General International vs Delta, Jet, etc?

[Jane & David]

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

[BobS]

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.

[max]

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

[Peter De Smidt]

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

[John Moorhead]

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

[JGS]