bleedinblue Posted October 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 I echo the question of the price. If there's wiggle room that would help. Shipping IS a killer though and is probably a deal breaker. I added the 26 to my cart just to see shipping, $500. As far as the weight...for this, I think I'd build a large platform with large pneumatic wheels. Ratchet strap the machine onto the platform to roll it through the yard. Rent or buy a portable cherry picker to take it off the platform. It works in my head anyway. If I'm considering the 10" Hammer I should consider the 12" Jet combo machine. It's got pretty dang good reviews, though several have said it took some work to get the tables co-planer. I don't know that the Jet has any extension tables though, and that's an attractive option of the Hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 If i could have gotten one of the combo machines into my shop i'd have done it. The $6,600 that would be spent between an 8" parallelogram jointer and a 15" floor standing should easily be able to get the A3-31. But there is no way i could get the A3 in my shop aside from digging a hole and knocking a hole in my foundation.... I guess if i do it i might as well time the purchase with the completion of my boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, bleedinblue said: I don't know that the Jet has any extension tables Last time I looked the answer was "no", but that was some time ago. A couple of guys here have the Jet and like it. But like anything, it's a compromise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 12 hours ago, bleedinblue said: No joke. The price is very reasonable. I can slide a good bit of money past the wife without her knowing. The A3 31 is close enough to make me think about it, but pricey enough for me to scare off it. The A3 26 is closer. Close enough for me to REALLY think about it. Do they kill you with shipping charges though? 700 pounds. Seven. Hundred. Ugh. Best to call the sales rep for your area. Email them, it's very quick... My machine weighs something like 1300 or so lbs.. and shipping wasn't bad at all. They are always having a special. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 I purchased my A3/31 about 12 years ago and last year had to replace the start capacitors like $30 other than that it has been an awesome machine. I was worried about the short beds but other than my roubo build it has never been something I have even thought about. Having said that I was able to see Llama's machine in person last year and if not for my current basement project I would have one similar sitting in my shop...now I'm probably a year or so out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 I really want to give one of these a try. I keep hearing about them and feel like i need to experience it first hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted October 30, 2018 Report Share Posted October 30, 2018 41 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I really want to give one of these a try. I keep hearing about them and feel like i need to experience it first hand. Anytime you want to give it a test drive just let me know i'm not too far away (between Zimmerman and Princeton) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted October 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 Regarding the Jet 13" planer, I just checked it's manual and the knives apparently don't have indents or anything...they're held in place just like a jointer's straight knives. Screw that. Replacing knives on a jointer sucks, it has to be worse on a planer. That machine is all but eliminated. I see that the straight knives on all of the A3 Hammer machines auto adjust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 47 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: I see that the straight knives on all of the A3 Hammer machines auto adjust. As long as you take out the set screws and not the adjustment screws that is correct. Ask me how I know In my defense they don't get changes that often I'm on my second set of blades in 10 years, they have cutting edges on both sides of the blade so you flip them once for two uses per blade. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 The more I look the more I am talking myself into a Hammer. I don't like the size of my current jointer, I absolutely loathe the screaming banshee noise of my current planer. I won't be happy adjusting knives "the old way" on a jointer OR a planer, and to stay within the price range of the current Hammer sales I would absolutely have to go with traditional knives for stand alone machines. The A3-26 has a very short total bed of 44", but they do have the extension tables in both 16 and 32 inch lengths, so that's almost a moot point. The 10" limitation of the planer could be a problem rarely, but I do have some low grit sand paper for my Supermax if I got in a pinch. The 10" jointer capacity speaks for it's self. I'd lean toward the 26 with straight knives because I'm already getting into uncomfortable price territory....the HH is an extra $700'ish, which actually puts it more expensive than the 31 with straight knives. In my mind, the 31 with straight knives > the 26 with HH. But I'd probably still land on the 26 with straight knives. I watched a delivery video of the 31 and the 31 looks like a bear. I'm really, really kicking myself for not buying the used 26 that popped up for sale ten miles away from me last year. It had the helical head and extension tables and was listed for $2400. Absolutely insane. I almost jumped on it but just acted too late. Converting from jointer to planer mode would be annoying, no doubt about it. The action would keep the machine from sitting as close to the wall as I'd like, so some re-arranging would be inevitable. I keep coming back to the jointer capacity and the quick set knives though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 Frank, the $700 in the long run wouldn't be that much really, I would rather have the capacity. Then again if you have the place to store, you could keep the old planer and use that in a pinch if you really want the 10" with HH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, Woodenskye said: Frank, the $700 in the long run wouldn't be that much really, I would rather have the capacity. Then again if you have the place to store, you could keep the old planer and use that in a pinch if you really want the 10" with HH. The 12" is actually just $500 more than the 10". $3300 for the straight knives. It's a lot more reasonable than I expected. It's a big machine though. I'm not positive my shop can fit it well (and I'm not positive I can slip that much money past the wife, lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 Can’t help you on the jointer as I have the 6” Grizz and really like it, but I have nothing to compare it to. We were poor as kids but didn’t know it ! However, I have the DW 735 and a friend has the 734 and there is no comparison. If I had the 734, knowing what I do of the 735, I would give it away and upgrade. This is my third planer so in this case, I realized I was poor at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 I'll most likely still go the easy route... maybe the Jet 13" that'll be a pain in the ass to change blades but will be quiet and have more power than the 734, and a Powermatic 54 of straight knives or HH. I don't think those would be lifetime tools though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 What's amazing is that the A3-31 with helical head is now actually cheaper than the Jet with helical head, not including shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 11 hours ago, K Cooper said: Can’t help you on the jointer as I have the 6” Grizz and really like it, but I have nothing to compare it to. We were poor as kids but didn’t know it ! However, I have the DW 735 and a friend has the 734 and there is no comparison. If I had the 734, knowing what I do of the 735, I would give it away and upgrade. This is my third planer so in this case, I realized I was poor at one time. Just for an interesting alternate experience. I had a 734 and a 735 and considered them pretty much interchangeable. The knives on the 734 lasted longer so it tended to get the longer runs of work. The 735 had the slow speed which was nice but, weighed about 10 pounds more; not to say that either was something I want to schlep around the shop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 I just like the blower on the 735 so that the waste goes into its own bag and not in my vac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bglenden Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 I got a big Hammer (41) within the last year and have been very happy with it. My experience was that they wouldn't dicker on price, but if you talked to a salesman they would keep you in the loop for sales (2-3 times per year). I don't know, but wouldn't be shocked to hear that with the China tariffs hitting Grizzly et. al. that their sale prices are not as discounted as they used to be. One thing to think about if you go with the 26 is if you can live with the 2+" less planing capacity than you get with a lunchbox planer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 1 minute ago, bglenden said: I got a big Hammer (41) within the last year and have been very happy with it. My experience was that they wouldn't dicker on price, but if you talked to a salesman they would keep you in the loop for sales (2-3 times per year). I don't know, but wouldn't be shocked to hear that with the China tariffs hitting Grizzly et. al. that their sale prices are not as discounted as they used to be. One thing to think about if you go with the 26 is if you can live with the 2+" less planing capacity than you get with a lunchbox planer. The current sales price is the only thing that has me in consideration. With straight knives, the 26 is $2800 and the 31 is $3300. I doubt there's any way the prices will ever be lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bglenden Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 2 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: The current sales price is the only thing that has me in consideration. With straight knives, the 26 is $2800 and the 31 is $3300. I doubt there's any way the prices will ever be lower. Ahh, I'd missed that they were in a sale now. I agree with you - unlikely to ever be better and could well be worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted November 4, 2018 Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 47 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: The current sales price is the only thing that has me in consideration. With straight knives, the 26 is $2800 and the 31 is $3300. I doubt there's any way the prices will ever be lower. You're right those are good prices IIRC my demo A3-31 was $3,400 10 years ago Regarding the Hammer straight knives they cut like a dream and wear very well as stated earlier they are simple to as well. The nice thing about the helical head would be that its quieter but I have never thought I needed it for an improved cut surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2018 I took some measurements and I don't think the Hammer is going to work. Per their specs, the 26 needs 37 inches of depth clearance, the 31 needs 38. This is an old diagram of my shop but it is very close to my current arrangement. The dust collector is about two feet further north now, and the planer was moved to the south of the dust collector. There is only something like 45 inches of clearance from the right side of my table saw fence rail to the wall, and that portion of the wall would be the ideal location for the Hammer. Moving the table saw isn't appealing. I'm much less convinced the Hammer is a possibility now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDustB Posted November 5, 2018 Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 Are you sure you couldn't put it where your jointer is now? I realize that when you've got it configured as a planer, the jointer fence would overhang the table saw if you put them tight together, but it still seems like it might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted November 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 30 minutes ago, SawDustB said: Are you sure you couldn't put it where your jointer is now? I realize that when you've got it configured as a planer, the jointer fence would overhang the table saw if you put them tight together, but it still seems like it might work. I went downstairs a bit ago and starred for ten minutes at different angles. I can make it work. It might mean moving it to try it out a few different places, but I'm not THAT restricted on floor space. More importantly, I've got spousal approval for "whatever," as long as I agree to a second kid. We all knew I was losing that battle anyway. I'm probably getting the 31 with straight knives. I might start a new thread with ideas on how to move a 700 pound machine from the driveway to the basement. I've got an idea, but want to talk it through for a sanity test. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Woodenskye Posted November 5, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 5, 2018 5 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: More importantly, I've got spousal approval for "whatever," as long as I agree to a second kid. We all knew I was losing that battle anyway. I'm probably getting the 31 with straight knives. Well obviously your wife has a totally different idea of budget. You might as well get the A3-41 since you have gotten unlimited budget approval now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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