US manufactured woodworking machines

[Tom Rick]

Ben,

Not everybody has the time, the skill or the desire to restore old machines.

I don't want to learn to pour bearings......I don't want to deal with taking things to a machine shop to have it machined to accept new parts. I don't want to spend days or even weeks or months looking for the replacement part or trying to find a welder who weld cast iron properly.

I would love to buy American NEW but frankly I equiped my entire shop for same price as an 8" Northfield jointer.

Would I like to have tools made in the US or North America? You bet. But the average Joe can't afford them.

That's the bottom line.

I purchased my "Old Iron" by another tact- I purchased restored tools. What I found was that perfectly/lovingly restored machines go asking for less than the price of the imports. I have a shop full of them. I run a pro shop and did not have the time to do the restorations myself but I sure do love the old tools.

Case in point- My 1944 Unisaw. A perfect as new rebuild with a $500 Biesemeyer fence and a brand new $100 blade- I paid $500 for the package. The saw looks like it came off the showroom floor and cuts like a dream.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom

How often do those type of deals come available?

I sincerely doubt there would be enough available to fulfill the needs of everyone we see "gloating" here on the Creek.

It's certainly an alternative.

Here's the deal.

I have major tools in my shop that were manufactured in the US, Italy, Taiwan and yes, China.

[Tom Rick]

Tom

How often do those type of deals come available?

I sincerely doubt there would be enough available to fulfill the needs of everyone we see "gloating" here on the Creek.

It's certainly an alternative.

Here's the deal.

I have major tools in my shop that were manufactured in the US, Italy, Taiwan and yes, China.

Point taken- there clearly is no supply of OWWM's restored by retired machinists that is large enough to meet the entire market need. A guy or shop can take this tack though if it suits them.

[Gary Herrmann]

If you trust Rod's word don't bother with Euro machines (see my sig below) and he should know as he owns them...

Well, I'm old enough to not blindly trust many people at this point. But I do have General tools and a european bandsaw, so Rod's view seemed to be safe to agree with...

[John Coloccia]

I think one of you guys who wants American made woodworking tools should put together a business plan, scrounge up some funding and build them yourself. You can start by designing a decent drill press, jointer or planer.

...yeah, no one else thinks they can afford to do that either.

[Paul Wunder]

I just bought a Jessem slot mortiser on sale at Woodcraft. I was pleased to find that it was "made in the USA"

[Thomas love]

My machines are a mix of all the aforementioned, what is important is what comes off of them is made here in the good ole USA ;-)

[Mike Ashton]

I work for a manufacture of commercial mechanical equipment (large electrical and HVAC equipment). Manufacturing used to be done in the US, at that time one specific piece of equipment cost around $840 each to build, since the assembly has moved to China that same unit costs about $30 to manufacture.

As for why they cost substantially less, some have started to touch on this. Before anyone gets too upset, this is just the way it is for the company I work for- what I have seen firsthand. First and most obvious is they are paid substantially less. Next, the line workers are rarely skilled tradesmen, rather they simply do as shown and put "A" part to "B" part with "#1" screw and tighten. At first we horribly struggled with quality control (stripped out screws, electrical connections, tolerances were a joke). Engineering slowly rotated from the states through the facility to get them on track and it has gotten much better.

Safety in some cases is non-existent. I've seen things there that we were told specifically we were not allowed to photograph. I would go as far as to say some things were violations of human rights. It's not uncommon there for the workers to put in their shift, then rotate to the eating/sleeping building, then go back to work, not going back to "home". These factories are rarely owned by one company, rather they are contracted to do the work. Which leads to the insane amount of counterfeit equipment on the market, but that's another topic all together.

Unfortunately, for work like this it's just about impossible for an American company to compete. Even if the US worker builds the same unit in half the time and a quarter the warranty costs, they still won't be able to compete. Companies just write off the warranty repairs as the cost of doing business.

[Neil Brooks]

To Mike Ashton's point ....

No. Nothing like OSHA. Nothing like the EPA. AFAIK, no substances are banned, nor are any abusive working conditions discouraged.


I am not a purely "Buy American" kind of guy. I DO, however, think that we should know where our money goes ... wherever we spend it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Folks,

This discussion is rapidly becoming political.

This website is open for the entire world to see.

Political discussion or comments are not allowed at SMC as per the TOSs.

Please refrain from such actions.

[Richard Wagner]

I too am a devoted Shopsmith owner and I believe my equipment has lasted for these many years (over 25) because it was manufactured to strict quality standards. Furthermore, those same quality parts are still available to facilitate repair when needed. However, the "Made in the USA" label may no longer be as appropriate as it once was. There are significant parts in today's machine that are from off shore. Is that bad? I don't necessarily believe so, IF they were manufactured to those same quality standards.

[Mike Archambeau]

I fail to understand this obsession with "made in USA" being stamped on something. Even if something is "made" in the United States, the parts and materials are likely sourced from all over the world.

Well it might have something to do with helping to put Americans back to work. 40% of Americans live in poverty now. When people don't have jobs they don't have incomes, and therefore they don't pay income taxes. The federal government spends more than they take in, so they racked up a 14 trillion dollar debt. That kind of federal spending will come to an abrupt end unless of course we find a way to put our countries people back to work. When you buy made-in-usa you helped put one of your neighbors back to work..............and maybe helped a little bit in putting your country back on a solid financial footing........

[Alan Schaffter]

Well it might have something to do with . . . .

Political post that is factually incorrect.

[John Coloccia]

Well, here we are over a year later, and I've given up on Made In USA. I won't get anything done if I hold out for that. Instead, I settle for "not Made In China". To that end, I had to drive from Home Depot and Lowes down to my local Grainger in Hartford to find a short extension cord NOT made in China. It's made in Indonesia. It only cost a few bucks more. It's seems to be much higher quality.

If there was a Made In USA cord available, I would have bought it. You can't buy what doesn't exist. C'est la vie.

[lloyd anderson]

I think there are places where USA built can compete, like this http://www.serioustoolworks.com/. Unfortuntely it will be in the rarified niche world. But hey, if you have that kind of money....