Below, you’ll see some things I recently received
from Crosscut Saw Company of Seneca Falls, New York. The auxiliary saw handle was
over-priced at $19.50, but you can’t find them anywhere, so I gritted my teeth
and paid the price. The quality seems okay. It will go on the one-man saw that I got in Amish country.
I already had and antique joiner and
setting anvil, but figured that modern made would probably be more accurate
than the old cast ones that I had. I’d never used a spider, so just got it on a
lark. The latter three items came in a kit for $70, and I really didn’t think
that was unreasonable in this day and age. The casting quality of the brass or
bronze spider was okay, so no complaints. However, the finish of the joiner and
anvil was appalling. You can see that the bottom of the anvil has uneven edges;
what you can’t see is that they pretended to dress them on an overly coarse grinder and left
edges that could cut your skin. Also, the machining on the joiner was
incomplete, and the edges were left undressed, so it, too, could cut you. You
can see some of the burrs, even in my fuzzy photo. I should have just used my
old ones and saved my money. They DON”T NEED work to make them safe.
The shipping cost of $26.84 was at least double what
it should have been, but I knew that in advance and ordered anyway. I’m going
to write them, though, and explain that I worked three years as a mail-order clerk
and know when I’m getting ripped-off on shipping and “handling.” I’ll see what
happens.
Sixbears mentioned the poor quality of American made
crosscut saws. If these accessories are any indication, he’s spot on. © 2013
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5 comments:
Remember when "Made in Japan" meant a cheap piece of junk? Too often we see that in stuff made here now. I don't mind paying for quality but hate to pay for trash.
This is also a reason I can't get too excited about mail order. My guess is that if you had held these things in your hands before purchase you would not have bought half of it.
Grace and peace.
My eldest son is a sculptor,(This is his university degree) and one of the things he does is fabricate tools for sculptors, mechanics, etc. Who knew that what amounts to welding and blacksmithing skills would be so rare ? He also says a lot of the tools out in the world are just awful.
Pumice, it's real irony that "made in Japan" is now a good thing, while made in America is hit or miss, at best.
Alexandra, I think one problem is that so few folks USE hand tools anymore there's not enough competition to weed out the poor products.
You may get reimbursed in part for the shipping cost, Gorges. I used to work in retail and one of the stores I worked at had a mail order catalogue on their website and received orders from different parts of the world. Anyway, one U.S. customer wrote them and told them that they felt they were overcharged for the shipping...the were right and the company reimbursed part of the shipping cost. I hope you get some money back.
Thanks, Linda.
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