"Paul in Redland" writes:
I'm considering a new drillpress and an engine lathe. I ran across Grizzly
Tools site, but I don't know anything about their products. I don't do
production work, just a home backyard workshop. What are your opinions of
Grizzly, both the company and their products?
TIA
Paul

They sell their own color of the standard Chinese manufactured
machinery. Quality is something of a crapshoot, if you get a good one
then you'll do fine. If you get a lemon, then you could be in for a
world of pain getting the bugs worked out, which in the extremity of
trouble could include re-crating the machine for return. Customer
service wise, Grizzly seems generally considered to be a more responsive
operation than Harbor Freight, though some say Harbor Freight isn't so
bad.

If you get one of these import machines- no matter from whom- expect to
do a good deal of cleaning (which may include getting sand out of the
headstocks and bearings), sometimes stuff like sludgy paint is left in
gearboxes, etc.. and be prepared for the possibility of things like bad
bearings, lumpy belts, failing motors and erratic paint jobs right out
of the box. These machines are sometimes termed "kits", rather than
finished equipment.

Which is not to say you are guaranteed to have problems, many people
don't- but the possibility is there. Grizzly et al don't assemble,
inspect and prep these machines when they come into the US (except for
perhaps sampling the product stream) so they don't know the state of
what they're shipping you. If there's any assembly done in the US, its
"assembling" the shipment of boxes that they send you.

There are more highly regarded importers of Chinese machines, but you'll
pay accordingly. Jet, Birmingham, Kent- for example, tend to bring in a
somewhat better class of machinery, but you'd probably have to find a
dealer rather than ordering thru a website.

Gregm