Originally Posted by
Steve Rowe
To get away from the predicatable Grizzly lovefest and back to the OPs question. Everyone has different standards and expectations of their tools and machinery. What is great to one may very well be a piece of junk to another. If you read the OP you will find the answer. Jim has apparently become accustomed to "superb quality" and backing down from that is not likely to make him happy. If what you value is superb quality, go European. If what you value is low cost, go Grizzly or others. I have owned everything from Craftsman to Grizzly and all the way up to high end European equipment and honestly, Grizzly can't hold a candle to it in functionality or quality. It is hard to beat the Grizzly prices. Whether or not it is the "best value" is highly user dependent.
While Karl's 'crap' characterization of Grizzly was a bit harsh, it was based on actual experience with their machinery in a commercial shop. I find it amazing that several fail to grasp that their "great" Grizzly experience could very well be another purchasers nightmare. It is also amazing that people fall for the endorsement advertising hype on page 3 of a catalog. Get real! - do you really think they would publish the experiences of Karl and a number of others in their catalog.
With respect to the grudge accusation (in jest I think?), in Karl's post, it is obvious he was not the purchaser of the equipment therefore, how could he hold a grudge? He was not out any $. He offered his perspective from an end user point of view and that bears much more credence than what he has been given. I was a purchaser of 3 Grizzly machines and found them all to be lacking in both quality and performance (Note: "Mortal sin" police should refer to my previous posts for the facts supporting this statement and is hereby incorporated by reference). Would you also accuse me of holding a grudge? You could but, it would not be true as I freely acknowledge that I got exactly what I paid for. Grudge no, I chalk it up as a learning experience and I learned lessons that I will not repeat, ever.
Jim, whatever your choice, remember that the aignst of poor quality lasts much much longer than the joy of getting a good price.
Steve