Porter Cable backward slide! longish rant!

[Gene Collison]

A couple of months ago I bought a PC Sawboss 115V version. After getting the saw home I made a couple of cross cuts and rips and found the cut to be really rough. Figuring it was the blade I bought an upgraded blade with more teeth. A little better but same problem. I grabbed the blade by the rim and found excessive end play in the jackshaft. I removed the drive washer exposing the outer bearing and found a bearing made in China. I returned the saw, now in my opinion a 6" saw with a selling price of nearly $140.00 should have bearings better than the cheapest available agreed? I was in Lowes the other day and they had a closeout on the 340K palm sander for $34. Can't go wrong right? I get the thing home, open it up and find the platten is now plastic instead of metal like it used to be, I'm sure the bearings are made in China also. In addition, the nice rubber cord has been replaced by the cheap plastic covered type that gets stiff in cold weather. Neither tool wore the emblem "Proudly made in the USA" like they used to say. It's sad to see one of the best tool manufacurers going in this direction. It seems like Dewalt, Bosch and Milwaukee are the brands to look at. Another thing is that Lowes appears to be in the process of ousting PC. There are numerous closeouts on PC and the website does not show any PC products anymore. They do not include PC as a brand that they carry.

Gene

[Chuck Wintle]

Its a shame to see American companies sacrifice quality and American jobs to save a few pennies overseas. The longterm payoff will be lost sales for PC because their name will no longer mean anything.

[Paul Kunkel]

:( I have used and abused a PC 4x24 belt sander for more than 26 years and it's needed nothing but brushes and new platens. It still sucks up dust like no tomorrow. A friend bought a NEW 4x24 'whisper series' and the dust flies everywhere and the motor gets so hot you can't touch it. I'll keep my old one thank you!

[Lloyd Robins]

I know what you mean about PC. I don't buy them any more. Their new items just don't have the"feel" of quality about them. I have an "oldish" PC jigsaw that I keep looking at and considering the Festool sale on their jigsaw that ends on Tuesday, but the darn PC just keeps running and does a pretty nice job, so I guess that I will have to wait. My older one certainly seems better made than the new PC jigsaws. Just my opinion. :)

[Gene Collison]

I have an "oldish" PC jigsaw that I keep looking at and considering the Festool sale on their jigsaw that ends on Tuesday, but the darn PC just keeps running and does a pretty nice job, so I guess that I will have to wait. My older one certainly seems better made than the new PC jigsaws. Just my opinion. :)I just bought a Festool jigsaw on sale. If your thinking of doing it, now may be the best time because of the sinking dollar and the sale. It's sure to go up soon the way I see it. The jigsaw is great, the best I have seen! Their claim to be able to hold 90 degrees in curves is real, it really does do that! I ran the decision up and down the flagpole for a month before doing it because I didn't really need it that bad. Bought it with tongue in cheek, bottom line is I am glad did! All you have do is play around with it a little bit, adjust the CP guide to the blade you are using, you then realize that this is one super saw that will improve the quality of your work.

Gene

[Gord Graff]

Hi Gene,

It really is a sad state of affairs to see this happen. Hopefully some day the companies that are doing this in the name of profit will come to their senses.......................However, I'm not holding my breath.

All the best,
Gord

[Eric Laliberte]

Gentlemen,

I just wanted you to know that its just about impossible to put the words "MADE IN THE USA" on products today. There is a standard which states "virtually all" of a product is made here. That mean raw material (steel, plastics, etc), parts and subassemblies (bearings), and the final assembly. On small products, like power tools, its very difficult to be "MADE IN THE USA".

What you might find to be more sad, however, is that the country of origin has become much less important than cost according to surveys that I have seen.

My two cents,

WEic

[Jason Roehl]

Gentlemen,

What you might find to be more sad, however, is that the country of origin has become much less important than cost according to surveys that I have seen.



That is very sad, Eric, because of what those dollars may fund when they are shipped overseas. But let's not continue this line of thinking, as it could be come an ugly political topic very quickly.

[Gene Collison]

Gentlemen,

There is a standard which states "virtually all" of a product is made here. That mean raw material (steel, plastics, etc), parts and subassemblies (bearings), and the final assembly. On small products, like power tools, its very difficult to be "MADE IN THE USA".

I may be wrong but I am under the opinion that the parts making up the product had to be 51% made in USA to qualify for the made in USA label. Both boxes for these tools are labeled made in USA. Also, there are many tools with foreign made power cords and probably all have foreign made bearings from somewhere yet their boxes say made in USA. I'm not saying I don't believe you just that I have heard otherwise.

Gene

[George Bledsoe]

I am the proud owner of many Porter Cable Tools. I have the Saw Boss, several routers, a framing nail gun, ROS sander, and a few more. To make a long story short I had a issue with the 7529 plunge router. I had it repaired by a auth repair center. The problem came back, I e-mailed Porter Cable just to see if they had any suggestions. The e-mailed me back and had me send them the router and they sent me a 8529 model as a replacement no questions asked. That was more then I had expected and the new router works great. I think Porter Cable makes a high quality tool that has stood up to the abuse that I dish out and has performed as expected. It kinda bugs me that people paint with such a broad brush. Maybe I just need another cup of Coffee.