# Hammer A3-31 an updated Review



## ontheworkbench (Feb 10, 2014)

This review seems rather suspicious, given that the previous review was so negative, then it was pulled down and replaced with this review, which reads like it was written by a PR person for Felder.


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> This review seems rather suspicious, given that the previous review was so negative, then it was pulled down and replaced with this review, which reads like it was written by a PR person for Felder.
> 
> - ontheworkbench


I assure you that it wasn't. Nor did Felder ask me to pull down the review (though they did ask that I pull down the youtube video). I've had a lot of conversations with Felder, and they've communicated a lot of different ways that they will prevent my experience from happening again. Because I believe that they will, I think the above review is much more relevant to a would-be purchaser than my initial review. If you want to message me directly, or even phone me, I'll be happy to discuss.


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

Your horrendous testimony, spitting on the company, etc has turned into fairy tales and unicorns? Paint me pessimistic.

Paul


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## gtbuzz (Sep 19, 2011)

I'll have to admit, this does seem weird after the original review. There was a huge issue with table flatness before but suddenly it's not a problem anymore? Did Felder come through and make some fixes / replacements for you?


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Why would the original review be retitled and reduced to a link to here? It was titled:
Tables are not flat, and Customer Service is lackluster.

How does anything that happened recently change the fact that the customer service was horrible at first?

I never understand why the stories about having to go through all sorts of gyrations to get a problem solved are presented as a good thing. I don't want to have to get to know the CEO of every company I deal with. I want the customer service department to do what it is expected to do.


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## ontheworkbench (Feb 10, 2014)

> Why would the original review be retitled and reduced to a link to here? It was titled:
> Tables are not flat, and Customer Service is lackluster.
> 
> How does anything that happened recently change the fact that the customer service was horrible at first?
> ...


I agree 100%


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## ontheworkbench (Feb 10, 2014)

> (though they did ask that I pull down the youtube video).
> 
> - Kopion


I think this speaks for its self, if Felder send a unit with warped or twisted tables as was shown in the original video, then that is just factual. I saw the feeler gauges fit under the straight edge in various places. Removing the video seems like it was a PR move by Felder, unless you had a warped straight edge. In any case, and even more so now with the revised review, I'll stay away from Felder.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

The frustration and crap that Felder gave the O.P. before finally stepping up speaks far louder than any fix that Felder did and/or their promises to do better in the future. This sanitized, whitewashed version of the original review seems oddly out of place after the expressed frustration in the first review.


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## iminmyshop (Dec 9, 2012)

This is an odd update. Other than to whitewash the original problems, there was really no point in starting a new thread. An update can always be tagged on to a post as a comment and those following the thread will see it.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

> I hope that this comes as a well-balanced and objective review with suggestions and not as complaints. - Kopion


Yeah, that didn't happen. Not only did you take down the other review in which you detailed the horrendous customer service and your displeasure in the product you received, you never even mention being upset at all. Clearly the only way to get acceptable customer service from them is to give them a lot of bad PR, and finally they'll come around and try to shut you up, er, sorry, make it right.


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## UpstateNYdude (Dec 20, 2012)

Seriously, this seems copied and pasted from a PR rep at Felder, in the original review he was irate and there was no love lost, but somehow now your as cool and calm as ever. Unless they gave you a new machine or refunded you entirely and fixed the old one, which after your last review was very unlikely to happen, or you've been taken hostage and forced to write this…blink twice if yes once for no.


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

I appreciate the feedback here, and believe me, I understand what you're saying (I'm the one that went through it, after all!). I'm sticking by my position that a review is for the benefit of future consumers. Contrary to some of the statements above, I did allude to my previous experience with Felder in this review. But if Felder has (or soon will have) altered the way in which they handle cases like mine, and still produce a machine whose fit and finish is superior to something like a Jet or a Powermatic (and not made in China), then why shouldn't consumers be aware of that, too? For me, the only other option would be a Minimax J/P (I do love my Minimax MM16), but they don't seem very widespread. Take it for what it's worth.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I think part of the problem is that Felder is not in a negative light now, which is a complete 180 from your original interview. Also, this :

"But if Felder has (or soon will have) altered the way in which they handle cases like mine"

I think that one should not have to post scathing reviews and youtube videos to get proper customer service. "Cases like mine" does not mean "unhappy customers", it means "cases which are detrimental to sales".


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

To follow up on what Ed said and that particular portion that he quoted, there is no way to know if Felder is actually going to follow through and make videos and updates to the text that the Austrians apparently have told the Americans countless times not to do. Your review shouldn't be based on what you think will happen rather what did happen to you. While I appreciate you clearing the air I think it's unfortunate that you don't include what you went through to get to where you are today. As someone who did read the original it's now stuck in my mind that I may have to jump through the same hoops to get a machine of the caliber that I actually ordered and who knows how Felder would handle my situation.

Also, a future reader may see this and say "whoa, an employee sent an email about you to someone else and it was bad enough to knock off almost two stars? What was in that email? What happened that that email had to be sent in the first place?" That would raise suspicion to me as a potential buyer and make me think otherwise about the purchase. I think you'd do well in explaining what transpired in a not-so-hateful way for everyone's benefit instead of sounding like your new best friend is the CEO of Felder


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## lj61673 (Oct 31, 2011)

> I m sticking by my position that a review is for the benefit of future consumers.


Then why delete your original impressions and observations? Were they not valid? How does a potential future customer benefit from their exclusion?



> Take it for what its worth.


At this point, nothing.


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## rhett121 (Oct 22, 2014)

WOW!...Just WOW! What a cop out. Miracle of miracles, those warped, twisted sub-par quality tables they shipped you in the original review have somehow repaired themselves to perfection and erased your memory of how crappy you were treated. What did the tech do to you and can they come do it to me too? My wife has a headache.

In all seriousness, you are really doing a great disservice to your fellow woodworker by covering up the evidence. It's not a matter of what they might do in the future, it's what they are doing TODAY! I think the original review should stand and this should have been an UPDATE, not a complete rewrite including the revision of history.


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> What did the tech do to you and can they come do it to me too? My wife has a headache.
> 
> I think the original review should stand and this should have been an UPDATE, not a complete rewrite including the revision of history.
> 
> - rhett121


Hey Rhett, If I were you, I wouldn't open the door to comments about your wife. I'm just saying . . . things may not turn out too well for you. I've seen it happen way too many times.

W/re to "revision of history" that would imply something in contrary to my initial review. Nothing written above is contrary to my initial review. I spent time focusing on the machine and simply cut and pasted my commentary on the helpfulness of the technician.

With respect to the actual subject matter of your post, one of the advantages of this type of machine is that the tables are (to some degree) adjustable. The technician came, made some minor adjustments, and I'm a mostly happy customer.

At the moment (well, at the moments when I'm not at work), I'm working on a desk for my niece, who is about to start kindergarden (another wonderful derivative of a German word). She'll never know all (or any) of the history of the machines that helped to make the desk possible, but I'm trusting that the positive effects of the things that the machine will help to make will well outweigh the negativity of my experience in acquiring it, and certainly the negativity of people who seem to find joy in posting unwarranted (and unearned) negativity about other people's experiences. Or maybe, just maybe, such people work for Jet/Powermatic?


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> I ll have to admit, this does seem weird after the original review. There was a huge issue with table flatness before but suddenly it s not a problem anymore? Did Felder come through and make some fixes / replacements for you?
> 
> - gtbuzz


Yes, I'm sorry if that wasn't clear. Felder sent a tech out and made some adjustments to the table that make it flatter. Results are wonderful.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

> Yes, I m sorry if that wasn t clear. Felder sent a tech out and made some adjustments to the table that make it flatter. Results are wonderful.
> 
> - Kopion


Can you describe how he adjusted the tables? Is this adjustment documented by Felder so that others can do this without a technician?


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## lj61673 (Oct 31, 2011)

> .....Or maybe, just maybe, such people work for Jet/Powermatic?


The stupidity of that statement aside, here's what we do know; You posted a very negative, albeit honest, review of your complete displeasure with both the quality of the product and the lack of service from its manufacturer.

Then out of the blue, that review is redacted and replaced with a glowing long winded review in which you are tripping over yourself stating your complete satisfaction with both of the above.

Paid off, threatened, or instructed to remove the initial review? Perhaps the initial review was fabricated or dishonest?

What else are we to surmise?


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

> What else are we to surmise?


Excellent question.

Waterboarding?
Alien abduction?
Jedi mind trick?


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> .....Or maybe, just maybe, such people work for Jet/Powermatic?
> 
> The stupidity of that statement aside, here s what we do know; You posted a very negative, albeit honest, review of your complete displeasure with both the quality of the product and the lack of service from its manufacturer.
> 
> ...


I guess my effort at humor didn't translate. I'm not a big fan of emoticons (for some reason, I associate them with teenagers- no offense to any teenagers), so I omitted the smiley face. It was supposed to be a joke. Felder didn't pay me off (though I'm open to offers (that's another joke)), threaten me, or even ask me to remove it. I made the call based on my own perception that Felder is a good company with mostly good people, that unfortunately have had the wrong people interacting with the customers (said another way, certain Felder employees were doing a poor job at communication). With my background, I understand that a company's customer-facing employees can represent a company poorly, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the company (or the other several thousand employees that comprise the company) is bad. Felder has very clearly specified to me (and they may take the opportunity to specify it themselves) ways so that this will not happen to future customers (plus additional improvements on the horizon). I don't know how else to put it. I think at the end of the day, to borrow another phrase from the aforementioned teen demographic, "Haters gonna hate." I try to keep an open mind and try to allow as much grace as I can (heavens knows I've been the recipient of plenty of others' graciousness). Speeking of grace/Grace, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> Jedi mind trick?
> 
> -


The only thing I have to say about the above is this: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x115u4_triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-star-w_fun


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## FelderUSA (Apr 8, 2011)

Dear Members.

We believe it would be correct for our company to answer / post on this thread once more to explain the situation and hopefully stop all the negative comments.

The machine that Mr. Kopion received from our company was within factory tolerance, however a little on the high end. Mr. Kopion aired his concerns with our service department and in this communication we believe most of the frustration started. After various discussions/emails and asking Mr. Kopion to go check a couple of things on the machine our technician offered a solution to Mr. Kopion that was not very customer friendly but more black and white. The machine is within tolerance so there is nothing we can do for you unless you pay for the service. This abrasive approach was the biggest part of Mr. Kopions need to post a bad review. The technician did not involve his management team with the problem as he felt the matter was resolved as the machine is good. A day before Mr. Kopion posted his negative review the information of his concerns did reach our management team. They did not manage to contact Mr. Kopion immediately and the next day the post was on Lumberjocks.

Our CEO then called Mr. Kopion, discussed the situation with him and apologizes. He then arranged to have a technician visit Mr. Kopion within a couple of days, free of charge. On arrival the technician helped Mr. Kopion understand more clearly what to expect from the machine. He tested the machine without making any adjustments and confirmed that the machine was producing good results and if it was his personal machine he would not make any adjustments. Mr. Kopion had high expectations and wanted the tolerance on the machine to be set a little tighter. The technician then did some very minor adjustments, did some further tests and achieved amazing results with the machine. We believe our biggest problem is that these fine adjustments are not very well documented as from our side they are very often not required. We have involved our factory and will be providing all customers with a detailed adjustment guide on these machine to avoid this situation in the future. We do have adjustment documentation but feel it should be improved. We have also started to work with our service department to discuss and communicate the problems with our customers in a more friendly and understanding manner.

The end result for the Felder Group is a very happy customer and the opportunity to be better by training our staff and creating more clear documentation. Mr. Kopion changed his review as he honestly felt we did and will continue to do what we promised and we appreciate that very much. The good customer service we offered after the problem was brought to light saved the situation.

Thanks again to Lumbejocks and the members who are contributing to what is truly a great hobby / profession…...People with a passion for woodworking.

Felder Group - Family owned for over 55 Years - video link: http://www.feldergroupusa.com/us-us/video/felder-group-behind-the-scenes.html?videosgruppen_id=0

Happy Thanksgiving


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## Kopion (Nov 10, 2014)

> Can you describe how he adjusted the tables? Is this adjustment documented by Felder so that others can do this without a technician?
> 
> - ChuckV


My understanding from Felder is that they are putting this documentation (or even a video) together for current and future customers. It was a relatively minor, though delicate adjustment. I'm sure that, with all of "this", Felder would be happy to talk you through it. The whole process (including removing the covers) should take less than 30 minutes (it took "my" technician about 15), if you take baby steps.


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## freddy1962 (Feb 27, 2014)

I'm starting to tear-up a bit…thank you Mr. Felder.


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## lj61673 (Oct 31, 2011)

> We believe it would be correct for our company to answer / post on this thread once more to explain the situation and hopefully stop all the negative comments.


I think instead of focusing on stopping all of the negative comments, Felder's focus should instead be on manufacturing an item that satisfies the end user BEFORE he has to bring that item's shortcomings to light.

Here's a hint, stop refering to poor manufacturing as "within tolerance" Nobody who spends their hard earned money wants to hear that garbage.

Most of the negativity here has not been directed towards the product but towards the OP. He had what he felt was a legitimate gripe and he expressed that dissatisfaction in written detail. What he should have done was left the original post up so every potential buyer could get an accurate view of his experience with this product, and then post a follow up describing his experience with Felder's attempt at correcting the issues.

What he did was a complete disservice to any potential buyer, though somehow I doubt Felder views it that way.


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## PLK (Feb 11, 2014)

Thanks for your response felderUSA,

A long line of issues with your company will make me look elsewhere.

Paul


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

My cynical part says:
The internet is great! Some guy sitting at home in his PJs drinking beer can make the management of a company squirm so much that they have to publicly pretend to care. It is fun to watch.


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## Dreek (Oct 31, 2014)

I feel very fortunate to have caught both versions of this review. As an observer only (I can't afford one of these machines just yet) I had an overall positive impression of Felder, and am confident that this is still justified, though in light of this case's specifics I will note in the back of my mind to temper my trust with a bit of healthy skepticism and caution if I should ever decide to sell one of my children to buy a power tool 

Regarding the larger issue: I do believe that the sanitization of this review performed by the OP, for whatever reason, did not serve the LJ community well, on balance. I know that I would have, if I had not seen the original review prior to this revision, come away with a very distorted view of what went down. I am a programmer who has built, among other systems, a complaint system for my current employer, and this system has as one of its greatest (IMO) features the inability to remove or revise comment sections of complaints, or to remove the complaints themselves. Additional comments can be made if additional information comes to light, but no revisionist history is permitted as it serves no one.


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

I remember from the original review the poster claimed that the jointer did not produce square lumber but the post from Felder claims that it was good. So user error? I've read a lot of review on the internet about people complaining about things that were user error. On person even thought Netflix quit streaming at midnight when it turned out that's when their neighbor turned off their router for the night…..


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## timbertailor (Jul 2, 2014)

> I m going to start from the beginning:
> - Kopion


I have been away for a while but thought I would come back to this thread to see how the problems were addressed.

The arrogant, european attitude exhibited shined through the entire process and had I needed to contact the CEO personally and spend all this time trying to get satisfaction, I would have walked away.

I have worked for companies like this. I know what you are talking about and how you were treated. I too, as an American employee, have experienced the same condescending attitude from a European owned company.

I also feel that if you can not support your products in another country, then you should not sell them in another country.

Yes, they closed the barn door, but guess what, the horses had already left the premises.

And yes, Festool rocks!!!!

Thanks for the update.


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## AZMike (Oct 27, 2012)

It seems to me that, by his own admission, the OP is a bit "fussier" than most woodworkers. Considering Hammer's reputation, if the tech said the machine is in tolerance, then I'll bet it was pretty darn good. The poor results the OP got when jointing were most likely due to poor technique----it seems at least half the folks who use a jointer don't know to put pressure on the outfeed table as soon as possible. My observation is that Hammer went above & beyond.


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## SuperDodge (Oct 5, 2013)

> Dear Members.
> 
> The machine that Mr. Kopion received from our company was within factory tolerance
> 
> - FelderUSA


I just found this saga while scouring the internet for info on the A3-31 as I was just about ready to take the plunge and buy one. Can you share what the "factory tolerance" is? It' would be tough to plunk down this much cash for something I was expecting to be of excellent build quality and then find out your expectations and mine didn't match.

So how flat is flat to Felder?


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