Sawstop Country of origin.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

What difference does it make where the machine is made? Free trade breeds competetion, and ALL companies must get better or die. An elementary study in economics.

Just suppose Delta made the only cabinet saw allowed in the US. Would it improve? Absolutley not. It will always be, the best you can buy, since there is no competetion. Having Jet and Grizz enter the market with "better" saws, Delta WILL have to upgrade, or no one will buy their saw. Look at what SawStop did. Everyone is now touting safety. Everyone has a quick change splitter/riving knife. The new Uni is much improved compared to 3 years ago.

Look at cars... Took the US 20 years, but they finally got the picture. Make a better car, and people will buy it.

[David Cramer]

Saying that Delta would absolutely not improve if they were the only player in the game (paraphrasing) is a false blanket statement at best.

Over time, things change and woodworker's needs change. Over the years, they changed (added on) the fence style and lengths, the motor cover, the extensin table, a drawer underneath it, the dust collection out the back versus the side, etc.....

Even if they were the only tablesaw manufacturer in the country, the unisaw would still change over time. Along with those changes would of course come a change in price.

I assure you that if Powermatic, Sawstop, and all of the other manufacturers weren't around, the Unisaw from the early years would have changed in some of the ways that I've described above, if not more. Competition and need/demand are two very different animals.

David

[Eric Larsen]

That's a good article. Thanks for the link, Matt - that's one of the more compelling arguments against protectionism I've ever read.

Personally, I have no problems whatsoever with "Made in Taiwan." My wife, for instance, was made there.

(She's threatened her entire life to have "Made in Taiwan" tattooed on the back of her neck.)

We've been together a decade, but this year I'm going over to meet the (very) extended family for the first time... Should be interesting.


EDIT -- PS, That David Friedman anecdote is brilliant. It says succinctly what I have been feeling for years. I like my music American, my whisky Scottish, my wine French, my cars German and my caviar Russian. I don't see a problem with that at all. I live on planet Earth, and I'm [darned] proud of it.