I've purchased from Travers Tool for at least 30 years and have only had one incorrect order. When I called them it was quickly corrected. I also like their selections that include cheaper, but decent, import products and higher priced top shelf US and European products.
I have bought some items from Enco in the past, but need to see just how this merger (or whatever it is) with MSC turns out.
I was leery of Shars products at first, but the items I've bought from them are fairly decent.
Bought one of the Canadian DRO's for my lathe and had to have both scales replaced. They replaced the first one without any trouble, but sure balked on the 2nd one.
I'm running a SINPO 3 axis on my mill and am very happy with the purchase.
I'll have to admit to buying some Horror Freight products. I have one of their drill presses I bought from a seller of damaged freight. It's OK for a step pulley unit, but I plan to replace it with a used Powermatic. Bottom line one can find some OK stuff at HF, but you must be very picky. I will not for example buy automotive stands from HF.
For machine tools I believe one cannot go wrong with Lost Creek Machine. Straight shooter who has good to excellent used equipment and a few lines of new.
One tip about HF. Always read the reviews of the item you're interested in. Also pay attention to the dates on the reviews, good and bad. I've seen bad reviews that were 3-4 years old, and more recent ones that were glowing. I've also seen the opposite!
I have purchased lots of stuff from
Enco but not since the the MSC "merge" and, like others, are skeptical it will be a benefit to the consumer. I am assuming "20% off and free shipping" is now only a memory.
I have recently been using
Shars and been very pleased with the quality of the items and the customer service the one time I was not satisfied.
I just received a
Travers flyer in the mail. Have not had a chance to look at it. I see on their site that they have a site wide 25% off for the Labor Day weekend. Could be the incentive I need to give them a try!!
I have used
CDCO. I guess I should consider myself lucky as the few transactions I have had went smoothly and the quality of what I received was what I expected for the price paid.
I've seen the adds in the machinist magazines for
Victor and
Kitts but have never used them.
Have a lot of
Harbor Freight stuff but as Vinny suggests I read the reviews, use lots of oil in the many air tools I have purchased, don't go near the battery tools [though I could probably buy 4 of each for what each of my Milwaukee Fuel tools set me back], and assume that some of the the purchases are either an assembled kit that will need to be adjusted or are disposable.
I have just placed an order with MSC, using the 40% discount code recently advertised. Price is way below what I would pay here in Australia.
Years ago I used to buy a lot from MSC before I found out about Enco. Now that the Enco train has essentially gone away for good, it's bringing back memories of the two words that pushed me away from MSC in the first place. "Up to."
Every percentage "sale" I've ever seen from them always says "up to 10% off" - "up to 15% off" - "up to 20% off" etc.
Every time I would put items in my cart and apply the code the final result was ZERO percent off. No matter what I wanted to buy, those items did not qualify for the "sale". After 4 or 5 attempts to try and get a discounted price on ANYTHING I finally gave up and quit trying. I don't even bother looking at their "up to" discounts anymore, because they don't really exist AFAIK.
Travers Tool is my absolute last resort when it comes to buying tools. Only if it can't be found anywhere else will I buy from them. They have the highest prices and outrageous shipping fees compared to any of the other suppliers I have dealt with. Whatever they have can found somewhere else at a lower cost (after shipping) 99% of the time in my experience.
I have used Shars a few times, neither disappointed or excited about their service, rather blah
For carbide inserts, I've had exceptional results from ISI Direct, you have to know what you are looking for, but they usually have a good selection and variable cost, depending on brand, grade and insert popularity.
I have used Grizzly for years, never got a bad product, service had alterted somewhat since they closed their east cost warehouse in Muncy, Pa.
I have used Victor Machinery Exchange, for years, excellent service, quality products and good pricing.
the Enco and MSC group, have never sent me a bad product, pricing is on the high side, unless you use the discounts and the MSC website is a horror to use.
As I'm absolutely against EBay (rotten crooked bastards), I will not shop through them
I have used CDCO for probably 200 purchases, always received what I asked for, never had a shipping problem, but much like my shopping at harbor Freight, I'm extremely careful of what I buy, buy it off the website and never talk to "Frank" the owner, his English is terrible.
There are a few others I've used and will continue to use, but they are very machine or equipment specific.
Sad to say I think I am done buying any tooling from McMaster anymore. This is the 3rd or 4th time I paid good money for something thinking I would get a quality name brand item (Jacobs at least) and instead received the typical Chinese / India fare.
I paid $56 plus shipping for a re-machinable MT3 arbor from them and once again received a no-name item (no markings at all) heat sealed in a pre-torn open clear plastic baggie with sticky/slimy brown goo inside. The tang end was HAND ground / gouged. Didn't even come in one of the plastic telescoping tubes that arbors normally ship in. It looks just like the ones you find on eBay and Amazon for $12 ~ $20 with free shipping.
Fool me once, uh ... 4 times..... uh, never mind. And never more. Tired of paying top dollar and getting garbage in return.
Huh, every arbor I've bought on ebay came in one of those telescopic tubes. No slimy goo, but pretty much the same no-name quality. None had the hand ground tang tho. Seems you got yourself an arbor that was made with all the love you'd want in a tool. Or is that an arbor that was made the way you wouldn't want it made. Hmmm, that's a tough call... :)
(11-19-2019, 10:33 PM)Vinny Wrote: [ -> ]Huh, every arbor I've bought on ebay came in one of those telescopic tubes.
Me too. When I bought drill chuck arbors from McMaster in the past they were listed under "Jacobs" and that was what I got. Beautifully machined and ground. Even came in a familiar green Jacobs marked telescopic tube. Cost was less than $20 IIRC. But no brand given on these, and no info about their origin. Gives new meaning to "you spend you money and take you chances".
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