Mini Max Follow up - beginning to smile

[Bill Grumbine]

Greetings all

After posting about my frustrations in dealing with expensive tools that don't run right "out of the box", I think it is only fitting and proper to post again that things are looking up. In the first place the saw is running the way that it should now, and it runs very nicely indeed. Second, the person with whom I have experienced vast amounts of frustration actually called me with a followup call, confirmed that the parts arrived on Friday, the saw was running as it should, and reiterated his promise process the invoice I sent for the regrinding of the table.

So, things are starting to look up, and I am feeling a lot better about this purchase. It takes so little to make me happy. :D

Bill

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Bill, glad to hear things are looking up! It stinks when we have to fight for what we deserve, but it is nice to get it and have a great tool to boot!

Have fun with it!

[Richard Wolf]

Glad to hear it's working out well.

Richard

[John Shuk]

Thanks for the follow up too Bill. It's important to let people know about the successes of companies as well as the failings.

[Mark Singer]

Bill,

Glad to hear it...I think they are a terrific company!

[Alan Turner]

Bill,
Taking the time to post a positive note reflects your general thoughtfulness. Glad to hear it is going better.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the update, Bill. You really do have a great saw and it's going to be a huge improvement over the previous tool which already served you well.

[Paul B. Cresti]

Bill,
I most definately can understand your frustrations. I like you am a very small one man shop and every second spent away from producing on your machines is lost money in your pocket to take care of the family. While I have not had the same type of problems you had with your equipment I did have a couple of minor issues here and there. Were they resolved yes, were they resolved in one day not always. Like I said we are one man shops and we want our problems solved instantly because we just can not turn on the backup machine and keep working. They did work through my issues and all were resolved very well at no cost to me. That is why I will back them up, they have always come through for me. All my machines now work perfectly.

One thing I have notice about these industrial machines and especially switching over to European style machines is that they do require a fair amount of setup to get them running perfectly. I made the big mistake of trying to use my shaper and sliding table w/ outrigger to do some tenoning without setting it up correctly. If you thought you did some cussing you should have seen me! I was just about ready to throw that 900 lb shaper right out the shop door. But after awhile I calmed down and went through the steps I should have in the first place. When I did get my other MM machines I already knew there was going to be a significant amount of down time for setup, so I prepared myself. No matter waht brand you would have gotten the same time would have been involved, unless you spent 4x the price or so and got a Martin or Altendorf along with the tech to set them up for you!

Machines of this caliber are made of the thickest steel, heaviest castings, and are engineered to perform. Some come setup out of the factory better than others and some get bumped around during shipping a lot more than others. They include every possible adjustment imaginable in order to obtain the "perfect" settings we, as individuals require. Once setup they stay that way. The other less expensive machines are set at the factory and thats it. For the most part, they are not going to get any better. That being said no matter how expensive a machine is there is bound to be a defect or less than perfect one sometimes. Remember who is making them after all, another human being.

Hopefully you have "weathered the storm" of transition into European machinery and can now appreciate just how wonderfully designed and crafted these machines really are. Feel free to email me to work through any other issues as I certainly do not know all the answers and you may very well have answers to my questions.