Hammer vs. Felder again

[HowardH]

After a lot of soul searching, and wallet searching too, I came to the conclusion that for my purposes, it would be better to build Norms's router station verses getting the Felder saw/shaper.  Considering the cost of the KF700 is close to $18,000, it made the decision really easy.  I posted something about this back in December.  I currently own a Hammer K3 Winner and generally have been pretty happy with it.  The crosscut fence has been problematic keeping it tuned to exactly 90 degrees.  I'm thinking about getting a regular K700 slider without a lot of the digital and electric doodads and they have it on sale for $6500.  I figure I can get close to $3500 for mine so for a net of $3000, I can get a step up.  My question for you Felder owners is whether or not the step up is worth it.  Granted they both cut wood in the same way but I'm thinking that the upgraded crosscut fence system with it's positive stop for 90 deg and the ability to go +- 45 in either direction would be handy as well as having the X-roll slider.  Do you have any regrets going with the big dog verses it's little brother? 

 

[Runhard]

Hi Howard,

I do not currently own a Felder so I can not be of any help with that, but I am also in the market for a table saw and would be interested in people's thoughts. I was considering a Saw Stop, Hammer K3 79" x 48", or possibly a Felder. I have the Hammer A3-41 and N4400, so the K3 seemed logical.

Daniel

 

[Ripit]

Hi, been awhile curious as to what you ended up doing, i am looking at the k700 as i just bought the Felder j/p 941, i was thinking Hammer due to cost constraints bu not sure of the quality. Mostly doing this as a Hobby now but was a Furniture and cabinet maker for +20

 

[egmiii]

My suggestion would be that if you have Hammer equipment and are satisfied with the build quality, then stick with it. If you already have a Felder AD941, you would likely be disappointed in the Hammer. Everyone has different needs and expectations, so it's really hard to give advice.

Regarding an upgrade to the Felder for better crosscut accuracy, I would strongly suggest that you consider a model with the outrigger. The stand alone fence is problematic to keep calibrated across every machine, from the Hammer to Format 4 lines. But the outrigger and associated fence are excellent.

18,000 seems a little high for a KF700, unless you are going digital and adding several options. Usually a KF700 is only 3500 more than a K700 (if my memory is correct), which is a considerable value. My KF700 was 20k+, but its fully loaded with all the bells and whistles.

 

[BoulderAv]

Do you have the pricing list for the Felder stuff? I am considering a Jointer/Planer Combo from them (and a shaper since I need to run large tooling for cabinets). The step up to the Felder stuff from Hammer is pretty large, but I am not sure you would notice enough of a difference unless you are a more industrial use case since the Hammer units are built so well.

 

[egmiii]

Unfortunately I do not have their price list. For better or worse, Felder has a pricing model that is quite different than most woodworkers are used to. You need to specify the machine and all of the assorted options before getting a total. Additionally, the cost of each option is typically not transparent. The reason for this is the factory likes to sell options as bundles. If you buy all of the options in a bundle, they give a discount. If you buy multiple bundles, the discounts are extended. The price also moves depending upon the Euro USD exchange rate. The configuration software supplied by Felder in Austria to the US branch enforces this model. So your sales person has to create a build to generate a quote. However, a good sales person will typically know the current option bundles Felder is discounting and can optimize the configuration for the best value. Overall, the end product is worth the investment. Just need some patience during the process.

 

[lwoirhaye]

I have a K500.  It's a good saw and accurate but considering the new price (I got it used) and if I had the space for a full-sized saw I'd look for a second hand German or Italian saw with a 3000mm stroke.  If all you have room for is a short stroke saw I can relate - and options are more limited. 

 

[online421]

I dont have a Felder/Hammer saw, but I have a Felder AD951. my previous JP combo was a Robland NX410PRO.

I use to approach tools and machinery with cheap is good attitude.

but after some not so good purchase, I am now a firm believer of cry once and laugh forever.

Get the Felder.