Thread: Planer/Thicknesser Returned, What Next?

Hi Gareth. Great news that they finally arrived, should be loads of fun prepping and firing them up. Really interested to know what you think of the spiral head on the P/T. I also bit the bullet and went for the A3-31, but with the standard knife set up, debated long and hard over that but got the deal on the last one in stock and needed the extra for the bandsaw. As I haven't heard the silent power head its difficult to compare noise wise, except to say that the standard set up is so much quieter than my previous machines, both Taiwanese and Chinese, that I'm happy, anyway its drowned by the noise from the dust collector . On the downside, the wheel kit arrived a week after the machine and the spare blades didn't arrive at all!! The N4400 was also ordered but it seems the last one in stock shown as available was sold, by then the ones on your container were also sold and the next delivery is months away. Wait to hear how you got on. Chris

Chris,

Is a bit like Xmas, just not allowed to play with my toys at the moment

Glad to hear you pressed the green button. Are you happy with your purchase? Have you had much of an opportunity to fire it up yet? I've heard the spiral head is quieter and gives a better finish. I'd be surprised though if there was a hugely noticeable difference between the finishes. To be honest I will have very little to compare it with as I've never had a planer or thicknesser myself. How did you get the P/T off the pallet?

The wheel kit for me was a must have, it seems pretty sturdy and makes moving the machine around fairly easy. Although it's still fairly weighty and takes a little muscle to get it moving and stopping it, I find anyway

At the moment my bandsaw is off the pallet but not yet set up. I still need to fit the blade and make sure everything is running smoothly. Shame you missed out this time around, will yours be on the next shipment or will you be looking to purchase something else?

Gareth

Hi Gareth
I haven't had as much time as I would like to get to grips, but its been brilliant so far. I'm three quarters of the way through a self build at present and using macrocarpa, matai and rimu in the fit out. Terrific finish straight off and very impressed with the quality of the A3-31. Wheel kit is great, workshop is not as big as I would like and that was part of the reason for getting rid of the separates, that and the fact that I disliked them! Chinese built and I'm old enough to have known better. I have been using the generic wheel base kits previously and quickly realised their limitations. When time allows I am going to clone the Hammer kit for my other stuff.
Getting the machine off the pallet wasn't too bad, I watched the video and followed the instructions, well nearly, I didn't have any to help so just did it carefully myself. I built the ramp they describe and used a pallet jockey. It worked a treat, next time I have a flat pack assembly job I might try following the instructions again!!

The band saw problem has been resolved. I couldn't wait several months for the N4400 to arrive so I bought a Minimax S45, a long story, I won't hi-jack your thread I have posted it under Band saws. Greg Hamilton of Gabbetts who you have mentioned was very helpful in this.

I hope you enjoy the new toys, keep us posted.

Cheers
Chris

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Gareth,
I have just recently purchased the Hammer (A3 31), it's a brilliant machine and I'm very happy with it. The reasons why I chose the Hammer over the Jet was because you can add extension tables to the Hammer which can also be used on their bandsaw and other tools. The wheel kit can be installed on the Hammer and it makes it easy to move around into position, particularly handy in a small shop. I also really liked the digital hand wheel which you can add with the Hammer, it's accurate to 0.1mm (although you can buy after market ones for other machines).

The build quality was a bit better and I also got a great price which wasn't much more than the Jet. Regardless I'm sure you will be happy with either machine.

What was the price on the hammer and where did you get it? Did you get the spiral cutterhead option?

Cheers

Chris

Hi Chris,

Yes I got the spiral cutter head and purchased it from Sydney.

You'll be looking at around the $5k mark for the A3 31 with the silent head.

The great thing as mentioned about the Hammer is that you can add extensions etc which makes it more versatile. Another impressive feature is the dust extraction. I hardly see any dust on the floor.

Andy

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Hi Chris,

Yes I got the spiral cutter head and purchased it from Sydney.

You'll be looking at around the $5k mark for the A3 31 with the silent head.

The great thing as mentioned about the Hammer is that you can add extensions etc which makes it more versatile. Another impressive feature is the dust extraction. I hardly see any dust on the floor.

Andy

I hope you're happy with your hammer A3 31 combo purchase, reflecting back 2yrs ago I was in the market for a thicknesser/jointer and wanted to look over the hammer range from Felder QLD but got such a run around... It was like and interview over the phone before being allowed an appointment just to access the showroom floor, I gave up and went to Carbatec. I eventually changed my mind on the novelty of the combo and purchased the CTJ-350X and CTJ-381X for just under $5K both on wheels and very maneuverable, both spiral cutters, very quiet and very good dust extraction from both machines. We all suffer at one stage or another workshop expansion problems when it comes to tooling and make individual decisions and sacrifices, for me the final influence was my health, I would not be able to tolerate lifting the beds continually to swap between thicknesser/jointer, that and operating the thicknesser was uncomfortably to low for my back.

The only feature that annoys me with a combo is winding the thicknesser down to 175mm clearance to change over to jointing.

Ideally two separate machines is the way to go, however space saving really appeals to some and sometimes is necessary.

Originally Posted by groeneaj

The only feature that annoys me with a combo is winding the thicknesser down to 175mm clearance to change over to jointing.

Ideally two separate machines is the way to go, however space saving really appeals to some and sometimes is necessary.

Have you though of motorizing the wind handle? It might sound far fetched, but it can get quite painful sometimes for me hand winding my X-axis on my milling machine and decided earlier this year to fit a 110vac power-feed which came with limiting stops from China $350. These units could be easily adapted for your purpose and you can get them in 250vac, just push the lever left or right for up or down and it will stop to wherever you set the limiter to?

Pete

I'll look into it. Thanks mate !

Originally Posted by groeneaj

The only feature that annoys me with a combo is winding the thicknesser down to 175mm clearance to change over to jointing.

Ideally two separate machines is the way to go, however space saving really appeals to some and sometimes is necessary.

Indeed necessary for me. I have a single car garage already shared by a car, table saw, router table, dust extractor, workbench and floor standing shelves.

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