Hammer A3 31 Shipping

[montyss]

For the extension table think about it on the planer that has a short bed.. I have never needed to use it when jointing yet so its stays on the planer full time.

 

[Mini Me]

For the extension table think about it on the planer that has a short bed.. I have never needed to use it when jointing yet so its stays on the planer full time.

I agree, in fact I think the extension table on the planer is nearly a necessity.

 

[SoonerFan]

[member=75283]4nthony[/member] seems like you might have shipping on the Hammer figured out.  If that is you decision, I hope it all works out for you like my purchases did for me. 

I ordered a HH Jet Jointer and a Planner (not a combo) at got both delivered at different times to the shop on our property with a lift gate.  Both times these were delivered and dropped in my shop.  I was provided time to open the crates and inspect the equipment.  Had no troubles at all.  Ordered both from Beaver Tools and it all worked great.  I also got a SawStop PCS from Beaver and it was a great delivery experience.  Each time this terrific lady did the delivery and she was fantastic.  Very professional, called in advance, was on time, etc.  I wish she would deliver everything I order…..

 

[Rutabagared]

For the extension table think about it on the planer that has a short bed.. I have never needed to use it when jointing yet so its stays on the planer full time.

I agree, in fact I think the extension table on the planer is nearly a necessity.

I also agree.  I bought two extensions.  I used them both once on the jointer when machining long, heavy stock for my workbench top.  Since then, one has been attached to my planer outfeed and the other rests against the wall behind the machine.

Joe

 

[4nthony]

Shipping cost ended up being $646.78.

Dealing with Hammer has been interesting. The quotes I received never explicitly stated the price of the machine. It had a subtotal that included accessories so I was always subtracting the accessories total from the subtotal to get the A3 31 price. I asked my rep about it but he never acknowledged/addressed it. On all my quotes, the base price (subtotal - accessories) was $5507. On the web, base price is $5364. Not sure why this is, but if you order from Hammer, the rep's price will probably be higher than the web.

A couple months after making my deposit, the price on the website dropped about $1200. I had already made my deposit but as I hadn't taken delivery, I asked for a price adjustment. The first adjusted quote came back about $700 above the web price. I asked if that included shipping but was told the difference was for the Silent Power cutter head. All machines include the SP cutter so it felt a little sneaky that the rep was trying to pull this on me (the website explicitly says the SP cutter is included).

Long story short, the rep matched the current web price of $4442. Their website is still quoting $1250 for shipping. I basically saved about $600 in shipping by going through a rep.

 

[Taylormade]

How do you like your Hammer A3 31? 

Shipping cost ended up being $646.78.

Dealing with Hammer has been interesting. The quotes I received never explicitly stated the price of the machine. It had a subtotal that included accessories so I was always subtracting the accessories total from the subtotal to get the A3 31 price. I asked my rep about it but he never acknowledged/addressed it. On all my quotes, the base price (subtotal - accessories) was $5507. On the web, base price is $5364. Not sure why this is, but if you order from Hammer, the rep's price will probably be higher than the web.

A couple months after making my deposit, the price on the website dropped about $1200. I had already made my deposit but as I hadn't taken delivery, I asked for a price adjustment. The first adjusted quote came back about $700 above the web price. I asked if that included shipping but was told the difference was for the Silent Power cutter head. All machines include the SP cutter so it felt a little sneaky that the rep was trying to pull this on me (the website explicitly says the SP cutter is included).

Long story short, the rep matched the current web price of $4442. Their website is still quoting $1250 for shipping. I basically saved about $600 in shipping by going through a rep.

 

[4nthony]

How do you like your Hammer A3 31? 

I've been sick for the past few weeks -- my toddler likes to bring home a new virus every other week -- and I haven't been able to spend much time using it. The few test boards I've sent through it came out much nicer than I expected. I'm really impressed by how quiet it is. Prior to this, I'd only used a bench top planer so I was thinking the A3 would be a little quieter than that but it's not even comparable.

The digital dial is really accurate and simple to calibrate. My cast iron tables aren't perfectly flat, with variations from .002" to .005". I think that's within their spec and after reading posts on the other FOG, I've learned it's pretty common. I'm using a 38" Veritas straight edge and its tolerances are 0.003" so I don't know if it's the table, the straight edge, or both.

The fence feels a bit...cheap light. I don't have any problems getting it square and it works as advertised but being aluminum extrusion, it's light and doesn't feel as solid as the rest of the machine. A cast iron fence on a combo machine would probably add significant weight so maybe that's why they use aluminum. From what I can tell, it looks like Felder uses aluminum fences on most, if not all, of their machines.

When the machine arrived, the Rolling Carriage was not part of the delivery. It was scheduled to be delivered the following week. I didn't want to wait to get it off the pallet so I opted to put it on a Bora PM-3550 mobile base and am happy with that decision. My garage space is small and I think over time I would've become frustrated with the limited mobility the Rolling Carriage provides.

As for electrical, there's a lot of contradictory information out there regarding the circuit needed to run it. Even the documentation mentions both 20A and 30A. I opted to go with a 20A circuit. I can easily add a 30A circuit if I find myself tripping the 20A.

The machine seems to be very well calibrated from the factory.

In my garage, I had to move a few things around and found a home for it in the back right corner. If I need to joint longer stock, I'll pull the vehicle out and wheel the A3 into the free space.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

(SNIP)

The fence feels a bit...cheap light. I don't have any problems getting it square and it works as advertised but being aluminum extrusion, it's light and doesn't feel as solid as the rest of the machine. A cast iron fence on a combo machine would probably add significant weight so maybe that's why they use aluminum. From what I can tell, it looks like Felder uses aluminum fences on most, if not all, of their machines.

Hi 4nthony! Glad to hear you're liking your A3-41 so far. Regarding the aluminum fence, I'm not aware of any modern, European machines that are still using cast iron jointer fences. Even the vaunted Martin T-54 uses an aluminum fence..... Hope you get some great enjoyment out of your new machine  8)

 

[4nthony]

Even the vaunted Martin T-54 uses an aluminum fence..... Hope you get some great enjoyment out of your new machine  8)

I hadn't heard of the Martin T-54 but wow, what an impressive looking machine!

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Even the vaunted Martin T-54 uses an aluminum fence..... Hope you get some great enjoyment out of your new machine  8)

I hadn't heard of the Martin T-54 but wow, what an impressive looking machine!

I hate to speak in absolutes, but I'm not aware of a better machine on the market. The T45 is impressive as well, together they make quite the pair.

 

[Peter Kelly]

(SNIP)

The fence feels a bit...cheap light. I don't have any problems getting it square and it works as advertised but being aluminum extrusion, it's light and doesn't feel as solid as the rest of the machine. A cast iron fence on a combo machine would probably add significant weight so maybe that's why they use aluminum. From what I can tell, it looks like Felder uses aluminum fences on most, if not all, of their machines.

Hi 4nthony! Glad to hear you're liking your A3-41 so far. Regarding the aluminum fence, I'm not aware of any modern, European machines that are still using cast iron jointer fences. Even the vaunted Martin T-54 uses an aluminum fence..... Hope you get some great enjoyment out of your new machine  8)

Maybe not Europe but cast iron fences are still a thing Japan, even on the smaller machines.

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