I would agree that a $17,000 lathe is not what the average Grizzly customer wants. And that the people who do want one are gonna go to a company that has a more industrial knowledge base.
My point, I guess, is that Grizzly, and Harbor Freight, basically cant get the money to the bank fast enough, there is so much of it coming in, selling really low quality tools.
And even if they try to sell a better tool, nobody wants it.
Now admittedly, the market for HLV-H type lathes, both genuine Hardinge and clone, is probably well below 200 a year nationwide. Probably even below 100 a year. There just isnt much demand for one.
But even if Grizzly were to come up with snazzy, modern, "Haas-type" cnc machines, I dont think they could sell them.
People want cheap, cheap, and low cost. Quality and precision are way down the list.
I dont understand why people think Grizzly and HF are chinese owned- they are both clearly the result of somebody who really understands american consumers, marketing, and culture.
Both are very much american businesses, in the grand tradition of Sears Roebuck and Monkey Wards.
Although the owner of Grizzly may have a foreign sounding name, like I do, or many of us, for that matter, he is pretty american. He just like to keep a low profile. But you can see him at the Bellingham store from time to time, and he is just a regular guy, who sincerely likes tools and making stuff. He makes a lot of guitars himself, and has quite a fancy home shop. He carries several tools specifically for guitar making that probably dont make a ton of money, but he wants to offer them. And he is very proud of the fact that many custom guitar makers use various Grizzly tools, including Fender and Gibson. I am sure there was a picture of him holding a guitar he made in one of the older catalogs.
