On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 03:20:10 GMT, Wayne Brissette
wrote:

|On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 13:12:36 -0600, Wes Stewart wrote
|(in message ):
|
|
| Non answer + no answer + no answer = NO SALE.
|
|I actually had a 650 on order (for 6 weeks), and after pestering the General
|rep for my area about it, he told me the order was still in Canada and
|General was waiting on a part for another piece of equipment he had ordered.
|OK, fine. Any idea when they might expect shipment? "they couldn't give me an
|estimate"... Fine, just take the 650 off your order I told him. The General
|was my first choice due to quality, but the Delta Unisaw was a very close
|2nd, so I don't feel that I lost with either. Only General did by their lack
|of information. If either General OR the distributor had kept me more
|informed I would not have cancelled my order.

Sorry to hear of your problems, but not surprised.

Contrast your experience to this: Wife and I are in town (Tucson) on
another errand. I say I would like to swing by Woodworkers Source and
see if they have a Powermatic TS I can look at. I know they have Jet,
but having been seduced by those that wax poetic about what is
basically a steel box with a motor inside, covered up with a chunk of
cast iron, I haven't been giving much thought to Jet.

Since I can't afford the F/A-18 being auctioned on ebay, I don't have
a need for a saw with a table large enough to land it on, so what I've
been looking for is a saw with two iron wings (no pun intended) and a
30" fence. (My unanswered question to Wilke was whether they could
supply a General in this configuration).

Well, they don't have a Powermatic in stock. Salesguy says that
they're a good saw; had one in the shop in back for 20 years but they
replaced it with a Jet. He invites me back to see it run. Salesguy
says he has one at home. Shopguy says he has one too. This isn't
surprising, but if they were junk, I think all involved would probably
have Powermatics. Shopguy says only problem is that some plastic bits
wear out on the fence and they replace them with something else. Since
they probably cut more wood in a day than I will in the rest of my
life this doesn't seem like an issue. The only screwy thing I see is
that the tabletop has a nice bevel on the edge and the extension wings
are sharp.

But I tell Salesguy that I'm pretty sure (still deciding) that I want
a 30" fence version and I never see Jets advertised that way. He says
no problem; they have a saw with two iron wings. Doesn't come with a
fence but they can sell the rails and fence separately for X dollars.
Plus, it's in stock and they will deliver it. The only downside is
the sales tax (5%) but this seems like a non-issue considering the
problems one can run into buying remotely. And Salesguy says that if
there are any problems, they are there to help.

I still don't know what I'm going to buy, but this shopping experience
sure is different from what I (and others) have been having elsewhere.

Next stop, the local Woodcraft store to see how they deal on a Unisaw
come sale day.


Wes Stewart