I'm considering which of these two machines to purchase. Both options are configured to be fairly similar, 98" stroke, 3.0Kw motor, etc. The C3-41P is 16" planer,jointer vs 12" for the 531P. The 531P is 20% more expensive.
What I would like to know is how the two differ in terms of quality, reliability, feel and convenience of the controls. I know the 531 has x-slide rollers, but I'm not sure what that will mean in practice.
Is the 531P worth it in terms of quality? After seeing this review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDyH-uFC4iE where the author had a variety of quality problems with the Hammer and ended up replacing it, I was concerned about the quality of the Hammer line. The creator ends up getting a 741, but I'm not sure how to compare the step up in quality between Hammer C3, Felder 531 and Felder 741. Is the 531 more like a 741 but smaller, or more like the Hammer?
Any other considerations?
I'm an amateur with a fairly large hobby workshop (44' x 30'). I have a 5'x10' CNC for panel cuts, so my intention for the sliding tablesaw is mostly non sheet goods. I've been putting off buying a table saw for sometime and have been making do with the CNC, Festool Tracksaw, Miter Saw, benchtop Planer. My hope is to get a tablesaw before I retire (in ~4 years), but will last a long time. This is mainly a hobby, and I might do some work for money in retirement, but my intentions is not to have a production shop. Machines to support a production workload is not a primary concern.