"Glenn Lyford" wrote in message
...
Has anybody had a bad
experience with the import knock-offs other than that the screws on
the individual tool holders need to be replaced.

I have a Phase II piston type from Enco (on sale). I've had to file
one genuine Aloris morse taper holder slightly to get it on the
dovetail, but other than that, no issues--I've not had any trouble
with random import holders off ebay. Any time I've had chatter, it's
always ended up being in the carriage or compound, not the toolpost.

Looking at the auction, he used a stock photo, not one of the actual
item. That usually makes me wary, but using the _wrong_ stock photo
gets me fully on my guard immediately, makes me wonder if he's
actually got any to sell at all, or if he's just drop-shipping from
some other retailer (for example, it's common to see stuff listed from
HF for $10 over their price) or just scamming outright. A 98.2
feedback isn't much to write home about, especially after only 699
auctions--I'd walk away just from that. Lots of dings for late
shipment and poor communication. Personally, I think I'd keep
looking, especially when there's stuff like items 270414954729 or
330434576690 out there.

CDCOtools.com has a no-name BXA piston style for under a c-note. Enco
currently has Phase II on sale, in both piston and wedge--and will
actually support you after the sale.

--Glenn Lyford

I sold a BXA piston type holder, real Aloris, for a little over $100 a few
years back, and bought a wedge type for about $50 more - if you are patient
you can get the real thing at an OK price, particularly in a used set with a
bunch of holders - and even more particularly if the auction starting price
is high, or the BIN is about right