Finally! Hammer K3 - It's here!!

[HowardH]

[big grin]  got the call I have been waiting for.  Trucking company said it was 30 minutes away so I dropped everything and sped home.  I had been told to be very careful about checking for damage so I photographed everything.  No problems, everything was well packaged and in perfect condition.  First impression - it's big and very heavy.  I had to figure out how raise it enough to get the mobility kit attached.  Finally decided to use a long 2x2 as a lever and got it up enough to slip a 2x8 underneath to give me enough clearance.  I built a small ramp on the edge of the pallet and it rolled right off.  Big worry no more.  One thing interesting tho.  Just like Festool, the manual sucked.  I had to bring my laptop to the garage and run the youtube hammer set up video to see what the heck they were talking about.  I now have it pretty well dialed in although they forgot to include the micro fence adjustment feature.  I don't know how they are going to address that but Carl at Felder knows about it and I sent him a picture of the cast iron fence fixture where the missing pieces should have gone.  It cuts like a dream and the 90 deg are dead nuts perfect.  It's going to take a little time gettng used to the slider but I can already tell it's going to be fun!

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[jacko9]

Howard, what the heck is that motor vehicle doing in your wood shop [wink]  Very nice table saw!

 

[ScotF]

[big grin]  got the call I have been waiting for.  Trucking company said it was 30 minutes away so I dropped everything and sped home.  I had been told to be very careful about checking for damage so I photographed everything.  No problems, everything was well packaged and in perfect condition.  First impression - it's big and very heavy.  I had to figure out how raise it enough to get the mobility kit attached.  Finally decided to use a long 2x2 as a lever and got it up enough to slip a 2x8 underneath to give me enough clearance.  I built a small ramp on the edge of the pallet and it rolled right off.  Big worry no more.  One thing interesting tho.  Just like Festool, the manual sucked.  I had to bring my laptop to the garage and run the youtube hammer set up video to see what the heck they were talking about.  I now have it pretty well dialed in although they forgot to include the micro fence adjustment feature.  I don't know how they are going to address that but Carl at Felder knows about it and I sent him a picture of the cast iron fence fixture where the missing pieces should have gone.  It cuts like a dream and the 90 deg are dead nuts perfect.  It's going to take a little time gettng used to the slider but I can already tell it's going to be fun!

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Awesome and congratulations!  That looks nice in your shop and I am sure you are going to enjoy using it. 

Scot

 

[Kev]

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the Hammer (which is a really strange name for a saw by the way).

Kev

 

[HowardH]

It is a strange name.  I mean, everyone can say they have a hammer.  ??? ??? ???  The vehicle has to share space with the saw and my Festool stuff.  No doubt about it.  Now for some very quick initial thoughts.  WOW!!!  [eek] [eek] [eek]  This machine is unbelievably well built.  The quality is way better than the Laguna Platinum I had a few years ago.  The motor sounds like a 747 spooling up for take off.  The slider glides like KY.  The dust collection actually works.  I found out the hard way as I didn't have a 120mm reducer so I just let it spew out the back while testing on some MDF.  The dust went everywhere.  Lucky one of my CT's was close by so I could clean it up afterwards.  I ordered the 120mm to 100mm reducer so I can hook it up to the dust deputy.  I have some pictures of how it came shipped so Ill post those later when I can get them off my camera.  I have a bag full of parts left over so I'll have to look into that.  I'll wax the top tonight unless someone has a better idea. 

 

[ScotF]

I think Johnson's Paste wax is perfect -- at least that is what I use on my A3-31 with no issue.  Enjoy your new saw!

Scot

 

[bijeshj]

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy the Hammer (which is a really strange name for a saw by the way).

Kev

You should have seen the reaction on my friends face that I purchased a 5k hammer . He wanted to know it was made of platinum.

Howard - congrats. It is a really nice saw.

 

[HowardH]

I had a mild panic attack  [scared] this afternoon after work. I went to turn on the saw and nothing happened.  nada. zilch, bupkiss.  Uh oh.  checked the cord, it was fine.  Checked the main switch, nothing there and it seemed fine.  Thee is a switch on the back of the machine that allows you to slide a cover to get to the blade and it looked ok.  Checked the breakers and they were set properly.  My first thought something was wrong with the motor.  Great.  Brand new break the bank machine and something is wrong.  So I called Carl at Felder and left a message.  He called me back and boy was I a dope!  [embarassed]  That switch on the back - the one that is a safety switch for the cover - is a THREE way switch, not a two way.  I thought it was down was off, up was on.  Nope.  Down and up were both off.  The middle position ( I didn't know there was a middle position!) is the ON position.  Moved it to the middle and then she fired right up!  Big relief!  [tongue] [tongue]  I have a feeling I going to be learning a lot as time goes on.  geez...

 

[tbellemare]

It's always something, Howard! I'm glad to hear it was really nothing.

I had a machine delivered to a customer and when we first turned it on, it ran momentarily and then stopped. It would not start again. Upon closer inspection, there were some wire nuts making junctions between the power cord, power switch, and motor. Being the son of an Electrician, I thought, "likely poor connections in those Scotch locks". I took them apart and remade them and everything has been fine since...

As my Dad taught me, eliminate the easy to fix problems first.

In your case, it was a little more of a trick.

Tom

 

[HowardH]

Thanks, Tom.  Yea, it seems like the Euro manufacturers don't fully explain everything.  Somethings you simply find out the hard way.  BTW, where is your store located?  I am starting to come to Austin a lot and would love to stop by and talk some Festool!

 

[tbellemare]

I'm in South Austin, about 2 miles from the river.

If you're planning to be around, please give me a call. I'm easy to reach most of the time.

Tom

 

[woodguy7]

Howard, congrats on the machine.  I know what you mean about the build quality.  Having had a Felder planer/thicknesser already I was a bit apprehensive about ordering the "cheaper" hammer spindle moulder.  I needn't have worried, it's superb.  A new saw like yours is in my sights next but need to let the pocket recover first.

Could you tell me what the overall dimensions of the top is, without the sliding carriage ?

Many thanks.

 

[HowardH]

Sorry it took me a few days to answer.  It's 39cm wide by 95cm deep.  that's without the steel table.  I'm loving this saw more and more every time I use it.  I put on a Wixey digital fence scale today.  The traditional scale provided with the the saw has equal length graduation markings making it pretty difficult to tell one mark from another.  The Wixey took care of that problem.  Felder forgot to include the micro adjust I ordered with the saw so it should be here this week.  

 

[upscale]

It cuts like a dream and the 90 deg are dead nuts perfect.  It's going to take a little time getting
used to the slider, but I can already tell it's going to be fun!

It looks like a really great saw. One thing that always concerns me with most any table saw, is how well does it handle 8'x4' sheets of plywood? Without considering an upgrade to a more substantial Hammer saw or a Felder, is there some option for it that I don't know about? Or, is it just a matter of separate infeed and outfeed tables to support sheets of plywood?

 

[HowardH]

Sheet goods are what these machines were designed for.  They make an outrigger system specifically for it.  It will easily handle a full sheet of ply with only one person.  With the 78" slider, you can rip and crosscut a full sheet.  I do very little sheet work so I didn't get the outrigger system.  I would use my TS75 to break down anything to a manageable size first then throw it on the saw.  It's only about $1300 or so IIRC but I didn't have the room anyway.  It would be much easier than a conventional table saw.  With 4 hp and a 12" blade, you an do 3-4 sheets at a time. 

 

[upscale]

Sheet goods are what these machines were designed for.  They make an outrigger system specifically for it.  It will easily handle a full sheet of ply with only one person.  With the 78" slider, you can rip and crosscut a full sheet.

Ok, but just let me ask once more with this proviso. A sheet of ply is 108" long. With the proper outrigger option, will *this* hammer let you rip a full length sheet of plywood without the use of an outfeed table?

 

[Jeff Zanin]

Sheet goods are what these machines were designed for.  They make an outrigger system specifically for it.  It will easily handle a full sheet of ply with only one person.  With the 78" slider, you can rip and crosscut a full sheet.

Ok, but just let me ask once more with this proviso. A sheet of ply is 108" long. With the proper outrigger option, will *this* hammer let you rip a full length sheet of plywood without the use of an outfeed table?

Is the 108" plywood readily available and typically used, or is it special purpose / special order?  Most of the plywood I have seen comes in 48"x96" sheets.

Jeff

 

[RussellS]

Sheet goods are what these machines were designed for.  They make an outrigger system specifically for it.  It will easily handle a full sheet of ply with only one person.  With the 78" slider, you can rip and crosscut a full sheet.

Ok, but just let me ask once more with this proviso. A sheet of ply is 108" long. With the proper outrigger option, will *this* hammer let you rip a full length sheet of plywood without the use of an outfeed table?

The Hammer models only offer sliding tables that will rip 78 inches long.  So you can only do 6.5 feet instead of 8 feet.
http://www.hammerusa.com/us-us/products/table-saws/table-saw-k3-winner-79x48.html

To get the ability to rip a full size sheet of plywood with the sliding table, you have to go up to the Felder K500S model with either a 98, 110, or 126 inch sliding table.  These saws come with scoring blades to reduce any chipping.
http://www.felderusa.com/products_ausstattung.php?parent=9e5e5cc98dc03df70393&xat_code=120ca28516f1061c0921&region=us-us

 

[upscale]

Is the 108" plywood readily available and typically used, or is it special purpose / special order?  Most of the plywood I have seen comes in 48"x96" sheets.

Sorry my mistake. For some inexplicable reason, I multiplied 9'x12' instead of 8'x12'. You're right, I had commonly sized 8' sheets in mind when I replied. Mea Culpa.

 

[Jeff Zanin]

Is the 108" plywood readily available and typically used, or is it special purpose / special order?  Most of the plywood I have seen comes in 48"x96" sheets.

Sorry my mistake. For some inexplicable reason, I multiplied 9'x12' instead of 8'x12'. You're right, I had commonly sized 8' sheets in mind when I replied. Mea Culpa.

Thanks, saves me having to order the 9 foot pickup truck to bring it home.  [smile]