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  1. #16
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    But how many times do you have occasion to plane really wide boards? I would love a 30” thicknesser, but would be quite content with a 10 or 12” planer. In fact the widest board I have milled in the last ten years has been 8”.

    Greg
    It's all part of the service here at The House of Pain™

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  3. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NSW
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    90

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    Yet another opinion hahaha

    If I was in your shoes I would take the extra 2 grand (at least) needed to upgrade to a hammer and put spiral heads in both machines (assuming space is not a worry). Then you have a long bed jointer (way more important than wide for 99% of jobs) and a spiral thicknesser too, with no need for a changeover

  4. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
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    10,810

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    Quote Originally Posted by sleake View Post
    Yet another opinion hahaha

    If I was in your shoes I would take the extra 2 grand (at least) needed to upgrade to a hammer and put spiral heads in both machines (assuming space is not a worry). Then you have a long bed jointer (way more important than wide for 99% of jobs) and a spiral thicknesser too, with no need for a changeover
    Not so in my opinion. Possibly if all you are jointing are edges of boards for dining room tables. In my case, I build medium size furniture, and want to flatten faces, often 12" wide. Bed width is far more important. Hence I went from a long bed 8" jointer to a Hammer A3-31 for the 12" width (more cost-effective than a stand alone 12" jointer).

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  5. #19
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    54
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    271

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    I also have the hammer A3-31 and as others have mentioned winding the table up and down is the biggest hassle. However there is a work around for this that I have on my “ To Do list”. You can make a removable spacer the height needed to flip over the dust shroud, so it only takes a couple of seconds to add this for thicknessing thinner material.

    Cheers Andrew

  6. #20
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    South Australia
    Age
    54
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    271

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    In order to better explain the spacer I mentioned have a look at the 10.30 minute mark in this video where Nick shows his for an A3-26 but just a matter of making it to suit your particular machine.

    Woodworking Tools I Had, Have, & Hope to Add // Shop Tour 2021 - YouTube

    Cheers Andrew

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Hobart, Tas
    Posts
    1,211

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    Quote Originally Posted by AJ. View Post
    I also have the hammer A3-31 and as others have mentioned winding the table up and down is the biggest hassle. However there is a work around for this that I have on my “ To Do list”. You can make a removable spacer the height needed to flip over the dust shroud, so it only takes a couple of seconds to add this for thicknessing thinner material.

    Cheers Andrew
    That is such a simple idea, but fantastic. I would say obvious, but as I've not considered it before ...

  8. #22
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    Jun 2005
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    Helensburgh
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    7,696

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    Lance, the only problem with that idea is you lose reference to the measuring tape or in handle dial.
    CHRIS

  9. #23
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    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
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    10,810

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    I made a similar add-on for my A3-31, but it was mainly to plane thin stock. I plan to make another, thick one, and it will be exactly 100mm thick. That way it will be easier to continue using my metric dial on the machine. I shall only have to wind up-and-down about 3", as opposed to 7 1/2", which is required to get the shroud out of the way.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  10. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Hobart, Tas
    Posts
    1,211

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Parks View Post
    Lance, the only problem with that idea is you lose reference to the measuring tape or in handle dial.
    If you consistently use the base for most milling, as long as the relative heights remain consistent, it shouldn't pose a problem.

    For my workflow it would only really matter where I forgot to note my final dimension and need to match a new piece to some already milled, by measuring a piece to match. Derek's 100 mm riser would certainly simplify the maths to calculate the offset required. This is a very rare occurrence though, so don't foresee it posing much of a problem.

  11. #25
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    South Australia
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    54
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    Quote Originally Posted by LanceC View Post
    That is such a simple idea, but fantastic. I would say obvious, but as I've not considered it before ...
    I would like to take credit for the idea, but like most of my best ideas I stole it from someone else

    Cheers Andrew

  12. #26
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NSW
    Posts
    90

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    Quote Originally Posted by derekcohen View Post
    Not so in my opinion. Possibly if all you are jointing are edges of boards for dining room tables. In my case, I build medium size furniture, and want to flatten faces, often 12" wide. Bed width is far more important. Hence I went from a long bed 8" jointer to a Hammer A3-31 for the 12" width (more cost-effective than a stand alone 12" jointer).

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Yep fair enough. Should have said that for me bed length is very valuable 99% of the time, I mostly make doors, windows, tables, so work with sticks in the 2 - 3 meter range very often.

    Mind you, as well as the carbatec 8 inch jointer I also have a 16 inch SCM combination for the wide stuff..... bit of a luxury.

    Just thought I'd flag a possible different pathway.

    Cheers, Steve

  13. #27
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Peoples Republic of Bryn
    Posts
    393

    Default

    I find the table extensions handy, I’ve got the 900mm and the 400mm that I use on the A3-31 and the K3

    It makes machining longer stock easier, as with most hammer options it is overpriced imo.

    the accurate dial gauge is worth every cent.

    after using a spiral head cutter, I will never go back to a blade system, it provides a great cut, reduces the noise and cutter change is easy

  14. #28
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    53

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    After a bit of mucking around with the old thicknesser and not being able to get it to work as well as I wanted, I have placed an order for an A3-41


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  15. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Coffs Harbour
    Posts
    1,791

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    I’ve just finished cleaning and rotating some of my helical head cutters on my c3 31 and am always impressed with its finish on all sorts of material. Iron bark to cedar it’s fantastic. The numbering on the actual cutters is a great referencing knowing what face your up to also

    Cheers
    Nathan

  16. #30
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Rushworth, Victoria
    Posts
    381

    Default

    Do yourself a favour and get the dial indicator for the height wheel on thicknesser.
    "World's oldest kid"

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