Gee Tech

[Donald Hofmann]

A lot of us know that Gee Tech makes the machinery for Delta, Grizz, Jet, Sawstop, etc

http://www.geetech.com.tw/index.php/...-partenrship-e

My question is, do each of the companies have their own specs- as far as the quality of the bearings, quality of motor, and fit and finish on the cast iron?

Or is this company just a foundry and they make the casting and ship them to each company for assembly? If so, I assume each company can spec how the cast iron is finished?

Just because they all look the same from a pix doesn't mean they are.

Thanks

[Richard Coers]

If you go to the Global business tab, you can see total number of units sold. Definitely not just a foundry. Unless someone has direct knowledge of how a machine is ordered from a partnership company, the answers to the rest of your questions will just be guesses.

[mike holden]

Having had experience with overseas suppliers including Taiwan and China, I can say with certainty that the buyer can specify the tolerances he requires (and is willing to pay for (TANSTAAFL))
Mike

[Joe Rogers]

Years ago when machines first started to come from Taiwan Fine Woodworking had an article about QC. Back then, importers that didn’t have a QC employee in country suffered with poor production quality. Those with the local oversight got precise machines. The ability to reject product prior to shipping was important leverage. Asian manufacturers can make any quality machine. They make them as sloppy as they are allowed. Now...?
Joe

[Donald Hofmann]

Having had experience with overseas suppliers including Taiwan and China, I can say with certainty that the buyer can specify the tolerances he requires (and is willing to pay for (TANSTAAFL))
Mike

I guess that brings me to, which companies specify the highest quality in the castings, motors, etc.
In other words if I look at a Grizzly vs a Jet for example, the Jet is always higher. I know part of this is because Jet has dealers where Griz doesn't but how much of it is Jet specs better fit and finish, better bearings, motors, etc?

Same question could go for Laguna vs a Jet bandsaw? Are we just paying for the Laguna name?

I know that for some power tools you can get variations in where you buy it, a store version of Dewalt for example might have sleeves while the Dewalt itself costs more but has ball bearings.

It would be nice to see some tool reviews that go into this much detail about ww machinery.

[Richard Coers]

When I worked for Woodworker's Journal Magazine, I went to Delta Machinery Corporate Headquarters when they were just starting to outsource Taiwanese machinery. They swore they were specifying higher quality parts and bearings. They had staff on site in the factory. That was in the middle 90s. I agree with Mike that it is possible to spec higher tolerances and parts, but from what I can see, that's closely guarded info. Shiraz could stop in and tell us.

[Donald Hofmann]

When I worked for Woodworker's Journal Magazine, I went to Delta Machinery Corporate Headquarters when they were just starting to outsource Taiwanese machinery. They swore they were specifying higher quality parts and bearings. They had staff on site in the factory. That was in the middle 90s. I agree with Mike that it is possible to spec higher tolerances and parts, but from what I can see, that's closely guarded info. Shiraz could stop in and tell us.

Thanks, very useful information

[Andrew More]

I guess that brings me to, which companies specify the highest quality in the castings, motors, etc.
In other words if I look at a Grizzly vs a Jet for example, the Jet is always higher. I know part of this is because Jet has dealers where Griz doesn't but how much of it is Jet specs better fit and finish, better bearings, motors, etc?

That's a good question, which may be part of the reason why the Jet is more expensive, yet might be the same thing. You just don't know. If you've got a local dealer that handles both Jet and Shop Fox you might be able to check side by side. Also while TANSTAAFL is mostly true, Heinlein was a sci-fi author, not a real estate broker, where tons of money is made on exactly these sorts of questions about real vs perceived quality, and inefficiencies in the market.

[Bill Dufour]

Not sure about twain but in China specing better qualty and more accuracy deos not mean much. They will print test certs showing they meet the standards. which does not necessarily mean they actually tested or measured anything. Bearing makers will offer to make bearing with any makers name on them. Sure we use SKF bearing, or at least we use bearings that are marked SKF.
Ford moors will no longer accept bolts and nuts made in China with or without certs. Of course their Mustang engines and transmissions are made in China. Probably stop assembling that last car in the US soon.
Bil lD.

[Michael A. Tyree]

As a lifelong motorcycle rider, this made in Asia topic is a worn out subject. That said major companies like BMW and many others are worldwide corporations and have operations & contracts in China, Taiwan, etc.. I rode one of BMW's first Chinese built MC's the G650GS having a Chinese engine not the Bavarian elf version. To my knowledge from what I've read, it's all about the specs and QC supervision.
As to bearings and quality, when i was an apprentice the instructor in my bearings class was a company mechanical engineer who brought in a major USA bearimg mfg tech rep to teach sessions. I remeber him satting that the quality determination was not in the making, it was in the "after the balls or rollers,etc. are made" QC checkout for "sphericality". Maybe I invented a word?-HA! He told us one of the most perfect bearings was the dental drill as they had to be closer to perfection than any others. I suppose NASA gets those now? He compared to a gemstone saying they were all "made on the same machine", but some came out more perfect than others when checked and sorted. Now you know (at least, part of) the rest of the story.
I have a cousin who had things mfg in many countries and he always said QC was the issue anywhere. Guess how he got wealthy?

[Tom Bender]

Having worked for a while in a third world country I saw some manufacturing realities up close. For example;

Anything imported was made from unobtanium. Pipe elbows were field fabricated by cutting segments of pipe into gores and welded together. Cut with hacksaws and welded by local labor.

Local laborers were farmers who had never had electricity at home. Next day they were skilled tradesmen welding and wiring the best they could. QG would reject the worst work. There was a great deal of rework. They had few tools. One day I spotted a man holding a piece of wire (about thumb size) over the edge of a boulder while another bashed it with a sledge hammer to cut it.

If you don't work your family starves and dies, it was heartbreaking.

[Andrew Seemann]

China and Taiwan aren't third world countries and haven't been for a long time.

[Bill Dufour]

My house was built in 1948. The roof gutter drain pipes used no special fittings. The straight pipe was notched and bent to form the angles then soldered. The gutter drop pipe may have been purchased pre-made. The gutter trough end was factory made. I doubt any gutter installer today could do it without pre-made elbows etc.
Bill D

[Peter Kelly]

China and Taiwan aren't third world countries and haven't been for a long time.

China certainly isn't first world.

[Richard Coers]

China certainly isn't first world.

There are places in the United States that aren't first world either. Extreme poverty, high unemployment, no local sources for healthy food, high dropout rates in schools, high crime rates, high suicide rates, opioid crisis, and poor health care caused by rural hospitals closing.