Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.

"k" wrote in message
...
Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.

I've got their 17" drill press, my oldest has their 6" jointer and their 15"
planer. We both think they're a better bet in fit, finish and machining
than the other big two. Features and price are very competitive as well.

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.

You should stick with General (not General International). That big
red maple leaf on the side will make you happy every time you turn on
the lights. The tool will make you happy every time you throw the
switch.

Steel City is nice (run by a bunch of old Delta guys), but they're
still off shore produced--the General stuff (not G-I) is home grown in
PQ.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net
http://www.normstools.com

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

LRod wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:


Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.


You should stick with General (not General International). That big
red maple leaf on the side will make you happy every time you turn on
the lights. The tool will make you happy every time you throw the
switch.

The made-in-Canada General is really nice, but they're also fairly
expensive and don't always get you all that much more. I bought a GI
table saw--I wanted the General one but couldn't justify spending almost
60% more for hobby use. Their 8" jointer is more than twice the cost of
an import, their bandsaw (while nice) costs as much as an Italian one
with three times the power, and they're all old designs...at some point
they're going to need to wake up and revamp their lineup.

To the OP...I've got the steel city 18" bandsaw. The table was out of
flat and needed replacing (but so was the table on the GI tablesaw, so
it's not just Steel City). They shipped me out a replacement table
which was acceptable. I also did some surgery on the blade guard to
allow me to change wide blades without removing the guard. Other than
that the saw has been fine.

I almost bought the Steel City 8" industrial jointer, but ended up with
a King because it had a magnetic switch, was $150 cheaper, and their
pricing was more honest. Also, there is a King dealer in town.

(Steel City's Canadian list price started out $900 higher than the US
list, but rebates and "sale" prices reduced it by $950 and got it down
within $250 of the US price....why not just have real list prices to
start with instead of artificially inflating them?)

Chris

On Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:27:27 -0600, Chris Friesen
wrote:

LRod wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:


Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.


You should stick with General (not General International). That big
red maple leaf on the side will make you happy every time you turn on
the lights. The tool will make you happy every time you throw the
switch.

The made-in-Canada General is really nice, but they're also fairly
expensive and don't always get you all that much more. I bought a GI
table saw--I wanted the General one but couldn't justify spending almost
60% more for hobby use. Their 8" jointer is more than twice the cost of
an import, their bandsaw (while nice) costs as much as an Italian one
with three times the power, and they're all old designs...at some point
they're going to need to wake up and revamp their lineup.

Well, if you're going to talk about cost...


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net
http://www.normstools.com

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

On Mar 3, 12:11 pm, k wrote:
Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.

I've got a Steel City 16" bandsaw. It is one of the best built 16"
bandsaws I've seen, especially at its price, well made and nicely
designed, two cast iron trunnions, and generally put together nicely.
Not much assembly...table, fence, light. The light is decent, the
table is excellent, overall I'm more than pleased.

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.


Why not buy Canadian made? It so happens Canada (and the USA) makes
some of the best tools in the world. I can understand buying an
import item at times, but certainly not when home-grown is better.

"Phisherman" wrote in message

Why not buy Canadian made? It so happens Canada (and the USA) makes
some of the best tools in the world. I can understand buying an
import item at times, but certainly not when home-grown is better.

You're right. I'd buy General (not General International), but price is an
issue and one has to decide if the extra bucks for General is worth it. I
think so, but some don't. And along the same lines, as I've just been
informed, Festool is not available in Canada. (thinking about the Festool
Domino) and wondering the best way to get one up here to Toronto or even if
I should.

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 15:13:06 -0500, "Upscale"
wrote:


"Phisherman" wrote in message

Why not buy Canadian made? It so happens Canada (and the USA) makes
some of the best tools in the world. I can understand buying an
import item at times, but certainly not when home-grown is better.

You're right. I'd buy General (not General International), but price is an
issue and one has to decide if the extra bucks for General is worth it. I
think so, but some don't. And along the same lines, as I've just been
informed, Festool is not available in Canada. (thinking about the Festool
Domino) and wondering the best way to get one up here to Toronto or even if
I should.

Use the time honored Canadian method--buy one in Buffalo and smuggle
it across.

Married to a Beamsville Canadian whose family's households are full of
small appliances delivered in trunks of cars.


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net
http://www.normstools.com

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Married to a Beamsville Canadian whose family's households are full of
small appliances delivered in trunks of cars.


Ain't that the truth.... I serve as Mailboxes Etc for my BIL in Montreal.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

k wrote:
Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.


I just purchased my first Table Saw and it was a Steel City. I am very
impressed with the quality of the product. It took a little while to
setup, but when I got it together finally, I was cutting wood like it
was butter!

The industrial fence is a dream and is dead on accurate. I am now in the
market for a new jointer and am thinking about going Steel City again.

Adam

On Mar 3, 11:11 am, k wrote:
Has anyone ever used the Steel City products? I live in Ontario
Canada and am looking to purchase some equiptment for a wood class I
run. I like the fact that it has a 5 year warrenty but I have never
used their products.

The drill press, without the laser.

Like it. Used the hell out of it a few months ago drilling about a
hundred precision holes for my granddaughter's cradle (sorry JT). It
made a long job a lot easier. I know I could get by with a 3 1/2 inch
spindle travel but having six inches let me go a lot longer between
setups. Even used the spindle lock.

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH

JDH wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH



I put mine up on Craigslist and had three people inquiring about it. Got
rid of it in about a week!

On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:23:59 -0700, JDH wrote:

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH



FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.

Frank

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:23:59 -0700, JDH wrote:

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH



FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.

Frank

Why would you want to convert a lawn tractor into a deer stand?

"efgh" wrote in message
news:nPdzj.74323$C61.42496@edtnps89...

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:23:59 -0700, JDH wrote:

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH



FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.

Frank

Why would you want to convert a lawn tractor into a deer stand?


For easier tracking of the deer...

Duh.

:-)

jc

efgh wrote:
"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
....
FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.
....

Why would you want to convert a lawn tractor into a deer stand?

Builtin headlights and chair -- what more you want/need?

--

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
news

FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.


Holy Cow!!! That would be one heavy tree stand. You'd need a bigger
tractor just to get it out into the woods. So... what did your FIL ever say
to John Deere when they told him he was required to send those shipping
crates back to them? They charge a pretty hefty fee if those aren't
returned.

--

-Mike-

On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 13:41:47 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
news

FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.


Holy Cow!!! That would be one heavy tree stand. You'd need a bigger
tractor just to get it out into the woods. So... what did your FIL ever say
to John Deere when they told him he was required to send those shipping
crates back to them? They charge a pretty hefty fee if those aren't
returned.

Have no idea what you are talking about. These were light angle iron
frames that formed a box over the lawn mower/tractors, I'm guessing
covered with a plastic film. Never saw them arrive, only saw the
frames sitting in the field behind his business. Hunter's would deck
them for stands.

If Deere wanted these shipped back, I'd be surprised. The cost of
freight would be far greater than the value of the frames.

Frank

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
...


Have no idea what you are talking about. These were light angle iron
frames that formed a box over the lawn mower/tractors, I'm guessing
covered with a plastic film. Never saw them arrive, only saw the
frames sitting in the field behind his business. Hunter's would deck
them for stands.

If Deere wanted these shipped back, I'd be surprised. The cost of
freight would be far greater than the value of the frames.


Must be different than the shipping "crates" they're using now. The ones
they use now are probably near a couple hundred pounds. Meant to be picked
up with a fork lift. The base is the part that is quite heavy. The
super-structure is light weight angle iron that collapses after the tractor
is unloaded. That part just pins together.

--

-Mike-

On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:38:59 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:


"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
.. .


Have no idea what you are talking about. These were light angle iron
frames that formed a box over the lawn mower/tractors, I'm guessing
covered with a plastic film. Never saw them arrive, only saw the
frames sitting in the field behind his business. Hunter's would deck
them for stands.

If Deere wanted these shipped back, I'd be surprised. The cost of
freight would be far greater than the value of the frames.


Must be different than the shipping "crates" they're using now. The ones
they use now are probably near a couple hundred pounds. Meant to be picked
up with a fork lift. The base is the part that is quite heavy. The
super-structure is light weight angle iron that collapses after the tractor
is unloaded. That part just pins together.


Don't know about that, he sold the business over ten years ago to the
local Cat dealer and the L & G portion didn't go with it. The
business was primarily a construction rental business, the L & G was a
sideline orginally taken as a bit of a favor to the district J D rep.
There was no coverage in the area, and he had been a J D Industrial
dealer from the early sixties to the late seventies then sold that
business to retire. Buyer (big regional) went bankrupt, defaulted on
the note to him, so he had to start again. So they talked him into
taking the L & G line with the new (rental) company.

Can't ask him about the return issue, he passed away a year after he
sold the business.

Frank

On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:22:59 GMT, "efgh" wrote:


"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:23:59 -0700, JDH wrote:

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 09:11:24 -0800 (PST), k
wrote:

Have their 10" hybrid cabinet saw, couldn't be happier. Cabinet
mounted truninons. Clean castings, good fit and finnish (powder
coated).
Easy alignment adjustments (love the set screws in the extension
wings, beats the crap out of juggling shimms).
Runnout is minimal, top is flat, and they use the same size throat
plates as the deltas (3 3/4" X 13 3/8" X 1/2")
Biesemeyer type fence with heavy steal rails, adjustable for toe
in/out, and perpendicular to the table top. HMWPE slabs for fence
faces. (only had to shim one at one end).
Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the steel crate it
came in.

JDH



FIL had a John Deere L & G franchise and they shipped the lawn
tractors to him in steel frames. He had a standing list of people who
wanted them to convert to deer stands.

Frank

Why would you want to convert a lawn tractor into a deer stand?

A cushy seat and cup holders?