Jody wrote:


Well this might start a flame war but yes most of the big iron tools are
made at the same place. The BIG difference is tolerances. When a tool is
cast and milled if it falls within the tolerances set by a company like
grizzly it gets painted green. If it does not meet the tolerances it's
passed to the next company. Now on a large scale when that is done all
the tool companys get there machines. Some are a little better than
others, most are the same. I do know for a fact Jet's 15" planer is the
same casting as the Reliant 15" planer. The big difference is Jet holds
the factory at a higher tolerance and still does the final machining to
bring it to even a higher tolerance.

I agree. No flame here.

The real differences are with General, Baldor, OneWay, etc... and the
higher end of names like Delta and PM. I had a Delta Shopmaster grinder
that I feel was a Harbor Freight unit with a cheapie speed control and
gray paint. I now have an American made Baldor, which was three times
the price, but incomparable in quality,

The bicycle industry is almost identical. The low end stuff all comes
out of China, with brand name stuff getting better fit and finish, and
the low end going to department stores. The mid-line stuff is designed
in North America or Europe, made in China or Taiwan, and sometimes
assembled here. High end is American, Canadian, Japanese, Italian,
French or German made, from start to finish.

Barry