Dust collection connections on Hammer A3 31

[mattcville]

What is the best way to make the vacuum hose connections to a Hammer A3 31
from a standard 5" or 4"  hose connection?

This is my first European made machine and I am not used to the non-standard
4 3/4" Diameter connection.  The 125mm/120mm adapter sold by Hammer for $47 seems
overpriced but is the only way I see other than using lots of duct tape.

Is there any advantage to having the 90 degree elbow connection or is this just another
overpriced item?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[stvrowe]

Overpriced is relative to the value you perceive in the item.  Before I purchased one of the Felder elbows, I used a 1/8" thick rubber strip with pressure sensitive tape on the connector to achieve the fit.  It works pretty well as long as you don't want to disassemble and reassemble often. 

 

[frodo]

Matt,

I have regular 5" flex hose with an adjustable metal clamp connector that works fine. The slight difference in size is made up by the adjustable clamp. I have used it for over a year on my A3-31 and it works great. It comes on and off often because I share the collector hose with my table saw, which is the same fitting as the J/P.

As for the elbow, I have never used one. It is probably more convenient but not necessary. Hope this helps and enjoy your Hammer!

 

[djwong]

I use the Felder 120mm to 120mm quick connector (~$16), to attach it to a 5" reducer on my 6" flex hose.  I wrapped a strip if 1/4" or 3/8" foam tape around one end of the quick connector.  It works, but detaching the quick connector is a bit of a pain since it tends to "grab" onto the machine connection.

I plan on purchasing the 90° elbow because it would make the hose arrangement when in thickness planer mode, a little cleaner.  There have been times when I scratched the stock coming off the planer with the dust connection fitting.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

I don't have the A3-31 but do have a MM equivalent machine.  The best option I found was a black rubber boot in the plumbing section of Home Depot.  It's designed to connect 4" clay to 4" Cast iron, one side is a perfect friction fit on the dust port, the other side fits over a 5" male metal pipe fitting hose clamped to 5" flex.  Works great and was cheap.

 

[adamch65]

Just order from Grizzly.com. Work much beder ten Felder. good luck.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Matt,

I have regular 5" flex hose with an adjustable metal clamp connector that works fine. The slight difference in size is made up by the adjustable clamp. I have used it for over a year on my A3-31 and it works great. It comes on and off often because I share the collector hose with my table saw, which is the same fitting as the J/P.

As for the elbow, I have never used one. It is probably more convenient but not necessary. Hope this helps and enjoy your Hammer!

I also used a regular 5" flex hose with an adjustable metal clamp connector and it works just fine on my A3-31.  I see no reason to use an elbow.

 

[mattcville]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful suggestions.
I hope to have this machine up and running soon.

Matt

 

[ablythe]

Matt, I did much the same thing as several of the other folks indicated. Rubber flex fitting with two hose clamps and PVC pipe to reducer fitting. My DC host slips right over the PVC reducer, and is tight enough that I don't have to clamp it.
In my case, I left the PVC pipe a little too long and intend to cut it a down a bit, but other than that it works great.

Andrew