Contributor
I am curious what one builds that requires a longer bed than the A3-31? I've run bed rails on- and through mine, although this has been an infrequent length. Mostly the longest length is in the region of 1m. I have a table coming up which will be 2m. What I appreciate about this machine is the 12" width when jointing, which is a significant step up from an 8" wide jointer, and far less costly than a stand-alone 12" jointer.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Contributor
Would have been nice here. Over 2m (2.4ish). 31cm wide, and 38mm thick. It was easier to bring the tool to it on the bench. Probably still would be with bed extentions.Originally Posted by Derek Cohen
The actual oak that made up the bench would have been a lot easier. As they're a lot narrower.
Last edited by mike stenson; 02-04-2024 at 8:41 PM.
~mike
happy in my mud hut
Contributor
I have the 31 and luckily for me it also came perfect. The only item I had to adjust was the fence on the jointer table. It only adjusted to 89 degrees. The planer bed sucks down lubricant as well. As I recall mine didnt have a cord at all I wired a 5' cord into the disconnect on the side.
Contributor
Waxing the planer table really well, helped to eliminate front grab and rear snipe. I also have a short Hammer aluminum extension table I leave attached to the outfeed side. Not sure which helped the most, but waxing the beds is very important
Contributor
I think you can achieve satisfactory results from shorter bed length, but it does make the task easier with longer beds. My jointer length is 96-100", and it's easier to balance boards as you run them over the cutterhead. I remember setting up roller stands for my 6" and 8" jointers. If your pressure isnt perfect, or your stands are too low/high, then you get less than perfect results. While the longer beds arent necessary for smaller projects, it is a luxury to have the entire board referenced off the infeed table when jointing. It takes most of the strain off your body, because the materials isnt fighting you as you are focused on moving it forward. Some of my longer projects involve a 14' sapale table for my parents, a 10-11' walnut table for my sister, dozens and dozens of island/countertops in the 8-12' length.
Similar practice to hand planes. Im sure you could joint an edge with your no3, but i will have a lot easier time achieving that jointed edge with my no8. The more machined reference surface you have, the less chance there is for 'user error' to creep in.
Never been a fan of short beds . . . I just want to get that out there. I thought it was pretty much SOP to pay for local "Euro" technicians to come out and set up these machines. Sounds like I am in error in this. In your case it sounds like it might be the shortcut to getting on with using the machine. We all have expectations and then there is reality. My jointer arrived on the pallet so well setup I wasted time looking for what I must be missing. Someone else who bought the same machine had to have help getting things brought into line. Sounds like you may benefit from a professional assist. Once things are working as expected you will quickly forget the painful front-end load of effort
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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