I tried but they didn't budge.
So...after using the Hammer in anger a little, basically it is a right PITA.
Pro's
Small footprint compared to separates
That's it.
Con's
The way the aluminium fence is fixed means that it flexes too much at the remote end especially on the planer. This is no different from all the other P/T's out there that have the fence fixed at just one end. The lovely cast iron solid fence on my old Sedgwick MB was fixed at the centre and never budged.
The fence is not perfectly square on the P/T at 90 degrees to the bed and I can't see a way to fix it. It's only a gnats out so I'll probably live with it. I can't see Felder helping out based on their response to the SlopStop.
The P/T tables are slightly dished. Not got my feeler gauges to hand and so can't say by how much. I can slide a piece of paper underneath the straight edge. Mind you, no idea on what they say their tolerances are. Again, based on experience with the SlopStop I'm not even going to bother to raise it with them.
The sliding table is aluminium which means that if I wanted to I can't use the Magswitches.
You really have to get your workflow spot on because changing between functions especially between planer and thicknesser is a right ball-ache. I never liked those P/Ts where you have to swing the tables up and out to move between modes. Compare and contrast .........
Sedgwick MB P > T
Undo extraction pipe from chip collector
Remove chip collector from the thicknesser table and put on top of the tables to cover the cutter block.
Refit extraction pipe - (same end of the machine)
Adjust thicknesser bed to desired height.
Job done
Hammer P > T
Undo extraction pipe
Remove rip fence from table saw and find somewhere to store it
Remove fence from P/T and find somewhere to store it (or pull it forward on the rail and lock off)
Undo infeed/outfeed table clamps.
Lift up infeed/outfeed tables
Lock in the up position
Swing chip collector up and into thicknesser mode
Pick up end of extraction pipe and walk all the way round the machine to the other end and connect to chip collector.
Pull lever to put it into thicknesser mode ( a very hard action against a very strong spring)
Now wind up the thicknesser bed to the right height. Bear in mind that you previously had to wind the thicknesser bed all the way down towards the bottom ...around 170mm + ...to swing the chip collector into planer mode. And now, since most of my work is with considerably thinner stuff ...say 60mm or less...you have to wind the thicknesser bed all the way back up to the top. Knowing full well that when you want to go back to planer mode, you have to wind it all the way back down again. A right bloody faff and a PITA.
When I started out down this route the reason for buying the combination machine was because I was led to believe that I could easily connect an inverter to the Hammer because of my poor mains supply. A 1:1 relationship between machine and inverter thus requiring a combination machine or having to buy several inverters if I went the separates route. As it turned out there was no practical way of getting into the Hammer to connect it up to the inverter and so I had to go out and buy a rotary converter.
A rotary converter means that I could have gone and bought three lovely separate secondhand 3 phase machines - Sedgwick, Wadkin, Altendorf ...whatever...and still had change out of what I shelled out for the Hammer.
Isn't hindsight wonderful ?
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.