Hammer A3-31, Price & Opinions

[Dan Hilbelink]

I'm looking at the Hammer A3-31 and see its on Christmas sale for $3190. Is this a low price or do they run on sale like this frequently? Is the A3-41 worth the difference? What about all the accessories (extensions, digital hand crank, mortising table, etc), Are they worth it? I'm in central WI is there someone around that has one to look at even? thanks

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have the 12" model A3 31.

I really like it. I've used it for a lot of demanding apps including log quarters that used all 12" width and also 10' long lumber and it's flawless. No extension tables needed.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Dan, I have an A3-31 and am extremely pleased with it.

I have the digital height indicator in the planer table elevation handwheel and it is accurate to 0.03mm. (Mine is metric).

The jointer is incredibly accurate and the surface finish is superb.

The planer is snipe free and very powerful. It will take rated capacity cuts in full width white oak, snipe free.

The knife changeout takes about 4 minutes total, and the high cobalt knives were $60 a set when I purchased mine. That's good for two changes on the three knife head.

I can't send regular knives out for sharpening for that price in Toronto.

The only weird thing is that the mobility kit moves the planer along the wide axis, so I made my own.

regards, Rod.

[Dick Sylvan]

I have the C3-31 and ditto what Cliff has to say. I am very pleased with its performance.

[Jamie Buxton]

My A3-31 is eight years old now, and has run miles of material. It is a good machine. You'd be welcome to come look at it, but I'm in California. You might ask Hammer if they know of anybody in your area. Their sales guy in California does that.

For my work, the wider A3-41 is overkill. I do see some boards which are ten or eleven inches wide, but rarely encounter ones which would require a 16" width.

Use SMC's Search function to find many threads about this machine.

[Jim Becker]

I have a competitor's product, but am a believer in the J/P machines for big capacities and quality in a reasonably small bit of shop space. Mine is 350mm wide (not-quite 14", which splits the difference between the 12" and 16" machines you are considering) In general, I've not felt the need for wider outside of one time when I had a board that was about 1/2" wider than my capacity. (I do like to work with wide stock, however!)

Jamie is correct...Felder/Hammer, MiniMax, etc., generally can put you in touch with other customers in your area if you want to see a product before buying.

[Scot Ferraro]

I have the A3-31 and will echo what others have said -- it is awesome! I never knew boards could get as flat as I can get them on my A3-31 -- there is literally suction on the outfeed side (I am sure that other quailty J/P or higher end jointers will get you the same flatness too). The knives are easy to change and has Jamie commented, the digital gauge is accurate and repeatable -- no more measuring with calipers to get the thickness just right when you have to mill additional parts -- just use the gauge, lock the table and you are good to go. It is powerful and the dust collection works extremely well. I am not sure that the 16 inch is worth the price -- depends on what you are using it for -- I do not come across many boards that are larger than 12 inches in width -- the 12 inch size would cover about 90% - 95% of the lumber that would come into your shop.

With that said, a bigger jointer is usually always better and it would give you the option to scew your work and you would probably never limit yourself, but it comes at a price. The main drawback to the A3-31 is the fence -- while it works well, there is flex due to the end-mounting system-- this is fixed by installing a mag-switch at the opposite end, but for the cost of the machine it would be nice if they provided a center-mounted option or a beefier end mount as Felder does on it's 700 series machines. It has not impacted the squareness of my cuts when edge jointing that I can tell since it flexes laterally and does not twist. BTW, the pricing you mention is actually very good given the price increases they had earlier in the year. I would not hesitate to buy this machine again.

[Paul Kinneberg]

Ditto the other comments on how well this machine peforms. I have the digital wheel and think it is worth it. I have not yet required ext tables I do have the mobility kit and use it a lot. As far as price I purchased mine as a show demo in las vegas 18 months ago and I believe I paid about $3400 shipped to Mpls, MN including the digital wheel and mobility but again it was the show demo.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Dan, I have a Felder 700 series combo, and if the Hammer digital "clock" indicators are the same as the Felder line, which I'm pretty sure they are, they are easy to add to the stock wheels if you so choose at a later date. Just pop out the center "hubcap", and pop in the clock. It fixes with a set screw. The one I just got was about $60.

I also got the slot mortiser, and two tables with my machine. I put one cast iron extension on the out feed of the planer, which seemed too short to me, and one on the slider saw part of the combo. I can't imagine why you'd need one on the jointer.

The mortiser unit appears to be as well made as all their other stuff, although all I've done with it so far is to goof around. If you do order this option, I'd think you may want variable speed as well. Not sure what the Hammer options are, but I suppose it is an option. My machine just has a dial to set your speed, which completely changes the effectivness of the different cutters.

Curious to the differences between a Hammer fence and the Felder fence, anybody got a photo they could post? I suppose if you really pryed on the Felder, it might flex, but my 250 less than graceful pounds have not been able to get it too.

Oh, one of the reasons I choose 16", was the ability to skew the cut on a face joint.

Doubt you'll ever regret a combo either. I sure haven't.

[Rod Sheridan]

Dan, I have a Felder 700 series combo, and if the Hammer digital "clock" indicators are the same as the Felder line, which I'm pretty sure they are, they are easy to add to the stock wheels if you so choose at a later date. Just pop out the center "hubcap", and pop in the clock. It fixes with a set screw. The one I just got was about $60.

Doubt you'll ever regret a combo either. I sure haven't.

Hi Steve, the handwheels that ship with the Hammer do not accept the clock indicator. If you order the clock, Hammer also order you a new handwheel.

The stock Hammer handwheel does not have the removable centre piece like the Felder.

Regards, Rod.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Hi Steve, the handwheels that ship with the Hammer do not accept the clock indicator. If you order the clock, Hammer also order you a new handwheel.

The stock Hammer handwheel does not have the removable centre piece like the Felder.

Regards, Rod.

Ahhhh, good to know.

[Dan Hilbelink]

Thanks for the replies. Still checking this one and the other manufactures out. Could not find out about the dust collection in the search. Does that just hook up or is there something special you have to do with hookup being metric?
Jim, what are you doing that you like to work with wide wood so much?

[Jim Becker]

Jim, what are you doing that you like to work with wide wood so much?

I like to work with wide boards just because of how they look. When I glue up, I try very hard to do a careful grain and color match in an effort to make the joint disappear and give the appearance of a full width board. And I also hate to have to rip a beautiful wide board just to get it flat. The exception, obviously, is in situations where the differences are part of the design...say with a top made of equal width boards of tiger maple with the figure alternating. This is all personal preference, of course.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Thanks for the replies. Still checking this one and the other manufactures out. Could not find out about the dust collection in the search. Does that just hook up or is there something special you have to do with hookup being metric?
Jim, what are you doing that you like to work with wide wood so much?

Just guessing metric, Felder is, but Onieda carries an adapter for not much. 5" hose clamps too the port just fine too, if you don't want to unplug for the changeovers.