Replies

1. 
   plinthe | Jan 17, 2003 05:51am | #1

   Hi Pied Beauty

   I don't have any personal experience with King machinery, but went in to a machine store today to look at bandsaws and the owner told me that King was exactly the same (those were his terms...) as General International. He said they were both made in Taiwan at the same factory to the same specs, and that the only difference between the two is the name that's stamped on them and the price (King slightly less expensive). I looked at the bandsaws and what he said was apparently true (I didn't check out the motors too closely though, but the HP was the same). He repeated the point showing me two contractor's saws (King and Genaral Intl.), but I only checked out the table and fence (looked identical to me); King was $100 less.

   Hope this helps some...

   Plinthe from Quebec

1. 
   Andrew | Jan 17, 2003 06:46am | #2

   The dealer is probably right about them coming out of the same factory, but as far as I know, general has tighter tolerances and uses better quality rough castings and components than king does. I've also heard that king has problems getting replacement parts for some machines, which may be a problem.

   I have a 15" thickness planer nearly identical to theirs, and it's alright. they do need a little fine tuning, and blade changes are a pain, but it has plenty of power and has managed to plane a lot of lumber for me. the jointer I would be a little more careful about, as a poorly made machine will give you no end of grief.

   hope this helps

1. 
   plinthe | Jan 17, 2003 07:48am | #4

   Thanks for the info...I know I didn't ask for any, but I'll be a little more cautious next time I walk into that dealer's store and he tries to sell me a King as if it were a General Intl.

1. 
   riverr1 | Jan 17, 2003 08:10am | #5

   I just bought some GI machines and was asked if I might want to save a couple of hundred dollars and get King instead. The biggest thing was if you have a problem. With GI you go directly to General in Quebec and get good and immediate support. Not true with King.

   Don

1. 
   plinthe | Jan 17, 2003 09:02am | #6

   While I have you here, so to speak, Don, do you know anything about Canadian Jet? Is it the same quality as the US Jet? It's green and cheaper. I have no idea, never having seen the US stuff.

   Thanks

   Plinthe

   (Sorry Pied Beauty, I know I'm digressing from your original post...)

2. 
   riverr1 | Jan 17, 2003 09:25am | #7

   Sorry, can't help you with that one. Heck, I don't know any more about Jet then what gets written on these forums. The machines are white in the states though. BTW, I'm in the states also. Went to Chattam for my machines. As far as the GI goes though, there are a number of different company names on machines that appear to be functionally the same machine. Woodtek is coming out with a drum sander that looks identical to mine. I called General though before buying my General saw and the GI machines. They told me that they own and operate the Tawain factory these similar machines come out of and that they take the cream of what comes out of the place. How that breaks down, or what it breaks down into is anyones guess. For all I know though, this information could have been sales hype, but I didn't get that impression while talking to them.

   While looking at these machines, the King and GI, what did the salesman tell you the difference was? Are they able to support the machines the same? 

   Don 

3. 
   plinthe | Jan 17, 2003 05:27pm | #8

   The salesman (actually it was the owner) told me that they were exactly the same machine, period. I have a slight suspicion that he was oversimplifying a bit, but when I pressed him a bit on the subject he repeated that they were identical. He also said that service was not an issue with either machine. This is a small store, packed with machines though, and I think the owner/salesman does a lot of the servicing himself. I know he actually tries all of his models, and if he hasn't tried one, he tells you and doesn't push a machine he doesn't know. Unfortunately, I only had about five minutes, so I didn't have enough time to make a thorough check. Are you happy with your GI saw? Which model is it? I"ll probably upgrade this summer, and up here we don't have as much choice, Delta usually being top notch.

   Edited 1/17/2003 9:33:29 AM ET by PLINTHE

4. 
   riverr1 | Jan 17, 2003 07:26pm | #9

   Sorry, I don't have a GI saw. I have a General 350. It's great. Fence instructions left a lot to be desired, but other thn that, no problems. The GI machines I have are the 3 hp shaper and 24 inch drum sander. Looking to soon expand on that. The savings I realize by going to Canada and purchasing is just too attractive to pass up.

   Don

2. 
   pal | Jan 17, 2003 07:10am | #3

   I have the 6 inch KC-60 FX. Had it about 2 years and use it quite a bit. It's been good, Glad I bought it.

    

   David

3. 
   oxmach | Jan 17, 2003 09:36pm | #10

   Pied beauty,

   I bought a 6" King 2 or 3 years back, and have had very good success with it.  For the money I think it has been a worthwhile purchase.  Casting and machining is as good as any I've seen, blade change is easy with a knife setting jig.  The only upgrade was I put a link belt on to limit vibration as it sits on a concrete floor and added a few sandbags to weight it down and again dampen some of the initial vibration.  Run very smooth now.  I mainly work in hard Maple, Ash and some Cedar, and I've never had an issue.  One of the reasons for going with the King from the get go was that it came stock with a 1HP motor, while the others were 1/2 or 3/4 if memory serves me.

   Good luck.

   Greg

4. 
   plinthe | Jan 18, 2003 12:04am | #11

   Hi Pied Beauty and Don

   Just got back form another dealer who sells King and GI: he told me the same as the other dealer (that there was no difference in quality whatsoever). Furthermore, both companies are based in Quebec (King is in Montreal), so no problem for parts or service. The dealer also services, and he too said that King was as reliable a machine as GI (which speaks pretty good of King). I am always a bit wary of dealers, but I don't see why they would hype the King; they certainly don't make more money from it...

   I now have my eye on a 17" King bandsaw. Nice machine! Same price as the Delta 14"...

1. 
   piedbeauty | Jan 18, 2003 02:57am | #12

   thanks for all the responses to my posting. my dealer [atlas machinery by the way -a great place] told me that the king equipment was the same as american jet-canadian jet is a completely different company and doesnt sell the same stuff, ithink because king has an agreement with american jet or something crazy like that. that said, it probably does all come from the same factory. anyway, the price is right and i'm not too worried about the service aspect-the dealer will look after me. thanx again