Porter Cable Rant

[Michael Burton]

Well,
I feared, Porter-Cable being bought by black & decker would start to manifest itself to me personally in reduced parts availability and/or poor quality tools. I saw the reduced parts availability first hand while trying to buy a replacement sanding pad for my PC7335 Sander. I wore out the soft contour sanding pad on my sander. After running all over Austin yesterday I finally end up at the DeWalt Service Center thinking that they would surely have the pad only to find out it has been "discontinued".:mad:
Instead I ended up buying ($17), what I hope will work, a contour pad without the threaded connector hub. I'll drill out the rivets and use the original connector hub with some self locking nuts and screws. Who knows? It might work OK, but I ain't holding my breath.
I have been thinking about getting two more 7335's. One to replace the one at the shop and the other just to handle the increase need in my shop. I will be re-thinking blindly going out and buying another Porter-Cable just because I have always bought that brand when given the choice.

Now the criteria is this:
It must use 5" PSA disks. Other than that the field is wide open.

[Walt Pater]

Been there, done that.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t23184

Quite a toothgrinder, but I did eventually find a way to fix it ($46.99-whole new fence set-up)
I have never had a problem with Bosch's or Festool's service departments. You'll find a lot of fans of their sanders here.
What's with the PSA criterion? Didya buy a pallet of them?

[Dennis McDonaugh]

PC also seems to have a few clunker designs come out the last few years too.

[Curt Harms]

Hi Michael

Couple thoughts. One is Klingspor; they sell P-C sanding accessories. Their web site only shows H&Lhttp://www.woodworkingshop.com/cgi-bin/D6A0E567/mac/qryitems.mac/itemDisplay?crSellGrp=5X5PC7335&qryType=CRSEL
but it might be worth a call. The second thought is to call other P-C Delta service centers. I'm not in Texas but there's one in Willow Grove PA. that's pretty good. I fear the shakeout from the B&D buyout is far from over.

Curt

[Dev Emch]

This is a major problem with new tools these days. In a best case, the maker may have parts available for say 10 years. Often, the unit is discontinued and a new unit takes its place as the market demands new and improved. Servicing field units is not a very profitable excercise. In the computer industry, our management used to call this "Churning the User Base". Once a customer has owned a product for the marketing life expectancy of said product, the service department mission changes from one of repair and service to one of getting the cutomer to buy the newest, latest and greatest.

Consumer woodworking tools are definitely in this category. So when I buy a new tool, one of the things I examine is construction and serviceability. Whats going to wear out and how do I fix it? Can I remachine the broke item without any help from mother goose? What kind of vertical end consumables does this tool need? What happens if the company goes casters up or gets bought out? If the future picture is bleak, I am more inclined than not to just walk.

One of the major advantages to "recycling" vintage or old iron woodworking machines is that they are both precise where they need to be and crude where they need to be. Bearings for example are bought from bearing shops and the vast majority of woodworking machines used off the shelf bearings. I can still get bearings for almost any bearing equiped machine made during the 1930s! Smaller broken or missing parts can be re-built or made from the get go using a local machine shop if needed. Motors were often built to be serviced so rewinding may be a small chunk of cash but its doable.

The more George Jettson the tool becomes, the smaller, and more complex some of the parts become. Motors for some clamshell tools can be a real bear to work on. And nothing about these motors is standard. And when makers like Porter Cable get cought up in this, it makes service work on older portable tools harder to deal with.

Festool is a good company right now as is Mafell. But what happens when these companies keep introducing new replacement products every two or three years? The old PC 690 router was made almost unchanged for what, something on the order of 50 years? That is staying power. Worst case, I go onto ebay and buy a used 690 parts machine.

So, in the end, you need to ask yourself if the tool is disposable or in it for the long haul. Dont be disappointed if you buy a modern tool these days only to find that three or so years down the road, it becomes land fill fodder.

[Michael Burton]

Been there, done that.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?=t23184 (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t23184)

What's with the PSA criterion? Didya buy a pallet of them?

I don't like the hook and loop disks because they have too much play (cushion) between the pad and the disk and can allow uneven sanding in places. The PSA disks don't seem to do that. Plus, they are cheap. :-) (I go through lots of sanding disks)

[Jim Becker]

Festool is a good company right now as is Mafell. But what happens when these companies keep introducing new replacement products every two or three years?

The marketplace is different now and customers demand new innovations. Companies cannot afford to add those things and still keep all the older models available. That said, I think it's the mark of a good company when they stock parts for older models for a long period of time. But even there, there are limts. My company provides parts and support for products for at least 5 years contractually and still supports equipment that is over 15 years old when it can.

[Larry Crim]

I agree on the quality is down I recently bought a new router 894 pk and the quality is very poor compared to my older pc routers, The plunge base is very loose and when I first got it the motor would not even come out of the base, When I finially got it out I found the aluminum was machined with burs and they had scored the inside of the base making it hard to remove the motor. I ended up filing down the edges and polishing the aluminum so I could take the motor in and out.
Larry

[tod evans]

i believe the question asked was about 5" psa sanders? i can offer time proven advice..... air. .02 tod

[Dan Racette]

I am curious, based on your philosophy of "they are both precise where they need to be and crude where they need to be." which is a wonderful mantra, have you ever posted shop pics? I don't think I have seen them if you have. I would be thrilled if you had some stashed away somewhere!

dan

[Jim DeLaney]

Well,
... replacement sanding pad for my PC7335 Sander. I wore out the soft contour sanding pad on my sander...

I just bought one last week at Hartville Hardware (http://www.hartvillehardware.com/). They may have them available in the catalog, but a phone call to their customer service <B>800-345-2396 </B> ought to be productive.

I'm 'local,' so I go directly to the store for parts and service. They've got one of the best stocked parts departments I've ever seen, for nearly every brand they sell.

[Bruce Page]

Uggg! I hated reading this thread. I’ve been a PC loyalist all of my life. I almost cried when I first read of B/D’s buyout of Porter-Cable. Every B/D tool that I’ve ever owned was unadulterated junk. I guess there will be some Festool green in my future.

[Larry Heflin]

I picked one up at Construction Specialties on Braker Lane a couple of months ago. I think Woodcraft also had them.

Larry

[Michael Burton]

I picked one up at Construction Specialties on Braker Lane a couple of months ago. I think Woodcraft also had them.

Larry

I hadn't heard of Construction Specialties. I'll try them the next time I'm in Austin. The last time I was in the Woodcraft they had the pads without the threaded hub. I didn't even go by there this time. Thanks for the input. I wouldn't be too upset if this was an old tool but I have only had it for about 2 years. (Bought at Woodcraft)
I guess I need to get a larger Air Compressor. Then I'll start using Air Powered sanders. Most of the one I have seen are smaller & lighter also.

[Dev Emch]

Jim, I can see your point or should I say point taken. But, on the other hand, I can still get brand new parts for say, a 1904 Oliver jointer from Eagle Machinery who is located in Oliver Building #1 where this beast was born.:D Yates stuff is hard to get but that is because of lawyers and finger removal law suits. Wynig mortiser parts are also pretty easy to come by.

I am considering buying a Festool jig saw right now. Yes, I had to ask the obvious to the repair tech. Where are your brush barrels and how are you on service, repair and parts availability. What I found out is that the barrel grip festool jig saw has a back body section that can slide aft for brush work. The D handle has to come totally apart. So at least i can slide the aft body section backwards to replace brushes. Not as easy as some of the older porter cables with dedicated brush barrels.

I am very gun shy of being stuck with a lemon from corporate america. So I look beyond the intial purchase. By the way, most of corporate america these days are only selling stuff and not making it. Look at Grizzly, General International, Harbor Freight, etc. Its my doing my homework as a diligent consumer.:p

[Dev Emch]

Dan...
I have posted a very small amount in my shop tours.... here are the urls that have gone up.


http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24608&highlight=shop+tour

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24961&highlight=shop+tour


http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=24612&highlight=shop+tour

Enjoy...

Here is one for my little old woodshaper....

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=19608&highlight=belated+gloat

ANd this one was a post of a unique collet spindle I designed and made for a general SS-32 shaper.

[tod evans]

dev, no dice! machinery on pallets and boxes screwed to the wall are not a shop tour. please try harder, tod

[Steve Clardy]

I sure hope PC doesn't have major changes in sight.
I have a bazillion of their products.
We'll see what the future holds soon enough I guess.