McMaster-Carr... again.

[Highpower]

(02-22-2021, 12:59 PM)Vinny Wrote: Have you looked at either Wholesale Tool (wttool.com) or Travers?

I didn't previously but I just took a look. Same as the others. A few choices between 'inexpensive' import arbors and the golden goose (Albrecht). Travers offers Jacobs arbors too and they don't try to hide the fact that - "Hey, we get these things from China" and they are upfront about it.  

At least I get a little false hope out of MSC about the origin of their supply.  

I originally went for the LFA arbor because I know the level of quality. I bought a 3/8" LFA chuck many moons ago to replace the wonderful gritty feel of the Harbor Freight chuck supplied with my mini-lathe. Very happy with the LFA and would say it's on par quality wise with an old school plain Jacobs chuck. Back then it was just a tad less expensive than a new Jacobs chuck.

Back when I was browsing eBay for the 8-1/2N chuck, 99% of them were the new ones made in China. I found two listings that were for the old style chuck. The pictures for one of them showed it was was rode hard and put away wet, and they were obviously proud of this jewel. I made an offer on the minty one from a different seller and bought it for half the price of the 'jewel'.

I don't really care about who makes it - I just wanted to try to get an arbor of equal quality to pair with the Jacobs. I've got too many soft cheese import arbors already that wobble and ding or gall if you look at them wrong. I don't need the best, but I don't want to waste my time on mediocre either. Yes, I'm a picky old curmudgeon. My better half will back me up on that.  

[Dr Stan]

(02-22-2021, 02:21 PM)Highpower Wrote: . I would just like to have the OPTION of buying something in the middle that is at least a step or two above the quality of the low end import stuff.

That is why I REALLY miss Enco! Even for the high end stuff. You could buy the exact same tooling for half the price compared to MSC.  

That's why I liked Travers.  They offered both the Rolls Royce and the Yugo plus the Ford's & Chevy's in between.

[Highpower]

Just got another email from McMaster:

Quote:Hi William,

Thank you again for alerting us to this issue.  We're awaiting replacement arbors from MGE (the correct LFA models) and will ship this to you as soon as it arrives.  Our apologies for this inconvenience.  

Courtney

I don't have a clue about who or what "MGE" is, but it sounds like they are inferring the blame lays with a supplier. Or is it that they were simply out of stock and someone decided to slip in a substitution and hope I didn't notice? I guess we'll never know. As it stands it looks like I'm buying two arbors now instead of one.  

[EdK]

I got the exact same crap from McMaster in California today. Someone tried removing the "Shars" text. I'll complain and see what happens.

Ed

   

[Highpower]

(02-23-2021, 06:42 PM)EdK Wrote: I got the exact same crap from McMaster in California today. Someone tried removing the "Shars" text. I'll complain and see what happens.

Ed

Wow. Unbelievable. Clear cut case of fraud going on here. And evidently it's been going on for awhile now because I have gotten (un-named) Chinese garbage from them twice before this in the last two years or so after paying a premium price.

I checked my credit card statement and their 'refund' was credited to my card today. They credited me for the price of the arbor, the sales tax that was charged, but NOT the $8.00 I paid for shipping. So I still end up paying $8.00 shipping on a $4.00 Shars arbor that I didn't ask for.  

Better check everything you get from them from here on out with a fine tooth comb. Just saying.  

[rleete]

Looks like someone is running a scam, and I'd bet McMaster isn't the one. Someone on the stock floor swapping them out, or a shady buyer returning cheaper arbors.

[Highpower]

Or McMaster has one of their suppliers scamming them with these fakes. -Or- it's possible (not probable) McMaster is knowingly ordering these fakes to increase profits. If it was a one time occurrence in one location I would say it's likely a customer or rogue employee doing a swap and then returning it to put back in stock. Having this happen in two different areas of the country at the same time and coming out of two different McMaster facilities raises more red flags in my mind. It leads me to believe there is more than a single individual at work here.

I have been buying from McMaster for a few decades. The only thing I can say with certainty is that I have received some really poor quality items from them a few times in the past couple years after paying "name brand' prices. But since they don't disclose manufacturer names or models in the majority of their catalog listings (in most cases) a buyer doesn't know exactly what they are purchasing and can't do anything about it. In this case the only thing that backed up my complaint was the country of origin listed for the item I ordered. I suspect they will be removing that information from their details pages before long as well.

Trust, but verify.

[Dr Stan]

IMHO this is a perfect example of what happens when the bean counters control a business. They don't give a rat's behind about anything but increasing the profit margin and thus their annual bonus. Laissez-faire capitalism at its worst.

[Highpower]

You can go ahead and say "I told you so" now Stan.

UPS delivered the Jacobs arbor today that I ordered from MSC.
Apex production from China as I expected it would be. At least it's not all scuffed up and still has the factory printing on it.

[Dr Stan]

(02-24-2021, 08:28 PM)Highpower Wrote: You can go ahead and say "I told you so" now Stan.  

UPS delivered the Jacobs arbor today that I ordered from MSC.
Apex production from China as I expected it would be. At least it's not all scuffed up and still has the factory printing on it.  

Surprised, nope.  Disappointed, yes. When I was at Mississippi State a colleague who taught engineering ethics and I would use the term "business ethics" in a very sarcastic manner.