Subject: Re: Shop Task Owners please advise...

From: [email-masked] (J.A.Harvey )
Date: 26 May 1995 00:59:57 GMT

In <[email-masked]> [email-masked]
(Chester A. Roberts, Jr.) writes: 
>
>
>I just got the literature from Shop Task.  I was amazed that they
>were the originator of the "Smithy" line of lathe/mills.
>If you're a Shop Task user, are you happy with the product?
>Have you had to get replacement parts?
>How do you like the company service?
>I'm still shopping so your advice is valued.
>Thanks,  Chet   [email-masked]
 
I cannot speak for anyone else out there , but my experience with SHOP
TASK has been a nightmare. They claimed to have a full inventory of
replacement parts, but when I needed a small drive gear (which were
made from some mystery metal to begin with, and had a finish that could
only be described with words I would'nt use here) I got the royal jerk
around. ("Oh the 12-20 is no longer supported" (the machine was less
than a year old, "that part is on back order" and the best one .."I
can't locate that part in the drawing". Well I finally called SMITHY
and they shipped me a similar part (Needed to have the shaft hole
reamed a couple of thou) in 2 days. I didn't own a SMITHY machine, had
never done business with them, and they treated me like GOLD for a
16.00 part. You can bet that SHOPTASK never heard from me again (Except
for the indignant letter that I wrote to the company). I now do all my
business (for that particular machine) with SMITHY. I also feel that
the folks at SMITHY are a lot more involved with their customers as far
as training and support, that is important to people who have little or
no experience with these machines but want to undertake some project. A
little hand holding goes a long way.

   Smithy's phone number is 1-800-345-6342. They will send a catalog
free of charge (they always have as far as I know) and they can answer
all your questions.

Good Luck.

Jim 
<[email-masked]>
<http://www.wp.com/HarveyRacing/>