliding table

Use the rip fence as a measuring stop.

The documentation that can be downloaded is a fairly thick book covering all the alignment procedures.

[Derek Cohen]

Joseph, I’ve not needed to work on my K3 in this regard, so no experience. Logic says it is irrelevant whether you align the rip fence or wagon first as they are independent of each other. Their relationship is the blade, so trueing each against the blade, connects them as well.

You are correct that the rip fence is aligned with the bolts hold its rail.

Have you tried contacting any independent companies/specialists machine repairers? Felder’s pricing is outragous. You should get an outside pro for a tenth of that. My local Felder agents are fabulous.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Joseph Mazey]

Thank you for the feedback. The one thing I am noticing is the rip fence is straight, but when I lock it the back tilts in towards the blade. I don't know if they is an issue that can be ignored as I only use the rip fence as a measuring point and trying to find a shorter fence as when I slide it forward have like 2+ feet hang off. Not sure if they make a smaller extrusion fence... Something like 12" would suffice.

[Chris Parks]

I honestly don't want to get into the entire set up procedure here as it is a very extensive exercise. For instance the rip fence is not parallel to the blade but the CC fence is perpendicular to the slider travel and the slider itself has a specified run out figure which is an exercise in frustration to achieve, been there and done that! After the rip fence is set up to get it square to the CC fence some users add a temporary shim to the rip fence when needed but I have never bothered. I might be tempted to fork out the 2K but from other users experience you don't always get a well set up machine. Just getting the slider at the right height above the cast iron table and level to it is a bit of a mission and requires multiple dial indicators and some patience and the procedure is different on the shortest Hammer K3 to the longest one. Check out YT and ask further questions on FOG or browse through the threads already there. They are a bit Felder centric and I think Hammer machines are looked down upon a bit but the information is all there to be had.

[Chris Parks]

Thank you for the feedback. The one thing I am noticing is the rip fence is straight, but when I lock it the back tilts in towards the blade. I don't know if they is an issue that can be ignored as I only use the rip fence as a measuring point and trying to find a shorter fence as when I slide it forward have like 2+ feet hang off. Not sure if they make a smaller extrusion fence... Something like 12" would suffice.

Just cut a 200mm piece off the original fence but I read the other day that a 500mm one can be had from Felder. The first thing I did was take the rip fence off and put a short one on.

[Jim Becker]

Just cut a 200mm piece off the original fence but I read the other day that a 500mm one can be had from Felder. The first thing I did was take the rip fence off and put a short one on.

This is exactly how I've handled that same thing on both of the SCM/Minimax sliders I've owned. The factory fence is way, way longer than I need as I don't normally put it past the back of the blade when cutting, slicing off a "foot" of length to be used as a shortstop fence costs nothing and does the job.

[Chris Parks]

I honestly don't want to get into the entire set up procedure here as it is a very extensive exercise. For instance the rip fence is not parallel to the blade but the CC fence is perpendicular to the slider travel and the slider itself has a specified run out figure which is an exercise in frustration to achieve, been there and done that! After the rip fence is set up to get it square to the CC fence some users add a temporary shim to the rip fence when needed but I have never bothered. I might be tempted to fork out the 2K but from other users experience you don't always get a well set up machine. Just getting the slider at the right height above the cast iron table and level to it is a bit of a mission and requires multiple dial indicators and some patience and the procedure is different on the shortest Hammer K3 to the longest one. Check out YT and ask further questions on FOG or browse through the threads already there. They are a bit Felder centric and I think Hammer machines are looked down upon a bit but the information is all there to be had.

Edit: The bit in bold is obviously wrong and should read

After the rip fence is set up correctly some users use a temporary shim to enable square to the CC fence when needed.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Felder’s pricing is outragous. You should get an outside pro for a tenth of that.

Derek, not sure where the OP is located, but $2k to likely put someone on an airplane, stay overnight at a hotel, rent a car, and spend 4+ hours in their shop seems very reasonable. You think you could get a mechanic to come to your shop for $200? Not happening in the US...


Regarding the alignment:
1) The rip fence is completely independent from everything else, and frankly, if you're using the slider "right", you should rarely (if ever) use it. Nothing complex, here, though - just tighten the fence down then align it parallel to the blade by adjusting the rail mounting bolts. If the back is tilting in towards the blade, you need to adjust those rail mounting bolts to make it parallel to the blade. You could get "close enough" with a fine ruler, or you could mount a dial indicator to a scrap of wood that you slide along the rip fence and check against the blade.

2) The slider (wagon) needs to be adjusted to travel parallel to the blade and to be slightly higher than the fixed cast iron top over the full range of travel. This is a fussy adjustment. Follow this procedure: http://davidpbest.com/VA/StonehorseS...ng%20Table.htm

3) Once you have the slider aligned, it is easy to align the crosscut fence.

[Chris Parks]

Derek, not sure where the OP is located, but $2k to likely put someone on an airplane, stay overnight at a hotel, rent a car, and spend 4+ hours in their shop seems very reasonable. You think you could get a mechanic to come to your shop for $200? Not happening in the US...


Regarding the alignment:
1) The rip fence is completely independent from everything else, and frankly, if you're using the slider "right", you should rarely (if ever) use it. Nothing complex, here, though - just tighten the fence down then align it parallel to the blade by adjusting the rail mounting bolts. If the back is tilting in towards the blade, you need to adjust those rail mounting bolts to make it parallel to the blade. You could get "close enough" with a fine ruler, or you could mount a dial indicator to a scrap of wood that you slide along the rip fence and check against the blade.

2) The slider (wagon) needs to be adjusted to travel parallel to the blade and to be slightly higher than the fixed cast iron top over the full range of travel. This is a fussy adjustment. Follow this procedure: http://davidpbest.com/VA/StonehorseS...ng%20Table.htm

3) Once you have the slider aligned, it is easy to align the crosscut fence.

Dan, if using the Felder specs neither the rip fence nor the sliding table are parallel to the blade.

[Rod Sheridan]

Reaching out to people who may own a Felder K3 Hammer to get recommendations on alignment. When I got my K3 is was partially disassembled and I assembled it. From day one it has not been in alignment and when I reach out to Felder they want to clip me another $2k to send someone out which I find insane.

So a few questions I have, is it best to align the rip fence to the blade and then align crosscut fence to blade?

If both of those are square, should a be able to take a square sheet and butt it against crosscut fencer and rip fence and it should be a near perfect 90 degrees?

Also any recommendations on what to us like framers square, giant t square, etc?

The crosscut fence is probably the easiest to work with. The rip fence is more of a pain because bolts that hold the bar in place is the adjustment.

Hi Joseph, depending upon where you live the $2K may be completely reasonable for travel, accommodation and work.

I normally adjust the rip fence so that it toes out from the blade. With a 300mm diameter blade I set it so there’s just light visible at the rear of the blade compared to the front. A block of wood makes a good gauge for this.

You adjust this by adjusting the rip fence rail mounting bolts.

You can check the slider toe out with a strip of wood against the blade, clamp it to the table obviously.

For crosscut fence calibration use a piece of MDF and the 5 cut method, if your saw has an outrigger remember to calibrate the forward and rearward fence locations. There are many videos on YouTube. Test instrument for this is a micrometer or digital calliper.

Felder also have Felder TV with many calibration videos….Regards, Rod.

[Derek Cohen]

Derek, not sure where the OP is located, but $2k to likely put someone on an airplane, stay overnight at a hotel, rent a car, and spend 4+ hours in their shop seems very reasonable. You think you could get a mechanic to come to your shop for $200? Not happening in the US...


…..

Dan, doesn’t everyone have a Felder agent in their city? Okay, I know the answer.

The cast bracket for the guard on my Hammer A3-31 broke on the weekend. I emailed the agent on Sunday night, truly not expecting an answer until Monday or even Tuesday. He replied 10 minutes later. Today I paid $50 for the replacement part, which is in the mail. If I need help to fit it, all I need to is call, and they will come to my shop. A call out fee is about $100.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Joseph Mazey]

Think I have finally got alignment in order. Believe the biggest issue was the rip fence. Even though being used as a stop block, it was creating enough of an angle that my pieces were coming out with a slight slant. Feedback, posts and videos I watched helped get through this. Thank you for all who responded and offered assistance.

Not to sidetrack this post, but wondering if anyone had recommendation on where to purchase saw blades for the K3. I know Felder is primary but was not sure if there was something better. I did by a Tenryu blade on Amazon and has not been bad but seems to leave my wood with a slightly rough edge. I cut a lot of 1/4" MDF and Melamine so trying to stick with higher count tooth blades and something on the thin side but also something that can stay in direct alignment with the scoring blade.

[Michael Drew]

Don't waste 2K on paying someone else to do what you are capable of doing. Invest part of that money into the tools you will need to set the machine up, and to tweak it over it's life. They will also come in handy setting up and maintaining other shop machines.

As already mentioned, watch the videos that David Best posted. Very helpful and will provide you the theory and relevant info to learn from.

You do not need to spend top dollar on the tools either.

I use my rip fence more often than I thought I would. It should be set up similarly to a traditional saw to keep the work from being pinched at the rear of the blade. You adjust this last in the process. Making sure the machine is as close to being perfectly level as you can is step 1. Then work on the cast iron top to get that true, flat and level. Then the slider, then the rip fence. It is an iterative process, and requires patience.

For what it's worth, I have a couple solid days into mine. One day of learning what the hell to do, then half a day setting it up, a day or two using the machine, then re-visiting everything.....

[Brian Gouldman]

Think I have finally got alignment in order. Believe the biggest issue was the rip fence. Even though being used as a stop block, it was creating enough of an angle that my pieces were coming out with a slight slant. Feedback, posts and videos I watched helped get through this. Thank you for all who responded and offered assistance.

Not to sidetrack this post, but wondering if anyone had recommendation on where to purchase saw blades for the K3. I know Felder is primary but was not sure if there was something better. I did by a Tenryu blade on Amazon and has not been bad but seems to leave my wood with a slightly rough edge. I cut a lot of 1/4" MDF and Melamine so trying to stick with higher count tooth blades and something on the thin side but also something that can stay in direct alignment with the scoring blade.

I just ordered a Forrest Woodworker II blade for my new B3 from Slivers Mill over the weekend and it already shipped out this morning. They seem to stock several options with the correct arbor and pins.