Grizzly Customer Service

[glenn bradley]

Hans, I'm following this with interest as I have been debating doing some big purchases from them and would like to see how your problems are handled. It sucks to buy such a big machinery and not get a reasonably machined part not once, but twice!

I am reasonably sure the part is machined correctly. The problem comes after surfacing. I'm no expert but have read experts who state that too short a curing period on the CI is a culprit. If this is the case it is a QA issue. Granted the knifed Griz 12" is $1800 but the 12" knifed Powermatic is $4300 with no guarantee of a problem free machine.

Any new machine, regardless of color, that arrives with an issue is . . . well, an issue ;-) It is great to read some of the recent good CS posts regarding WMH Tool Group products. This was not always the case. I would imagine other manufacturer/importers also have checkered pasts if we cared to trace them. I look forward to following the handling of this case.

P.s. I wasn't sure what the "poor quality wrench" posts had to do with this issue? I assume this was just a "character reference" reply(?).

[Larry Frank]

I just read something new in this thread - curing cast iron. It is possible that the casting had some internal stresses due to uneven cooling or too rapid cooling after casting. The machining could have resulted in the internal stresses causing the part to warp. Might be kind of like planning a flat board and suddenly have it warp. If this is the case, an anneal of the cast iron part before machining might relive the stresses before machining and maybe not.

I have often thought about buying Grizzly tools and read some great things about them including the price and customer service. However, I would rather buy a new piece of equipment and have it work right away rather than spending time getting replacement parts. Good customer service does not make up for poor quality control.

[Shiraz Balolia]

I just read something new in this thread - curing cast iron. It is possible that the casting had some internal stresses due to uneven cooling or too rapid cooling after casting. The machining could have resulted in the internal stresses causing the part to warp. Might be kind of like planning a flat board and suddenly have it warp. If this is the case, an anneal of the cast iron part before machining might relive the stresses before machining and maybe not.

I have often thought about buying Grizzly tools and read some great things about them including the price and customer service. However, I would rather buy a new piece of equipment and have it work right away rather than spending time getting replacement parts. Good customer service does not make up for poor quality control.

I think there are many misconceptions and speculations that get magnified out of proportion.

Here are some facts:

1) All of our cast iron tables are stress relieved. Almost everyone else's in the marketplace is as well. It is standard practice and part of the process in both woodworking and metalworking machinery from Asia. This issue has been previously discussed.

2) For every problem you read on this forum, there are at least a thousand satisfied customers that don't have one. If we were shipping out fences left and right and throwing money away on shipping replacement parts to customers in any large quantity, we would have long closed our doors! Understand that this forum, while a great resource, does not even cover 3% of our customer base.

Once in a while a warped fence or a part gets through and we take care of it. We stand behind our products and don't leave customers out in the cold. That's what matters.

[glenn bradley]

I love it when Shiraz chimes in with the straight scoop. Thanks (as usual) Shiraz.

[Hans Braul]

Once in a while a warped fence or a part gets through and we take care of it. We stand behind our products and don't leave customers out in the cold. That's what matters.

Shiraz,
I agree with your statement and the purpose of my post was to praise your customer support. I was surprised that he second fence was twice as bad as the first, but I have every confidence that the situation will be corrected. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Hans

[Paul McGaha]

Hans,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your new tool.

It is good of you to share this information and I'm sure many are interested in to how this will play out as they may be planning a Grizzly tool purchase.

I have read several posts describing very good customer service from Grizzly so I am thinking this will work out to your satisfaction.

PHM

[Ed Kilburn]

I worked as a Machinist for York, who made compressors. All the production casting were left outside for 1 year or more. They were easy to machine and held sizes. Once in a while we would do a prototype unit with un-aged castings, I can tell you they were a bear to work with, bores would go out of round as you ate lunch. I'm sure no one lets castings sit outdoors for a year anymore.

[Karl Card]

At least they are trying to fix it and right away. I bought the JET 12" J/P recently. Infeed side table has a 0.010" dip in the center when measured with a steel straight edge (woodpecker) and fence has a warp that cannot be adjusted. They never even replied to my emails, returned my phone calls. They hae lost one customer forever good after selling only one item.
I am considering a bandsaw and was going to be either a JET or PM but not anymore. Grizzly there it comes.

as far as band saws go I saw a test in a magazine about 6 months ago where the top of the line 14 inch band saws went up against the grizzly go555.... the go555 one hands down... I do not know however if the upper line grizzly has a good band saw or not. I want one of there 17 inch band bandsaws real bad...

Right now I have an inexpensive Dayton. they sell for 569 new and I got mine for 100 bucks so I bought it.. not to bad of a machine I just have to get me a new saw blade that is worthy of buying...

[Dan Coleman]

Have you checked with a local machine shop about the cost of grinding your fence? Once you have the cost, then suggest to Grizzly to pay for the grinding instead of shipp you another and paying the taxes. They might go for it. At the minimum they should check the next one before shipping it out.

[Chuck Wintle]

Hans,

.020 is not much when it comes to woodworking. Why not have a machine shop re-machine the face to make it perfect? I know grizzly should make it right from the get go but these fences are likley machined from "green cast iron" and will warp no matter what.

[John Mark Lane]

Hans,

.020 is not much when it comes to woodworking. Why not have a machine shop re-machine the face to make it perfect? I know grizzly should make it right from the get go but these fences are likley machined from "green cast iron" and will warp no matter what.

That's kind of what I was gettting at in wondering how often tolerances like this just go completely unnoticed. We're talking about 20/thousandths of an inch. You could almost sand it flat with a piece of sheet glass, some adhesive and some strips of sandpaper.

Not to suggest things shouldn't be perfect. But perfect is relative to use.

[Rod Sheridan]

0.020" is greater than 1/64", which is what a lot of woodworkers machine parts to.

It's not much for a wood part, it's too much for a cast iron precision part on the reference face of the machine that makes the reference faces in the wood.

I'm sure Grizzly will provide a new fence with suitable accuracy.

Regards, Rod.

[Michael MacDonald]

something heavy like a cast iron fence stands a good chance of being mishandled by UPS... any reason to think it was not straight when it left the factory? probably never know... but isn't cast iron pretty malleable? a hard knock might have caused the "QA problem"...

I once had to go three rounds with sawstop in shipping a fence tube... UPS mistreated the package enough to warp the tube and damage the ends...

Regards,
Mihcael

[Hans Braul]

Another installment in the Grizzly credibility bank. Here's what they wrote me today:

"I am very sorry about this additional problem. I will contact you regarding a replacement fence as soon as possible. I'm not sure if you received it or not, but I did leave a voice message for you last week regarding the matter of the brokerage you paid to UPS. We will be issuing a refund check in the near future to reimburse you for the $58.00 CAD you paid to UPS. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Again, I will be in touch regarding a replacement fence as soon as possible."

I expect they will get me a good fence soon and I will be a Grizzly fan for good.

Hans

[Neil Brooks]

I expect they will get me a good fence soon and I will be a Grizzly fan for good.

Please DO let us know how the story ends, will you ?

I would like to hear when the new fence comes in, and ... whether it seems up to snuff.

Thanks, and ... good luck !