[sngatlanta]

[QUOTE=cabnet636;403540]

greg in atlanta how you comming along??



I'm hanging tight waiting for a machine to fall out of the sky, hit me in the head, program itself and produce $$$$$$$$$$ (read tons of money).

[sngatlanta]

did you ever get so far as getting a shipping quote and import charges from China?
I know the shipping is around $875 on a machine with a pump and $640 without one in a less than contanier load but trying to figure the duty and port charges is like calculating rocket fuel to get to mars. I'll have to call a forwarding company on monday.

I gotta tell ya after seeing these prices it's going to be hard not to buy the import and use it as is and just let Bill build my plasma machine.

I could pay him by the hour for a long time for support with the savings.

[cabnet636]

but the chinese were in line after all was said and done the prices were within 1000 of each other, i remember shipping at 3500.00 to sc, machine
quotes were disscussed way back in the thread.

robert did this today with router

also i bought machine 1st of dec 07 and return net to me so far is 8900.00
and i have not done any thing that has been related to our existing work

jim

[KeithG]

Yes Bill purchased my machine and refitted it with a vaccum table, a 5hp Colombo spindle and Win CNC. I'm not like some of these guys that are really smart or have plenty of money to play with. I didn't know anything about a cnc router when I started and definitely didn't have lots of money. I didn't just invest in a machine. I invested in Bill. He's helped me a lot more than I ever expected. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, after sale support is as important as a good machine. Think long and hard before you make your decision. If you don't believe me, talk to Jim McGrew (cabnet636). Also, consider that the Chinese machine comes with a 3hp liquid cooled spindle. There's a lot of difference in the price of a 5hp Colombo. Win CNC is about $1,000 more than Mach 3. Good support is priceless! Sounds like a Visa commercial doesn't it !? If you're in Atlanta, why don't you go talk to Bill? He's not that far from Atlanta. Come to Camden and see my machine if you like. Good luck! www.camaster.com
Keith

[KeithG]

That's gotta be the prettiest duck casket I ever seen!!!! :rainfro:
Keith

[sngatlanta]

Thanks, that’s what I needed to know. The machine I would compare with an equivalent domestic built has a 3.0 Kw HSD which is equal to 4 HP, they do have the 3.8 Kw or 5 HP available and they only list HSD fan cooled spindles now.

I absolutely understand the importance of service and it is at the top of my list right under quality. I think the two add up to equal value (there’s a Mr Goodwrench commercial in there for you Jim). In another thread I mentioned that I had been to Bills shop and he spent the better part of the day with me. He even took me out in the field to show me a couple of machines in service and I was able to talk with the shop owner about his experience and applications. There is no doubt that Bill is an asset and will influence my final decision. I also noted in the other thread we will be setting up a plasma machine as well as the router and Bill has offered to build that for us. I still plan on giving EZ Router a look before my finale decision as they have a couple of new machine in production with some upgrades and what looks to be a fair price.
see: http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51383

I’m asking my questions in this thread because they relate directly to the import machines.

Jim, assuming shipping of 3500 (and I think to Atlanta it’s going to be about the same) the difference is more like 6k even after upgrading to Win CNC if I make my own vacuum table. The question for Bill will have to be what make his scratch built the better deal than the import and it may come right back to the service + quality = value issue.

By the way to our mates down under I think someone already sued KFC’s supplier not KFC directly for the cruelty to chickens issue. They probably won a nice settlement in court and get free KFC every Tuesday night for life. Ah American justice…

[cabnet636]

was based on quotes given to one in england, austrailia and two in us

it was an aples to apples to quote before i purchased and upgraded to wincnc

so you probably are right,

and actually at this point i am just DUCKY about my camaster.

walter phillips once a titan of industry and long since passed, told me as i was cleaning his beach on water island of the coast of st. thomas usvi.

"jim, people are happiest when they are paying, then they know what to expect" in my business the low bidder loses!! jim

[KeithG]

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then............