Not looking so good for Steel City

Don, I have the Delta 14-651…works well for me.

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

Hey Don
Good to here from you Bud
I say go for the delta . I’ve had one for years and it has held up well. or cancel and get a grizzly floor model
of course more money. I’m sure good at helping people spend there money. I know You’ll work it out.
Jim

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Yea, I have been hearing similar rumors.

Based on my experience with the poor manufacturing quality of the Steel City TS 35905, it’s a hybrid masquerading and sold as a cabinet saw (don’t they think we are going to figure this out at some point?), and a very positive experience with two new Grizzly tools, an 8” jointer and 15” planer.

Steel City doesn’t hold a candle to Grizzly. At least based on my experience between the two. If Steel City wants to differentiate themselves, they should first start with quality and honest marketing. I wish I would’ve listened to my friend when he said I get a Grizzly. For the price they are quite good. Maybe someday I can upgrade to a SawStop or Powermatic.

A lot folks are contemptuous of Craftsman, and sometimes rightfully so. However, consider this: I have a Craftsman 12” bandsaw I bought new over 30 years ago. I recently overhauled it, and had to buy 6 or 7 replacement parts for it using the parts list from the original manual. I received all of the parts within a week.

The thing you need to ask yourself when purchasing a high dollar tool is this: How long do I intend to keep it, and what are the odds the mfgr will still be around to supply parts?

-- "non illegitimis carborundum"

I’ve been waiting too. I haven’t received any messages recently from Woodcraft but received their June 2009 catolog today. They still have the Steel City mortiser listed for sale at $329.99. . . . . . Strange.

-- JJ...... I guess you could say I'm a 54 year old "juniorjock". — Make things with wood.

I just looked on their web site and they have it for $299.99 but it says:

“This product is currently out of stock and is not available for back order.”

Doesn’t look good Don…............

-- JJ...... I guess you could say I'm a 54 year old "juniorjock". — Make things with wood.

ouch….. sorry to hear that – but I’m not surprised by it – here is my review of their TS 35920, in which I got the same feeling about Steel City… their sketchy marketing techniques, and uncertainty and unease I got from communicating with them

I honestly hope for their sake it’s just a bump on the road and that they’ll get out of it – but based on my experience. I can’t say if that’s the case. time to stop and rethink their methods perhaps.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I bought the SC 18” bandsaw about a year ago. It has been a wonderful machine. Very accurate, almost no vibration, etc. This news is worrisome, because if they go out of business, where can I get parts & service in the years to come? Hope they can work through this tough time.

Wow, hate to see an option for buyers go under, especially when yu can go to local stores and actually see the item and not have to buy blindly. But I know nothing regarding their quality, I never looked closely at any of their machines but at a cursory glance they looked good. Of course if I were considering buying one I’d look closer and do more research. I heard the rumors too but thought they were just that, rumors. They really haven’t been around that long either. And Don, I too am happy with my Delta mortiser so that substitution is a good one.

-- -Curt, Milwaukee, WI

“Steel City doesn’t hold a candle to Grizzly.”

For the good of the common woodworker and my own sanity prevents me from commenting on that hilarious line.

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

Thanks guys…As I said…it was to be a fathers day gift. I am sure he will be just as happy with the delta as he would have been with the steel city. I answered their e-mail and asked them if their deal includes 4 bits like the s/c did…even if it does not, I will probably get the delta and just pick him up some decent bits.

-- Don S.E. OK

FEDSAWDAVE,

Have you had a good experience with Steel City and a bad one with Grizzly?

I have limited experience (thanks for being a jerk by preying on that, btw).

Of the five pieces of machinery that were within my budget; an Oneida cyclone dust collector, Steel City table saw with Incra LS positioner, Incra router table, Grizzly planer, and Grizzly jointer, the only one that was a complete pain was the Steel City Table saw.

SC TS Issues:

- They jammed an M16 nut onto the arbor shaft (motor end) instead of a fine pitch 5/8” jam nut (replaced).
- The whole cabinet was twisted by an improper trunnion mounting (completely disassembled and rebuilt).
- When I first started the saw, my level quickly vibrated off the table (replaced poly-v belt with 2 groove sheave and poly twist belt, as well as a gas dampening spring, almost no vibration left, I can balance a dime on it).
- The 45 degree miter-to-saw alignment was initially over 40 thousands off and the 90 degree alignment about 10 thousandths (re-shimmed everything to less than one thousandths).
- The screws used were so cheap that a few turns with an allen wrench was sure to tear it up (all cheapo grade 8’s were replaced with 12.9s fasteners).
- The two arbor bearings are cheap $5 parts, abec 3s (replacing with abec 7 ceramic vxbs)
- The adjustment handles vibrated badly (replaced with better quality handles)
- The teeth on the height adjustment linear gear was chipped (replaced).

I have photos of it all too.

And that’s still not even all of it. Although, it works great after two months of rebuilding and modifying it.

From my meager experience, the two Grizzly machines I have are leaps and bounds better than the Steel City TS. I’ve had no issues with them. They even arrived sooner than expected. The Incra and Oneida items stand out as especially nice (maybe because they are Made in the USA?).

It’s a shame to hear about the quality issues with some of their table saws, because from my good experience with the SC bandsaw, I was looking forward to buying more of their tools in the future. I still might, if they’re still around, but I guess I better check the reviews on that particular tool before I do.

-- Dale Manning, Carthage, NY

If they are in trouble,I wonder how it will affect Orion and their Craftsman ZC saws.Also I would assume that either SC or Orion is making the new Rigid saw.

I have no personal experience with Grizzly. Have some friends with Griz table saws and they are happy. I really like my Jet cabinet table saw. On the bandsaw side, I have a friend who owns a Grizzly 14” bandsaw and he swears to never buy another. As I stated above, my 18” SC has been a very good machine. Passed the nickle test right from the start, with no adjusting required.

Do, I agree with everyone. Get the Delta or the Grizzly. I am telling you, I have never had an issue with Grizzly that was solved right away. And no complaints with their products either.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

I did the same thing, ordering from Woodcraft at $269, except that WC shipped the wrong one to my local store….The manager then proceeded to hand me over the brand new on pallet General tilt head mortiser (which retails for $440)....Needless to say, most of my local business goes to Woodcraft :)

JC

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

Graham, the key phrase here is “within your budget.” If those 2 companies and their products are within your budget then it’s your choice. Nothing wrong with that.

You get what you pay for and in this economy, with the crap going on…you MAY get less than you paid for.

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

Steel City held such promise when they first came out as a mid-to-semipro line of machines. Now things are not so good for them here in Canada either tho. A local tool rep came to where I work and told us that his business was no longer selling SC due to all sorts of issues having to do with their switches and motors. This info and Graham’s experience is good to know as I was considering getting one of their hybrid saws as well.

-J.

Talked to woodcraft on the phone yesterday…they said the four bits were included in the deal…so I told them to ship me the Delta. juniorjock, if you have not heard from them yet…I would be calling them. They told me on the phone that they do NOT expect to receive the S/C Mortiser AT ALL now…and can only offer a different name brand or a refund.

-- Don S.E. OK

Careful folks…

It’s one thing to report bad experiences with a particular tool (or manufacturer) from first-hand experience, but it’s another to suggest a tool manufacturer is “going under” without specific proof. A few orders not being filled by Woodcraft or another seller in a timely fashion does not necessarily suggest that Steel City is about to go out of business.

Keep in mind that even Grizzly is having trouble filling orders right now. I’ve heard of people having to wait several months for some items to ship because there’s a backlog at the factories in China (which, by the way, is also where most of Steel City’s machines are made).

Jason

Thanks Don. I received the call from Woodcraft yesterday. Same story for SC. The don’t have the mortiser and they’re not sure if they will ever receive any. I took the Delta mortiser offer. I’ve read some good and some bad about it. Figured I’d give it a try and send it back if I don’t like it. The bad thing is that WC said the Delta is also on back order but is expected to arrive next week….....

I think Jason has a good point. At least I hope he does. Things are bad all over and doesn’t do anyone any good for them to be getting worse.

-- JJ...... I guess you could say I'm a 54 year old "juniorjock". — Make things with wood.