Hammer Horror

[Big John]

I'd had a really bad day and, since I had been wanting one for a long time, I did a spot of retail therapy and ordered a new Hammer N4400 bandsaw. Delivery was quoted as 1 to 2 weeks (it was coming from Austria). After a week I gave them a ring and was told it would arrive the following Friday. Got a call Friday saying it was just leaving Austria and wouldn't be here until Tuesday. The man delivering rang up the day before to check there was enough room to offload - no problem I've a double width drive. Tuesday afternoon he arrives in the pouring rain, gets it off the back of the lorry then says he can't get it off the pallet because it's too heavy. It stayed there for a few hours until enough "volunteers" could be assembled to get it inside.
The following day I ripped off all the plastic and started to assemble it. Oops, no plug/cable and no mitre gauge and the instructions were in German. Phoned Felder to complain about the delivery and lack of plug etc. Very apologetic about delivery (contractor) but you don't get a plug or mitre gauge (if I'd been told I could have got them beforehand). He would let me have a gauge at cost though as compensation and would talk to his boss. (I have actually just received the mitre gauge for free so a bonus point for Felder).
Got the plug (a 16 amp round pin) and cable switched it on and ..... the fuse blew. Replaced fuse and tried again .... the fuse blew. Rang Felder, no they run on 13 amp in the showroom. Called an electrician. he looked at the motor (3Kw) and said I needed a 16 amp supply which he duly fitted. On startup he measured the current at 50amps falling to 8 amps after a couple of seconds.
Once it was running got the new Dure Edge blade on, set the table square then found the fence wasn't square (vertically) and I can see no way to adjust. I'll have to give them a ring on Monday to see what they say. I have cut some 6" Oak though and its like the proverbial knife through butter.
Overall though not the best of experiences despite the saw being real quality.

 

[ByronBlack]

Sorry to hear about your troubles John. I had a very similar experience a little while back with a p/t. I'm sure once you get all the issues sorted though that you'll be well chuffed with it as I am now with my machine.

Some pics of it in action would be a useful addition to this thread

 

[Roy Clarke]

50A starting current is nothing out of the ordinary. It would have been better to have a 3 phase motor and use a variable frequency drive, that way you can easily start it with a lowish current and alter its speed. If you measure the current when it's cutting, the current will be higher than 8A.

Not having everything square is also reasonable, many machines, especially of the larger sizes, need to be positioned and then set up. Setting up involves quite a lot of work in some cases. Even electronic equipment is sometimes put in place, allowed to settle and then calibrated, if it is ever moved, it has to be recalibrated.

It's a bit like planes and chisels, you buy them and the first thing you have to do is sharpen them. Seems odd, but a sharp edge is at its sharpest just after you sharpen it. Even if you don't use it, some edges lose their sharpness as the steel relaxes.