New Shop Setup; Hammer C3 Combo or Planer/Jointer + Table Saw

Crosscut fence designs vary on sliding table saws. Mine is a Felder and the fence screws in place. It’s in the way if I need to rip more than a short piece and I have to remove the fence which costs time. If I had a saw with an over 8’ stroke it would be a different experience.

i wish i had gotten a planer jointer combo and a saw shaper combo. As it is I got a 5 in 1, the 5th is a mortiser which ill never use. I dont really like sharing the jointer table with the saw table because there is a gap. also a jointer table is intentionally offset, so its not in plane with the rest of the table. I mean its only a 16th, but ive snagged it a few times, i dont like the way the rip fence has to go over the jointer blades,(if the cut is that wide) it could hit and chip the blades if you arent carefull. I have a 16 inch jointer on mine, I think it will be handy for raised panel doors, you may not do that. the tersa cutterhead is super nice. the blades hust pop right in perfectly, no alignment issues.

As far as dust collection goes, i have a 5hp dust gorilla in the mail, should be here in a few weeks. I ordered the ducting from “the blast gate co” They have very good prices.

I have separate machines. I don’t believe in the combo universal machine. You know there a saying about if its universal it doesn’t quite fit anything.
I think a bandsaw is more important then a tablesaw
Learning how to hand plane wood is more important then learning how to sand. Or grind wood smooth with progressively smaller rocks glued to paper.
Natural light is better then shop lights
A work bench is not the top of a tablesaw
The only project more important then the wife’s is for the church
And last but not least a longer jointer is better then a wide one.
Good Luck Sounds like fun.

-- Aj

Although I am a hobby shop, and time is not money,I don’t want to spend my time converting a machine from one tool to another and then checking the accuracy before using it. Then forgetting one piece and needing to do all the conversions again. I will stick with dedicated machines.

+1 on setting up with dedicated machines. The crosscut slider would be enticing, and it is, but there are other ways to get there. I use a track saw to break down sheet goods. I have a TS, RAS, mitre saw, mitre gauges, and cross cut sleds. Lots of ways to make the crosscuts. You could add a crosscut slide on your TS if you wanted to. Give some serious thought to a digital fence for the TS. I really like mine on my Unisaw.

For me it would get old really fast having to do the constant conversions from one setup to the next. If you have to go back and cut another part, and we all do, it would be even more of a challenge moving arbor height, table configurations and fence positions. If you are milling hundreds of parts at the same time step by step, then the Hammer would make more sense, but still not enough for me.

Most here are hobbyists from beginners to seriously experienced, advanced skilled craftsman. There are pro contractors, cabinet shop owners and some of their staff. Lots of knowledge and experience to draw on.

Have fun with what you are starting out on, but take your time and consider it from all angles.

Cannot comment on the Harvey DC, have the Clear Vue and would not change it for anything else I have seen

Tend to not like combo machines. Went from a 15” to a 20” planer. Went from an 8” to 12” jointer. Would have saved a lot of money by buying “too big” in the first place

-- Rich

Thanks for the comments and ideas everyone! At this point, I think leaning more towards a 16” combo jointer planer and likely just a tracksaw for now, rather than go whole hog on a full combo machine. I have the space for some separates, and think that the 16” J/P seems like a reasonable way to get a 16” jointer capacity. As a 16” jointer is wicked spendy when you can get a planer essentially thrown in for the same price!

Excellent points on having to constantly do the switchovers when you forget a part or just need to shave off a hair more. Based on the C3 videos seems that moving the fence around on a C3 from TS to Jointer would get annoying.

And great comment on the bandsaw. I have an old craftsman table saw that I tuned up pretty well and put nice blades on that is at least serviceable to start with, and am thinking that for now to just get a nice tracksaw for breaking down sheets and then a burly 18” bandsaw. The BS has always been in the plan anyway for resawing veneer and breaking down logs. My furniture building tends towards live edge and mid century, so think that the tracksaw for slabs and a bandsaw for resawing and curves and rips that then get jointed will probably be a good start.

Still a few weeks away from actually closing on the new house, so no triggers on any equipment pulled yet.

Really do appreciate the comments and the camaraderie around here!