Subject: Re: The 'Real' CMT?

From: [email-masked] (Elwood140)
Date: 11 Feb 1997 15:07:35 GMT

I must add that my own experience with CMT in Florida has been nothing but
positive.  The products I have received from them and the customer service
they provided have both been exemplary.  I cannot detect any quality
differences between the products made in Italy and the USA-produced ones.
Elwood
There ain't no 'free'.

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From: StanR <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 03:07:26 -0800

> differences between the products made in Italy and the USA-produced ones.

I would have said that too until this last order. I'm waiting two weeks
now for it, as of today. The customer service people have been nice and
all, and I really like their bits, but this time the delay is
overwelming. 

I've ordered from them at least six-eight times previously, and used to
get my bits in a day or two. Maybe sucess has spoiled a good thing, or
perhaps this is a fluke. But it's a two week fluke. So far.

Stan

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From: [email-masked] (Sag09)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 23:46:49 GMT

now for it, as of today. The customer service people have been nice and
all, and I really like their bits, but this time the delay is
overwelming. >
I have to agree with this, I've ordered from them twice, and both times
theres been
problems. First time I really needed a 13/64 vix bit for a job in
progress. I ordered 
a couple of other things while I was at it. After a coulple of weeks I
call and was
told a bandsaw blade that I had also ordered was on back order, so they
held
up the entire order. To there credit they shipped the vix bit overnight
after I sang 
the blues.Second order was a simple set of 8" joiner knives. Didn't arrive
after a 
week so I call again, was told again they were on back order, so I wasted
a week
waiting for something that was never even shipped. One would think someone
could have picked a phone and called me instead of leaving me hanging.I
don't
argue with the praise of there products, but that doesn't do me alot of
good
if they can't get it to me.

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From: StanR <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 20:30:20 -0800

Sag09 wrote:
One would think someone
> if they can't get it to me.

Well, my bits arrived today, finally, sixteen days after I ordered them.
And nice bright-orange bits they are, too. :)

But another prioblem with the CMT bits. Well, not the bits actually, but
the packing. 

CMT used to have a shipping problem where the bit-holder, a small
plastic collar in the bit-case base, would fall out of the base in
shipment. It never jurt the bit, but they deceided to fix it by putting
a piece of packing tape over the base to hold the coller in. Only the
tape gets on the shank of the bit. It's a nightmare to get it out of the
base now and when it comes out, it has tape-gunk on it. Wish they'ld
come up with a better packaging fix than this tape. 

Stan

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From: Termite <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 08:46:00 -0500

StanR wrote:
> snip 
>snip

Stan,
You're SO RIGHT. I got my new CMT bits yesterday ( 10 days after the
order!) and discovered just what you're talking about. I was wondering
what the heck that was all about. Not every one of the packages had that
tape on it so I guess it was just the NEW ONES from production - others
>from  off-the-shelf.
In two cases I had to wrap a towel around the bit and use a pair of
pliers to get the bit out of the packge. Then I was afraid that I would
scratch the shank - so on the other I tore the paper from the bottom of
the package, used a drift punch to drive the bit out of the package - be
sure to catch the bit (or stop short) as you don't want that new bit to
hit the floor.

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From: Matt Prusik <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 11:47:35 -0500

> sure to catch the bit (or stop short) as you don't want that new bit to

	FWIW, you could try squirting the stuff with WD-40.  It will 
dissolve the adhesive and not harm the bit in any way.

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From: StanR <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 22:46:30 -0800

> dissolve the adhesive and not harm the bit in any way.

Well, once I got the bits out, it was easy to clean up both bits and
base with some Goof-Off. But you can't get the stuff into the
tight-fitting collar to begin with. untill after you remove the bit. And
they must put down the tape (it has a shank-hole in it) before they
insert the bit because the shank pushed the tape into the collar-hole.
Anyway.. big mess, poor packing solution. 

If anyone from CMT reads this here's an idea: Put the bit into a little
pouch. Then ship the pouched-bit and the pretty little case, sans tape,
and we can do the final assembly ourselves (no instructions needed <g>).

Stan