General International vs Delta, Jet, etc?

max wrote:
> David
> I have owned or used several General band saws. They are the best I have
> ever used. They rival my Walker Turner. I do not think they are Taiwanese.
> The General fit and performance are excellent. You will never regret buying
> one.
> max
>
>

General (Canada) and General International (Taiwan) are two completely
separate lines of machines. The Canada machines are higher quality and
higher cost. I own a General International contractor's saw, and I'm
very pleased with it. Nonetheless, there were some minor set-up issues.
It's my understanding that General (Canada) does not inspect the
machines. No doubt this is due to cost considerations.

-Peter De Smidt

I bought mine after Bob had bought his and had written a detailed evaluation
with fixes. By that time, GI had fixed a couple of problems that he had
experienced and over all I am happy with the unit. I also have their joiner
and find the fit and finish are better than the others I looked at which are
made in the same factory. It has performed flawlessly for three years of
moderate use. JG

BobS wrote:

> I have the GI mortiser and it's a good machine but had a few QC problems
> which were finally corrected after 3 months of waiting on parts. General
> tech support will tell you they're built to Generals specs but no, they do
> not inspect them in Canada or the US. They are shipped directly to the
> distributors from the far east and .... well, just don't expect General
> quality for the price you're paying. No spares are stocked either so unless
> the distributor carries some spare parts - you're in for a wait of several
> months. I don't know if that's any worse than any other import tool but you
> may want to find a distributor that say's he carries spare parts
> for the tool.
>
> Overall, the quality of the GI was better than the other choices I had to
> compare against (Jet, Delta) at the time. Price was a bit higher but had
> features that I thought were well worth the extra money. Have you looked at
> any Grizzly equipment ? I don't own any but at least they carry spare parts
> and are based in the US.
>
> Bob S.
>
> "Jane & David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I need another bandsaw (14")and am curious about General. Their Canadian
> > stuff looks great, but I would much rather pay the General International
> > prices. Some of their machines look identical to the other Taiwan stuff,
> > but does anyone know how well General does at specifying and inspecting
> > so that their machines work the way they should? I don't mind some rough
> > edges, but do they make sure their wheels line-up and spin, tables are
> > flat, adjustments are smooth and accurate? Any owners out there have
> > good or bad General International experiences to share?
> >
> > TIA
> > David

David
I have owned or used several General band saws. They are the best I have
ever used. They rival my Walker Turner. I do not think they are Taiwanese.
The General fit and performance are excellent. You will never regret buying
one.
max

> I need another bandsaw (14")and am curious about General. Their Canadian
> stuff looks great, but I would much rather pay the General International
> prices. Some of their machines look identical to the other Taiwan stuff,
> but does anyone know how well General does at specifying and inspecting
> so that their machines work the way they should? I don't mind some rough
> edges, but do they make sure their wheels line-up and spin, tables are
> flat, adjustments are smooth and accurate? Any owners out there have
> good or bad General International experiences to share?
>
> TIA
> David

I have the GI mortiser and it's a good machine but had a few QC problems
which were finally corrected after 3 months of waiting on parts. General
tech support will tell you they're built to Generals specs but no, they do
not inspect them in Canada or the US. They are shipped directly to the
distributors from the far east and .... well, just don't expect General
quality for the price you're paying. No spares are stocked either so unless
the distributor carries some spare parts - you're in for a wait of several
months. I don't know if that's any worse than any other import tool but you
may want to find a distributor that say's he carries spare parts
for the tool.

Overall, the quality of the GI was better than the other choices I had to
compare against (Jet, Delta) at the time. Price was a bit higher but had
features that I thought were well worth the extra money. Have you looked at
any Grizzly equipment ? I don't own any but at least they carry spare parts
and are based in the US.

Bob S.


"Jane & David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I need another bandsaw (14")and am curious about General. Their Canadian
> stuff looks great, but I would much rather pay the General International
> prices. Some of their machines look identical to the other Taiwan stuff,
> but does anyone know how well General does at specifying and inspecting
> so that their machines work the way they should? I don't mind some rough
> edges, but do they make sure their wheels line-up and spin, tables are
> flat, adjustments are smooth and accurate? Any owners out there have
> good or bad General International experiences to share?
>
> TIA
> David

Dave -

I reviewed mortising machines and now have the GI mortiser - it got a good
review in AW, I think... I am very happy with it and would purchase it
again in a heartbeat. My shop is a combo of colors but General Green seems
to have been a good choice. HTH

John Moorhead


"Jane & David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I need another bandsaw (14")and am curious about General. Their Canadian
> stuff looks great, but I would much rather pay the General International
> prices. Some of their machines look identical to the other Taiwan stuff,
> but does anyone know how well General does at specifying and inspecting
> so that their machines work the way they should? I don't mind some rough
> edges, but do they make sure their wheels line-up and spin, tables are
> flat, adjustments are smooth and accurate? Any owners out there have
> good or bad General International experiences to share?
>
> TIA
> David