Tablesaw Choices - I went Minimax SC3

[Admiral]

Grizzly's HQ is 10 minutes from my vacation home--I can always go in there every day if I need to and yell

With Grizzly, you won't have to............ pretty good CS and support.  While nobody is perfect, we all know who tries hard, and Griz does.

[jteneyck]

JohnBro, if you are considering the MM16 take a hard look at the Grizzly G0636X, I bought one nearly 2 years ago and couldn't be more satisfied. Spec for spec it is equal or better. The fence is far superior. I got the saw 2 or 3 days after placing my order. It arrived in perfect condition save for a little scratched paint on the back which must have happened before it was crated. Grizzly promptly sent me some paint at no cost. Most importantly, the saw was as perfect as you could expect with everything properly aligned and adjusted. It is a joy to use. And it cost a lot less than the MM16.

John

[crokett™]

Did you ever get satisfaction from Minimax?

[James004]

I apologize in advance for not having contributed to this forum in a long time.  I recently decided to upgrade to a new saw as my neighbor bought my old saw at a decent price.  I didn't have to move it, so now was the time to do something crazy.  I had always wanted a SawStop, and I had always wanted a Euro style slider.  I ended up buying a Minimax SC3 primarily because of my interaction with their sales rep Sam Blasco.  He really understood where I was coming from in terms of precision, and my shop layout.  I wanted to pass along my experience with choosing this company and the result.

I will do my best to update this thread with the result of that decision.

So what happened??

Did things get resolved?

[EricU]

it's weird these things seem to be so difficult to do right.

[Philip1231]

Looks to be a very old unit, based on the color: not sure you can conclude anything about Minimax quality from that video, but
I can conclude that was a very ugly color choice.

Watch this video of a Minimax:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SYDxp7UKe0

When he cranks either handle the shaft appears to be bent in both.  Watch how crank bobs up an down with each turn.

[JoinerCP]

I'm so glad I came across this thread. I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a 20" or 24" bandsaw and a slider and really thought MM was the best company out there.

Looks like I need to find the current Agazzani rep for the bandsaw and find someone else who is producing sliders.

I hope you'll come back and provide a follow-up

[Pondracer]

I wanted to follow up on this.  I was waiting for a definitive answer on the credit card dispute and I got it today.  Its a tough lesson.

I opened up the credit card dispute on 2/18 asking for a refund for the cost of the damaged parts.  I did not ask for a refund of the entire machine.  The situation was such that I knew the best way forward for me to actually begin to use the saw was to make repairs or replace the fence from another vendor.  As a side note, the saw as of today has still never cut a piece of wood.  I went ahead and ordered my parts.  It was a 4-6 week lead on some of this and I decided to do it. 

Chase responded within a few days after 2/18 and listened to the situation and asked for documentation.  I sent them everything including emails and pictures.  The following week they got back to me and asked if I had attempted to return the Minimax saw parts to SCM Group.  I told them I had not.  The Chase rep advised me that I had to offer to return the parts and the vendor would have to refuse to accept them before the dispute would move forward.  I contacted them (keep in mind they had no contact with me after 2/2/2018).  Here is their response on 3/6:

Jeff, 

 
Good Morning. We are surely working in the background for you and to expedite the process to make your machine work as expected.  
 
Yes, it might seem we are not moving fast enough for you but I can assure you the team is working to get these replacement parts; in spite of past actions.  These replacement parts are not readily available on shelves and we have to outsource the availability internationally.  
 
As of today looking at the status of these replacement parts, collectively we are looking at the ETAs as early as this week to NLT 04/27/2018. {These dates can improve with time but we are trying to push on time to get at least 70% of the parts on-hand before sending them to you.}
 
Please, bear with us.

I responded that I really wasn't interested in waiting 5 months to have a working saw.  It was not an acceptable solution, especially in light of the fact that I could probably have it working before the end of March.  Below was their response.

Myself and the team understand part of your frustration. This is why Nelson had sent previous emails to you and we have been working to address your concerns. To clarify, there will be a 20% restocking fee and you would have to pay the cost of repackaging and shipping the machine back to us in its present state. 

 
If the machine is received with any additional damages, you will be responsible for the costs of any parts we would have to get to repair additional damages. Furthermore, you will cover the costs of our technicians to repair additional damages;  should you choose to go the route of returning this machine. 
 
We would rather you keep the machine, get the parts, have the machine working and making beautiful pieces for you to brag about to your friends. 
 
Let Me know which of these options works best for you and we will continue to arrange/cancel the parts accordingly. Thank you.


Yes you heard right.  They would only accept the entire machine, and 20% restocking fee on damaged parts.  Plus I get to pay to send them back.  This reply was on 3/7.  I printed the emails and over-nighted them to Chase immediately.  Chase responded today (3/21) by informing me that as the vendor had offered to accept the parts, I was obligated to send them and eat the fees.  I made the decision that the next step is to just go directly to small claims court -- if I want to continue.  As of today I have received no parts from Minimax, but I have received a fence from Incra, and a replacement cross cut fence from Accurate Technology.  I have to have some modifications done, but I should have a working saw by the weekend.

[ez-duzit]

...ETAs as early as this week to NLT 04/27/2018[/u]...

I responded that I really wasn't interested in waiting 5 months to have a working saw...

They promised "not later than 4/27/2018"--you responded you didn't want to wait FIVE months. Where did 5 months come from? They said you'd have the parts next month! Now you decide to take them to small claims court. I think you are being completely unreasonable at this point. What have I missed?

[mdhills]

They promised "not later than 4/27/2018"--you responded you didn't want to wait FIVE months. Where did 5 months come from? They said you'd have the parts next month! Now you decide to take them to small claims court. I think you are being completely unreasonable at this point. What have I missed?

I think that was an email exchanged first week of march (so still looking ~2 months delay from that time) and based upon the original delivery on 3-Jan.

Matthew