MZ
Aluminum
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2005
- Location
- Providence, RI
I bought a set of Brown & Sharpe angle setup blocks, B&S/Tesa #599-921-17, when they went on sale at MSC last April. These are supposedly USA made and spec'd to a tenth per inch or 30". Yes there are import knockoffs from China or India for 1/5 the price, I am not interested. The B&S set was on backorder 7 months, which was annoying, but finally showed up this week.
I'm pretty disappointed.
Except for the fact they are laser engraved "Brown & Sharpe Ultra Precision," they sure look like import junk. There is NO country of origin shown on any of the parts, case, or packaging. The box is cheap pine, not the mahogany shown in catalogs. There are abrasion marks and visible burrs on gaging faces, including several where the finish grind failed to run completely off the face into a corner relief, leaving a ridge (as if the wheel was rounded over). There is flash rust staining on many of the blocks. At least one, an auxiliary (zero degree) parallel, is out of whack by a thou in 2 inches. I put a mic on a few null combinations (say 5* + 10* - 15*) and they checked out, but can't check others without stoning/dressing them because of aforementioned burrs.
I looked at the MSC listing and underneath "Country of Origin- USA" is the sentence "Country of origin is subject to change." I can't be sure if this fine print was shown when I bought the item. Certainly KBC and Travers don't have this disclaimer for the same set/part number (they also show what is clearly a mahogany case).
I wonder if MSC sent me a counterfeit set, or if B&S/Tesa has now flipped manufacturing offshore, or if their USA shops have devolved to "global" QA standards. The sale was better than half off, so I suppose if they checked out on a sine bar I might clean up the burrs etc. and hold onto them; but I'm just not sure I should go to all the trouble.
Advice or similar experience appreciated...
Mike
I'm pretty disappointed.
Except for the fact they are laser engraved "Brown & Sharpe Ultra Precision," they sure look like import junk. There is NO country of origin shown on any of the parts, case, or packaging. The box is cheap pine, not the mahogany shown in catalogs. There are abrasion marks and visible burrs on gaging faces, including several where the finish grind failed to run completely off the face into a corner relief, leaving a ridge (as if the wheel was rounded over). There is flash rust staining on many of the blocks. At least one, an auxiliary (zero degree) parallel, is out of whack by a thou in 2 inches. I put a mic on a few null combinations (say 5* + 10* - 15*) and they checked out, but can't check others without stoning/dressing them because of aforementioned burrs.
I looked at the MSC listing and underneath "Country of Origin- USA" is the sentence "Country of origin is subject to change." I can't be sure if this fine print was shown when I bought the item. Certainly KBC and Travers don't have this disclaimer for the same set/part number (they also show what is clearly a mahogany case).
I wonder if MSC sent me a counterfeit set, or if B&S/Tesa has now flipped manufacturing offshore, or if their USA shops have devolved to "global" QA standards. The sale was better than half off, so I suppose if they checked out on a sine bar I might clean up the burrs etc. and hold onto them; but I'm just not sure I should go to all the trouble.
Advice or similar experience appreciated...
Mike