Steel City Toolworks?

[Mark & Juanita]

Has anyone seen the new SteelCity toolworks tools? Ran across an ad in Fine Woodworking, they look like older Delta machines. Went to their website:

but they don't really have any information up yet, "pending delivery to distributors". They indicate that they have been at IWF shows. Has anybody had a chance to look? Are they domestically manufactured, or mostly another Chiwanese tool distributor? They indicate on the website that they manufacture and import tools, I was wondering what the relative percentage distribution is.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Bruce Barnett]

Don't know. I suspect it Chiwanese - with careful review of specifications.

The article is found here:

is a quote:

Plans for innovation

Dust Collector - Most of the innovation so far at Steel City is in the business plan, not tool development. In order to get a full line to market at launch, the partners said they had to delay some of their plans for new features. Their initial product line will include standard tool designs where the patents have run out.

There have been a few product improvements, however. Cast-iron tablesaw trunnions and welded steel bandsaw frames have been beefed up, dust ports and fences have been redesigned, and washable 1-micron bags are standard on dust collectors. The tools are also highly adjustable. For example, the company's bandsaw wheels can be adjusted in every plane.

Steel City's first attempt to grab headlines is a rust-free saw table that is coated with titanium-nitrite, the bronze-colored coating seen on some drill bits and saw blades. With a surface hardness greater than carbide and just short of diamond, it is designed to eliminate maintenance, the company said.

18 in. BandsawSteel City's tablesaw will come with a traditional splitter and blade guard rather than a riving knife found on new tablesaws from Powermatic and SawStop, which own patents on those devices. Steel City executives said they are planning to create their own patented riving-knife system in the next few years.

"We've got three more tablesaws in the works right now," Box said. "We're looking very closely at how we can offer the safest possible product through our new designs."

[R. Pierce Butler]

Mark & Juanita wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The part I like is

"Though we are a new company, our investment group, led by Scott Box and Mark Strahler have had long, distinguished careers in the machinery industry. Strahler was VP of sales and marketing for Delta before leaving to found Orion, a successful startup that manufactures machinery for Sears and other retailers. Box served as director of product development for Delta before leaving to head up the Powermatic division of the WMH Tool Group, owner of the Jet, Powermatic and Wilton brands. Together, they have been actively involved in every aspect of the woodworking machinery business and have built an extensive network of the best suppliers and manufacturing connections in Taiwan and mainland China. We also currently have an extended staff of 15 seasoned professionals, with an average of 26 years of experience in the business, along with an enthusiastic team of support employees"

One article at FWW says this:

"Steel City's first attempt to grab headlines is a rust-free saw table that is coated with titanium-nitrite, the bronze-colored coating seen on some drill bits and saw blades. With a surface hardness greater than carbide and just short of diamond, it is designed to eliminate maintenance, the company said."

Now TiN on a tablesaw would be interesting.

[Mark & Juanita]

Yeah, that seems to speak to more of the same.

... snip

Wonder what the long-term durability is? Is it subject to chipping or eventual weal (depending upon how thin the coating is)? On the other hand, if done right, it sounds like a really good idea.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Andrew Williams]

What if the table isn't flat? Would it be harder to re-grind it to flat with that coating?

[CW]

No. Touch it with a grinding wheel and the coating is gone.