Comments on: Preview: New Delta Unisaw

By: Gman

Gman — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:44:12 +0000

Why didn’t they license the SawStop technology when they had the chance? They would own the market share SawStop gained and had the safety claim. I want the Unisaw badly, but when it comes time to write the check, it will be to SawStop, not Delta.

By: jeremy h

jeremy h — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:05:21 +0000

Made in the USA is almost a joke in itself. as for paying for quality I own a swiss made biscuit jointer, an Austrain shaper, Italian tablesaw etc. I dream of one day affording a $25,000.00 yes 25,000.00 Martin Table saw made in Germany. almost every cabinet shop in NY has a minimum 10,000.00 europian saw. these “USA” saws are a joke. If SCMI, Martin, Altindorf or Felder put out a cabinet saw that could take a dado blade and a push miter they might as well hand delta and powermatic shovels to dig their graves. I even have a “Inexpensive” table saw from Austria. It makes a delta look like it was made out of playdough. quality is hands down 150% better. the steel on the cabinet is like 1/8 on an inch thick. A long time ago ‘Made in the USA’ ment something. im talking about Bridgport milling machines, Southbend lathes, Atomic bombs and Cadilacs etc. now throught the world “Made in the USA” might as well say “Made in China” people will pay for qualighty. Altendorf, Porsche, Martin, Rolls Royce are all still in business. Our unwillingness to change, our “I want I cheep I want it now” attitude
and our non combative existance with the workers union “don’t even get me started” are going to make the US poor and China rich. We can make the best things in the world. our choice is to cut as many corners as possible or have it made by third world country. Even the phones for american companies are being opperated out of third world countries. What country do i have to live in to work for an American company?

By: Mitch

Mitch — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:24:53 +0000

Made in China is not automatically cheap and poor quality. Most things are indeed cheap and poor quality because that’s what US retailers spec in order to make more profit.

If the retailer, let’s say Sears, wanted to, Sears could specify the highest quality materials and manufacturing standards and get a product equal to anything made in the US. It would no longer be cheap though. Still cheaper than equivalent quality US products because of the wage and cost structures in China. You should blame the US retailers, not China for ‘cheap’ stuff. And then of course, consumers for forcing the retailers to do this.

China knows it’s getting the short end of this stick in this arrangement. Look at Kevin’s example. Chinese laborers work their butts off 6 days a week and their factory pollutes and destroys their environment to make something they get paid $3 for. The US retailer did marketing and distribution and got paid $10 for that product. The Chinese are aware of the profit chain and they’re not going to stay in the low yield end of the business forever.

By: RSmith

RSmith — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:10:57 +0000

It’s sad to see products go overseas. If you think about it, the most robust economies are those rich in manufacturing. Prior to the 1980’s the US was strong, then the Japanese during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and now China. To get the US economy going strong again, we need manufacturing, and we need good paying manufacturing jobs. Economists say that 70% of the US economy is based on the middle classes spending habits, and not by the rich or Wall Street. For the economy to boom, we need the middle class making more money.

Personally, I prefer USA made products. Not only is the idea of a domestically built product appealing, but US made stuff tends to be overengineered, and that’s good thing. Sure, tolerances have tightened up on overseas made products, but that’s not the same as something being overengineered with sturdier parts. Just my $.02…

I applaud Delta. I’m only interested in learning woodworking, at this point, and will probably look into Delta just because of this move. High end products are a little ways off for me, but a nice table saw might be one product to actually invest well in from the start.

By: Jon C.

Jon C. — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:51:03 +0000

I work at a machine shop that is making some of the parts for this saw.

By: paganwonder

paganwonder — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:32:45 +0000

As a builder of high-end houses my experience has been that people ‘talk’ about quality craftsmanship and materials but when it comes time to write the check - they want it at a lower price. Most buyer’s want prices that don’t even cover my expenses let alone provide a margin that allows me to stay in business (10%). US tool makers suffer the same- buyers want quality tools at bargain prices - tool makers must lower costs to stay in business. Foreign out-sourcing is consumer driven as much as anything. The death of made in the USA is by our own hands (checkbooks).

That being said- I have yet to regret the cost of well made tools, but I continue to curse tools built to meet consumer price demands (ie; cheap) long after they became land-fill.

By: Fabian

Fabian — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:29:24 +0000

Uhh.. so is this product any good at doing what it is being sold for?

By: Michael W.

Michael W. — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:03:28 +0000

Here’s the url to that article at PopWood about the Unisaw and where it comes from

By: PutnamEco

PutnamEco — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:19:22 +0000

You want a good American made stationary power tools?

Willing to pay for them?

http://www.northfieldwoodworking.com/index.htm

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:18:07 +0000

The prospect of “Made in the USA” with the meaning that the entire product is produced in the USA from domestic components is a dying breed and most likely will be completely gone in the not to distant future. There’s too many factors working against it.

1. Made in the USA is expensive. Products made in the USA are extremely more expensive to produce (Read: 4 to 5 times more expensive) than products made overseas. That figure includes export and import tariffs from common countries like China, Vietnam, and Korea. I use the example of Craftsman hand tools since they are made by Danaher of entirely domestic components. A 3/4″ ratchet from Sears (the basic model) costs $14.99. Cost to the company to buy this ratchet from Danaher is $10.42. Cost to get one made in China is about 3 bucks give or take and the company can still charge $9.99 for the cheaper one with a higher markup.

2. Quality control is not what it used to be. I buy a lot of Made in America products and I am sorry to say, as with most things, the quality that used to be there just isn’t anymore. More automation, cost cutting, and short cuts have caused a definite lack in quality in Made in the USA products over the last 10 years and it will continue to descend I’m sure in the future.

3. Many components are no longer made in the USA at all. Lots of manufacturers have no choice but to outsource components of their merchandise because the components aren’t made in the USA anymore by anyone. You can only get them from foreign import companies. Lots of the little component businesses that used to exist in the US have long since gone bankrupt and been replaced by foreign importers.

4. People won’t pay for it. We’d all like to think that we’d start shelling out the big bucks for more Made in the USA stuff, and maybe some of us would, but not enough to make it worthwhile to manufacturers and companies to actually produce those products large scale. Bottom line is, consumers see the bottom line. Price. They want cheap. Made in the USA can’t provide that and a good chunk of consumers just don’t care where it came from. They want cheap, fast, now. Period.

We kinda shot ourselves in the foot. There were lots of ways this could have been avoided around 20-30 years ago but it’s too late to turn back now. Made in the USA is a fanciful history story, a beautiful tale of yore, but reality, it is not.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:01:37 +0000

For more info check out the article on popularwoodworking.com. They give a rundown of how its built and info on whats made in the USA (alot) and whats not( little).

By: russ

russ — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:44:44 +0000

MADE IN THE USA
of us and foreign components (in small lettering)

according to the website.
I just wonder which parts are not made in the USA and which ones are?

By: Shopmonger

Shopmonger — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:39:36 +0000

I would…. made in the usa as long as it has quality to go along with it

By: MikeGCNY

MikeGCNY — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:17:38 +0000

Not to be a pest here, but if it was entirely made in the USA how many people would be willing to pay more money for this saw?

I think it is an unfortunate reality that in order for business to operate they have to cut costs in any way - even if that means removing income from their sales markets.

By: Jim German

Jim German — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:26:00 +0000

“And made in U.S.A”
Out of all chinese components!

By: fred

fred — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:25:24 +0000

We have 2 Unisaws (1970’s vintage – made in US models) that still are up to the tasks we throw at them. One has a sliding table – so it stays in the shop along with our Shopfox. The other one we often bring out to larger job sites.

Let’s hope that this new model proves out and represents a return to Made in the USA standing for high quality at a competitive price.

By: BT

BT — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:19:14 +0000

And made in U.S.A