Need some feedback please: Used Hammer A3 41

[Motown]

Hey guys,

I am going to see a 16" Hammer Jointer/Planer tonight and wanted to see if you guys think its worth the asking price?  It's a lightly used, older model. The seller is retired hobbiest and seemed honest. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Motown
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/5198264542.html

 

[live4ever]

Hammer was running a promo recently, the A3 31 was in the low-mid 3s I think with silent power (spiral) cutterhead.  Not sure what the A3 41 was going for in the promo but I think it would be around 5k.

I wonder if these older units can take the Hammer spiral cutterhead if you ever wanted to do that?

I'm in your area, and will probably be in the market for one of these in the next year or so.  Were I making that decision right now, personally I'd be comparing to the features/specs of a new A331 12" vs. whether I needed 16".  Call Hammer if you need to.  I think the price is decent depending on included accessories and what you find out about feature differences, might be able to get him to come down a few hundred more.  I think below 3k is a really sweet deal.

 

[cliffp]

You can't retrofit a silent cutter head if it doesn't already have one.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You can't retrofit a silent cutter head if it doesn't already have one.

I am sure you could put something different in there.

I am a fan of straight knives though.

 

[Motown]

Thanks guys, I am pretty positive you can't retro fit to a spiral cutter head but I am okay with cutters. I recently got a quote on the A3 31 which came to $5300 with spiral head, extension tables, no mortiser......this includes tax and shipping. The spiral head was around $800. Live4ever, you described my exact thought process with comparing this to a new 12" A3 31.