New Jointer Arrived - Problem Resolved Update

[Bart Leetch]

"For a machine in the yorkcraft range you probably have what is considered an acceptable level of quality."

I know this isn't so in todays market of lousy of attitudes. Well you only paid me $X amount for the product so what do you expect? It used to be that no matter what level the product was valued at the craftsman still took pride in his work. So if you purchased a $600 machine the quality was good, and a $1200 machine was also good the $600 machine was just a smaller machine as compared the the $1200 machine. The castings & machine work & paint were comparable in quality. I still don't believe the less in size should mean less in quality. Unfortunately there is a wide range of quality in machines of the same size now days & manufactures that you use to count on receiving a good machine from every time you placed an order don't exist anymore. Its all about the buck & not pride in craftsmanship anymore.

[Chris Lee]

I can understand about chips in the knives, that is not acceptable and I imagine Wilke will replace those no problem. To buy a jointer of this size for $599 you have to understand they are going to cut costs somewhere. Does it affect the output of the machine, no. I have this jointer and there was a little overspray, maybe a run in the paint, but it still makes wood flat. All of the machines surfaces were dead flat and that is what matters. I actually really like this machine and you will find that probably everyone that has one is very satisfied.

Godd Luck,

Chris

[Steve Rowe]

I've bought several items from Wilke Machinery, including a Bridgewood Jointer. Wilke is a pretty big outfit, and they have a good reputation for above-board business practices.

Unlike some here, I don't think for a minute that Wilke would risk their reputation by packaging a used machine to send to you. I doubt they have a shortage of Yorkcraft Jointers, and they have a "scratch and dent (or something similar)" area on their web site, so that would say to me that their normal way of disposing of demo machines is to put them up for sale at a discount.

What I think you're seeing is touchup that occurred at the factory. Who knows what your machine went through in the late stages of assembly -- that's the "pig in a poke" risk we take by ordering sight-unseen.

A few years back, when I bought my jointer, the guy I spoke with said that one difference between Yorkcraft and Bridgewood is that Bridgewood goes through the on-site Wilke pre-shipping inspection, and Yorkcraft doesn't. If that's still true, that could mean that Wilke doesn't even open Yorkcraft items, which lends even less viability to the idea that they touched-up paint on the machine.

Lots of crazy stuff goes on in the Chinese assembly plants... and I'm betting that's where your problem occurred.

Jeff Smith
Athens, AL

I agree with Jeff on this one. If have seen a whole lot worse on another "green" brand of machinery and it doesn't matter what you see on the showroom floor. What matters is what comes out of the shipping crate into your shop.
Steve

[john whittaker]

To follow-up on this thread....

I sent an e-mail to Wilke this weekend and attached a few pics. I was going to call them on Monday morning, but they called me first. (impressive) They agreed that the blemishes were excessive and offered to send a new fence. (most of the blemishes were on the fence) They also are sending new blades and offered to "talk me through" the blade installation process.

They explained that the wheel marks and blades probably were the result of a spot check. Apparently, not every Yorkcraft gets Q/C checked but are randomly picked. (kinda like backpacks on the NY subways)

Lastly, they apologized...which in my book is important. So while I was a bit disappointed with the nicked blades & fence casting, they came through on customer service. I'll be using the jointer extensivly over the next few weekends and will report on its performance, but as far as Wilke customer service, I was impressed.

Thanks for all the input - John W

[Jim Hinze]

Great news John. Customer service seems to be a lost art these days. It's nice to see that Wilkie still practices.

Enjoy the new jointer.

[Corey Hallagan]

Good for you and good for Yorkcraft. Glad it worked out!

Corey

[Rick Schubert]

John, Thanks for posting your Yorkie jointer issues and your experience with customer service at Wilke. I'm glad you got it resolved and hope you can look forward to many years of flat boards.

I was ready the end of last week to order the same 8" jointer, but waited when I saw your message. I now feel confident once more in the machine and the company behind it. I wil place my order tomorrow.

Rick

[Dan Forman]

Very cool customer service.

Dan

[Alden Miller]

I have a couple Bridgewood products (Dust Collector and Bandsaw). I have been to there showroom a couple of times and am very impressed with them.

I went with a friend of mine when he was looking at Jointers. The salesman said that the difference in the Yorkcraft and the Bridgewood was the finish of the castings.

I called them after purchasing my bandsaw because I was concerned I had the wrong motor. I expected a 2hp motor and saw on the plate that it said 1.5. They reacted quite quickly and with some short research they found that the plate that was on my motor was a european rating (I forget the scale) but the equivalency was 1.5 european was 2.0 hp. I double checked the plate on the motor and found out they were correct. Double checked the rating on the net and found again that they were correct. All in all it just showed me that they have top notch customer service.

-Alden