Hammer K3 and A3-31 arrived

[bijeshj]

I took advantage of the discounts Felder / Hammer had during their spring sale and got the K3 sliding tables saw and A3-31 Jointer/planer two weeks ago.
Very impressed by the quality and sturdiness of these machines and have started putting them together - a big step up from my Bosch TS and ridgid planer.

I am still planning to keep the TS55 for longer rips, the slider only cuts approx 80".

I am taking pictures and writing up the install as I get time and plan to post it later. I am thankful for this forum (and couple of other forums) and the members who post their valuable experience - helped me make a decision and move forward.

 

[woodguy7]

Very nice.  Did you get any "super gleit" for the thicknesser ?  If not, get some, no get lots.  I have the Felder & i have to constantly spray the bed or the timber sticks  [mad]

Hope you get on better with yours, Woodguy.

 

[bijeshj]

Very nice.  Did you get any "super gleit" for the thicknesser ?  If not, get some, no get lots.  I have the Felder & i have to constantly spray the bed or the timber sticks  [mad]

Hope you get on better with yours, Woodguy.

Thanks, I did get the felder universal cleaner but have been using boeshield for top coating. Will try the Super Gleit if that does not work, I have only taken test cuts on both machines.

 

[HowardH]

I'm looking at getting a B3 as soon as I can scrape up the schekels to buy it.  I'm curious as to why you not only have the outrigger table but the crosscut fence as well.  Wouldn't you just use the outrigger instead of the crosscut fence?  What are the must have accessories to order initially? 

 

[bijeshj]

I'm looking at getting a B3 as soon as I can scrape up the schekels to buy it.  I'm curious as to why you not only have the outrigger table but the crosscut fence as well.  Wouldn't you just use the outrigger instead of the crosscut fence?  What are the must have accessories to order initially? 

Here is what I ordered:
sawblades - it was part of the sale, but it is more fun to have the blades when the machines arrive
Mobility kit - very useful - for both the k3 and a3
Outrigger - for sheet goods and heavy lumber
Crosscut - used most of the time as a miter gauge for cross cuts (takes less space and if i need to pop in and out of the garage - dont have to bother putting the outrigger on)
crosscut stop - i had a few on my mft as well

 

[HowardH]

that makes sense.  Did you feel the shaper wasn't worth the extra money?  I have a router table currently with a jointech system.  I suppose I could sell the whole thing for $500-600 including the digital lift and just use the shaper but I think it would be nice having 4 hp and not having to make multiple passes.  Adding the shaper is a lot though. 

 

[bijeshj]

that makes sense.  Did you feel the shaper wasn't worth the extra money?  I have a router table currently with a jointech system.  I suppose I could sell the whole thing for $500-600 including the digital lift and just use the shaper but I think it would be nice having 4 hp and not having to make multiple passes.  Adding the shaper is a lot though.   

The B3 did not have as much of a discount like the K3 and while a shaper is really good to have - I am hobbyist and the tooling is really expensive on a shaper. I do this for fun and the router table is sufficient for the work I do.

 

[HowardH]

I suppose I could always put a 3hp porter cable router in my table and order what you did.  It's almost the same money to get the K3 and the A3-31 as the B3 by itself and I can certainly see using the A3-31 a lot more than needing the shaper for what I do.  I really love what the jointech system can do along with the digital lift.  I have over a $1000 invested in the set up and probably would lose my shirt if I tried to sell it. 

 

[b_m_hart]

Sexy!

 

[Warrior]

Very nice.  Did you get any "super gleit" for the thicknesser ?  If not, get some, no get lots.  I have the Felder & i have to constantly spray the bed or the timber sticks  [mad]

Hope you get on better with yours, Woodguy.

You would think the bed would be a little less sticky. The jointer tables are a little sticky too. Other than that I love it. I just spray the bed with that stuff in the blue can that works for blades and bits too.

 

[Rob-GB]

Very nice.  Did you get any "super gleit" for the thicknesser ?  If not, get some, no get lots.  I have the Felder & i have to constantly spray the bed or the timber sticks  [mad]

Hope you get on better with yours, Woodguy.

You would think the bed would be a little less sticky. The jointer tables are a little sticky too. Other than that I love it. I just spray the bed with that stuff in the blue can that works for blades and bits too.

Why does the timber stick & what timbers are most 'sticky'? Is it a problem with the surface milling, or ???
I'd like to know as I am currently looking at installing 4 new machines in the new workshop from Felder/Hammer. Thanks, Rob.

 

[woodguy7]

Rob

I think it is a milling issue but the Felder engineer that came to look at it said the tables cant be dead smooth !!  I am tempted to sand them smooth to see if it helps.  Just now i can put about 20 meters of timber ( any species ) through before i have to wind down the table & re-lube it.  Its a major pain in the ass when you have a lot of timber to dress.

There is a few things i would change if buying again but don't want to bore everyone with them.  If you want to know more, just PM me.

Cheers, Woodguy.

 

[Rob-GB]

Woodguy, PM sent.

 

[Warrior]

Rob

I think it is a milling issue but the Felder engineer that came to look at it said the tables cant be dead smooth !!  I am tempted to sand them smooth to see if it helps.  Just now i can put about 20 meters of timber ( any species ) through before i have to wind down the table & re-lube it.  Its a major pain in the  when you have a lot of timber to dress.

There is a few things i would change if buying again but don't want to bore everyone with them.  If you want to know more, just PM me.

Cheers, Woodguy.

Woodguy,

No need to wind down the table. Just spray it in there and keep going. works great and doesnt hamper the work flow. BTW if you have the digital handwheel repeat planning is a snap. its accurate. Oh yeah its the Bostik DriCote spray. Made for blades and bits but seems to work just great on my cast iron surfaces. Saves me from having to look for the right can if I only buy the one product.

 

[woodguy7]

Eiji

Yea, i have just started spraying the stuff in there (fed up winding up & down.  I do have the digital handwheel, it is sooo accurate.  Can dress wood to a tenth on a mm (don't know what that is in imperial  )

I just feel that a machine of this caliber should not have this issue.  I had a really old Cooksley & you could dress wood all year & not need to lube it  [smile]

Woodguy.

 

[b_m_hart]

Eiji

Yea, i have just started spraying the stuff in there (fed up winding up & down.  I do have the digital handwheel, it is sooo accurate.  Can dress wood to a tenth on a mm (don't know what that is in imperial  )

I just feel that a machine of this caliber should not have this issue.  I had a really old Cooksley & you could dress wood all year & not need to lube it  [smile]

Woodguy.

That works out to .00394 of an inch... pretty impressive tolerance IMO.

 

[seankzn]

Everyone experiences the sticking problem on the Felders.  I've had a CF731 since 2006 and have learned to save the Supergleit for big runs of really rough timbers. Rather clean the tables periodically with paraffin, allow to dry and then apply a light coat of floor wax polish and wipe off immediately.  Reapply polish as necessary. 

And the tables can't be smooth.  Two smooth surfaces together give rise to static friction, or stiction, causing them to adhere to each other.  So my son tells me.

 

[Rob-GB]

Everyone experiences the sticking problem on the Felders.  I've had a CF731 since 2006 and have learned to save the Supergleit for big runs of really rough timbers. Rather clean the tables periodically with paraffin, allow to dry and then apply a light coat of floor wax polish and wipe off immediately.  Reapply polish as necessary. 

And the tables can't be smooth.  Two smooth surfaces together give rise to static friction, or stiction, causing them to adhere to each other.  So my son tells me.

That actually makes sense, though I've not thought about it much before, how often have you grabbed at a piece of planed up timber from a batch and it has dragged the lower piece with it, or melamine faced panels? [scratch chin]

Rob.

 

[woodguy7]

Seankzn

Good to know others are having the same problem as me.  That's interesting about the the tables being to smooth, that does make sense.  The Felder engineer did tell me that but i wasn't sure to believe him or not.

Welcome to the FOG by the way.

Woodguy.

 

[bijeshj]

I have not used the machines a lot but have put on a liberal coating of T9 - seem not to have the sticking issue yet. But I have see how long the T9 will last before I have to spray on another layer.