Decisions on Hammer A3-XX......

[escan]

The minimax stuff looks cheap. Handle, knobs, clamps, etc were kind of pathetic for what the price of the machine was. Grinds on the tables were not very pretty, thin sheet metal, etc.  I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money on that kind of machine.

Usually I hear the exact opposite about MM, in comparison to the Hammer line. But then again, those forums did have a strong MM presence via sales reps.

Besides old American and top of the line German, would you prefer Felder/Format J/Ps to SCMI/Nova J/P? Curious to hear your insight Warner.

The only combo machine I have messed with is a wadkin fm.  My customers don't really have a use/need for a combo machine, they want stand alone stuff.

Scmi makes good stuff, my only issue with any of their machines are the electronics and the metric frame motors. Those motors just don't last that long, talking  3phase motors. I have American made nema frame motors that are over 100 years old still running strong.

I do despise all the plastic knobs and handles, they are always broken. Metal and cast ones don't break with normal use.

I am just use to a machine being used hard for 60 years, being rebuilt and ready for another 60.  I don't see these felders, hammers, MM, or even the newer italian/ German stuff lasting that long. Lot of that has to do with the electronics in this new stuff.

Makes sense, conveniences does heavy up front and back end cost. Thanks.

 

[ben_r_]

The minimax stuff looks cheap. Handle, knobs, clamps, etc were kind of pathetic for what the price of the machine was. Grinds on the tables were not very pretty, thin sheet metal, etc.  I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money on that kind of machine.

Usually I hear the exact opposite about MM, in comparison to the Hammer line. But then again, those forums did have a strong MM presence via sales reps.

Besides old American and top of the line German, would you prefer Felder/Format J/Ps to SCMI/Nova J/P? Curious to hear your insight Warner. 

That was actually my first major turn off to MiniMax. Their reps in forums were helpful but kinda sleazy in talking down Hammer/Felder and even giving misinformation to make their products sound like they were the only/best game in town and the others were chinese junk. I can't stand that kind of sales tactics.

 

[deepcreek]

Based on my personal experience, I am going to have to disagree with your characterization of the MiniMax rep as sleazy.  As I understand it, the sole US rep is Sam Blasco in Smithville, Texas.  I've met Sam and toured his shop.  He's a talented furniture maker, hardcore cyclist, Festool enthusiast and in my judgement a stand up guy.

Sam knew I was also seriously considering Hammer but did not disparage their products at all.  I asked him some tough questions and he answered everyone in a straightforward manner even if it was not flattering to MiniMax.  I have a number of friends in the business that know Sam and use MiniMax and they all vouched for his integrity.  In the end, Sam won my business and has been patiently supportive knowing that he will have to wait months for me to have enough funds.

I understand a MiniMax J/P is not the ultimate tool and there are other makers in a higher price range that exceed it.  The truth is for those with plenty of space, separate machines are a better choice.  I also appreciate that there are "old iron" machines from the past that were built to last a lifetime and with a little elbow grease can be refurbished to last another.

It is, however, a good fit for me given my very limited floor space.  The 16" FS-41 will be a nice step up from my 6" jointer and 13" lunchbox planer.

p.s.  I stand corrected regarding country of origin.  It is, of course, made in Italy by SCM Group.  Must have been the mad cow disease acting up again.

 

[ben_r_]

Based on my personal experience, I am going to have to disagree with your characterization of the MiniMax rep as sleazy.  As I understand it, the sole US rep is Sam Blasco in Smithville, Texas.  I've met Sam and toured his shop.  He's a talented furniture maker, hardcore cyclist, Festool enthusiast and in my judgement a stand up guy.

Sam knew I was also seriously considering Hammer but did not disparage their products at all.  I asked him some tough questions and he answered everyone in a straightforward manner even if it was not flattering to MiniMax.  I have a number of friends in the business that know Sam and use MiniMax and they all vouched for his integrity.  In the end, Sam won my business and has been patiently supportive knowing that he will have to wait months for me to have enough funds.

I understand a MiniMax J/P is not the ultimate tool and there are other makers in a higher price range that exceed it.  The truth is for those with plenty of space, separate machines are a better choice.  I also appreciate that there are "old iron" machines from the past that were built to last a lifetime and with a little elbow grease can be refurbished to last another.

It is, however, a good fit for me given my very limited floor space.  The 16" FS-41 will be a nice step up from my 6" jointer and 13" lunchbox planer.

p.s.  I stand corrected regarding country of origin.  It is, of course, made in Italy by SCM Group.  Must have been the mad cow disease acting up again.

Never communicated with Sam. Probably never will as I'm pretty set on the Hammer/Felder tool offerings. That said, the rep I was referring to used to hang around SawmillCreek and is no longer selling MiniMax.

 

[escan]

Besides the cutter head, I would look into the rollers and how distribute pressure. Segmented pressure bars don't seem to be offered with any of the entry level J/P s, regardless of brand. That's an important factor for my style of work and why I'm looking at the bigger units. If you have time and patience, great but if you need to feed a stack of thin stock on edge or edge-banding, you'll get anxious to feed multiples and then stalls happen.

 

[rljatl]

Cool, thanks Ben.  Now I can stop by the next time I'm in the area.  I'll be getting an A3 at some point from them and maybe a bandsaw so it definitely makes the purchase a little easier when there's a place to look over the machines, pick up, etc.

[member=13462]live4ever[/member]

Fyi...
Felder California Open House

 

[micknc]

Tersa has and continues to be the hallmark of Italian and the best German, (Martin) J/Ps, which typically cater to larger, industrial use clients. Has anybody worked with a Tersa equipped J/P using 7.5+horsepower and compared results to a spiral cutter? Just wondering if smaller HP units benefit greater from using spirals and yield better results.

Looking at the griggio fs 530 which martin uses for their compact model.

My guess is that lower HP units would benefit more from spiral cutters for the same reason that skewing a hand plane reduces the amount of force required to push through the material by effectively reducing the sheer angle.

 

[live4ever]

Cool, thanks Ben.  Now I can stop by the next time I'm in the area.  I'll be getting an A3 at some point from them and maybe a bandsaw so it definitely makes the purchase a little easier when there's a place to look over the machines, pick up, etc.

[member=13462]live4ever[/member]

Fyi...
Felder California Open House

Sweet, thanks!  Field trip!  [thumbs up]

 

[Brandon]

I have 2 Minimax machines, S315 Elite S slider and S400 bandsaw. Also recently got a Hammer A341A 16" jointer with silent cutter. A friend of mine has a Felder slider. Having said all that, in my opinion the Minimax machines are more on par with Felder quality and exceed Hammer quality by a good margain. My Hammer jointer is very nice and does what I need very well but the overall build quality doesn't compare with either of my Minimax machines.
Either way you'll be getting a good machine, I just don't agree that Hammer is near the quality of Minimax. Different price point, different quality

 

[Trevin]

I have to agree with [member=7770]Brandon[/member].  When I was looking for a J/P combo I looked at Minimax, Felder and Hammer.  The Hammer was not as "heavy" duty as Minimax or Felder machines.  I ended up going with the Minimax FS41 elite due to pricing and dust collection.  I did not like how the Felder machine dust collection went from right side/left side during different operations.  Not a biggie but preferred it all on the right side like the Minimax machine.  I am really happy with the Minimax machine.  I really like the Tersa head and the SIMPLE blades changes.

Trevin