[jdclark]

The company is employee-owned so it's unlikely that it was sold. From what I heard Greg and his co-founder arranged that about 6 months before he died. I think that Bob Warfield had something about it at the time on his CNC Cookbook blog.

Employee owned is one of those things that sounds good in theory, like a hippie commune, but seldom works in practice. A small company needs a leader with a vision to make it work- relying on a committee usually ends up in disarray.

[keen]

I was wondering that too....I hate to moan... but I have been getting really frustrated with the lack of response to my and others emails - I have to resend and cc to get a response, and then only one question is usually answered. This is happening with emails to Tormach admin and technical.

[keen]

I think the problem is getting people to move to Wisconsin, so I hear from a Tormach employee. Whether true or not, don know. I know I would not want to go from The Austin area to BFE Wisconsin, unless you really made it worth my while.

Please summarize why that - I have only toured the west coast and across to Rockies areas, and loved it ! (live in New Zealand) I don't know the central/southern/eastern states at all.

Cheers Keen

[eltejano]

Please summarize why that - I have only toured the west coast and across to Rockies areas, and loved it ! (live in New Zealand) I don't know the central/southern/eastern states at all.

Cheers Keen

It is not exactly the most exciting part of the world there. Milwaukee and Chicago are nearby, they have fresh cheese curds which are delish, but not much to do. I visited the area before and it was great. Milwaukee has around 600,000 inhabitants and Madison about 250,000. Probably a great place to raise a family. The winters are no joke, this one in particular. I do not want to offend anyone but it is kinda boring. Dont get me wrong, I like boring, I live in the burbs in a town where not much exciting happens and I like it that way.

[keen]

It is not exactly the most exciting part of the world there. Milwaukee and Chicago are nearby, they have fresh cheese curds which are delish, but not much to do. I visited the area before and it was great. Milwaukee has around 600,000 inhabitants and Madison about 250,000. Probably a great place to raise a family. The winters are no joke, this one in particular. I do not want to offend anyone but it is kinda boring. Dont get me wrong, I like boring, I live in the burbs in a town where not much exciting happens and I like it that way.

OK..I see. So is Tormach there because Greg Jackson was, and Greg liked it there.. because of yachting in the nearby lakes? Keen

[SomeWhatLost]

The winters are no joke

oh they are not that bad, quite similar to Keen's NZ winters... he would fit right in!
average of ~1.4 Meters snowfall a year...
generally about -11C, but can get as low as -32C and stay there for a while... add in windchill effects, and it gets a little nippy after a bit... but still, not all that different from NZ...
on the plus side, it can get up to the low 40's C in the summer so that helps balance things out a bit...

but yea, it is kind of the middle of nowhere... not much to do... could go cow tipping for fun, they do have a bunch of them just standing around over there...

so wadda you say Keen? going to move? whip those Tormach guys back into shape?

[keen]

oh they are not that bad, quite similar to Keen's NZ winters... he would fit right in!
average of ~1.4 Meters snowfall a year...
generally about -11C, but can get as low as -32C and stay there for a while... add in windchill effects, and it gets a little nippy after a bit... but still, not all that different from NZ...
on the plus side, it can get up to the low 40's C in the summer so that helps balance things out a bit...

but yea, it is kind of the middle of nowhere... not much to do... could go cow tipping for fun, they do have a bunch of them just standing around over there...

so wadda you say Keen? going to move? whip those Tormach guys back into shape?

Ha! ...you spotted my curiosity. I have always wanted to live/work a few years in the US of A....despite all the problems it has, it still seems very appealing. I spent 4 months there once and loved it. The people are real characters. I imagine small town/rural culture would be a lot like NZ.

Cheers Keen

[eltejano]

oh they are not that bad, quite similar to Keen's NZ winters... he would fit right in!
average of ~1.4 Meters snowfall a year...
generally about -11C, but can get as low as -32C and stay there for a while... add in windchill effects, and it gets a little nippy after a bit... but still, not all that different from NZ...
on the plus side, it can get up to the low 40's C in the summer so that helps balance things out a bit...

but yea, it is kind of the middle of nowhere... not much to do... could go cow tipping for fun, they do have a bunch of them just standing around over there...

so wadda you say Keen? going to move? whip those Tormach guys back into shape?

ONLY 1.4 meters of snow? Well.. if that is all....

I have not seen snow since I was in Denmark 5 years ago. And almost 4.5 feet of snow in insane. I just could not imagine dealing with such a thing year in and year out. I am used to spending half my Christmases wearing shorts and T-shirts. And 12f to as much as -25?! No thank you.

Younger people that grow up in the cold and snow want to move away from it more and more every year. The Austin area, unfortunately, is one of those places SUFFERING from the influx. We have great weather, low crime, awesome suburbs and a ton of crap to do. And no snow or cold winters.

Plus so often now, people want to experience somewhere new. I rarely meet someone that is from here, most people are from somewhere like Madison, a small town with not much going on.

[eltejano]

Ha! ...you spotted my curiosity. I have always wanted to live/work a few years in the US of A....despite all the problems it has, it still seems very appealing. I spent 4 months there once and loved it. The people are real characters. I imagine small town/rural culture would be a lot like NZ.

Cheers Keen

One thing about the US, it is so different from state to state. Or from county to county. Take where I live, for example. I live in a town named Round Rock in Williamson county. One of the most conservative counties in America. The law does not play around here, they throw the book at criminals and toss the key. But. people are friendlier, and everything is just a little nicer. The you go a few minutes south to Travis county, the home of Austin, TX. One of the most liberal cities in America, second only to San Francisco. It is the only place in the country where it is worded in our law that women have the right to go topless in public if they so please. It is not quite as nice or as clean as Williamson county and the level of quality of everything from gas stations to restaurants is not quite as nice in general. These two counties can be night and day from each other.

It really is something else over here. I truly love taking road trips around this country and just meeting new people and seeing different cultures from the smallest towns in the middle of the desert to the most crowded ghettos in the middle of Washington DC and NY. I love it all.

Americans take this for granted too much, in my opinion, all the different cultures within our borders.

[bfnt77]

I have to say that I have been watching this thread and it has made me a little hesitant to order a mill. I have had my quote sitting on my desk for a week and have yet to pull the trigger because I'm curious if Tormach is having some bigger issues. The last thing I want to do is drop the money on an 1100 and 6 months later not have any support for it. It would be nice if someone from Tormach could chime in on this.

[jttoner]

Keen, as long as you stay as far away as possible from the big cities, you'll like it and us. I live in a small and conservative working class community. I can actually safely go out at night, at least for the time being. If you ever get out this was there will be a nice traditional American meal waiting for you at our diner. Unfortunately it's located in an area known as "Little Gaza", but it's still reasonably safe.

[eltejano]

Keen, as long as you stay as far away as possible from the big cities, you'll like it and us. I live in a small and conservative working class community. I can actually safely go out at night, at least for the time being. If you ever get out this was there will be a nice traditional American meal waiting for you at our diner. Unfortunately it's located in an area known as "Little Gaza", but it's still reasonably safe.

There are certain maps out there featuring only 2 colors. There is one color you want to stay away from. The other is safe and friendly. HAHA

[keen]

Keen, as long as you stay as far away as possible from the big cities, you'll like it and us. I live in a small and conservative working class community. I can actually safely go out at night, at least for the time being. If you ever get out this was there will be a nice traditional American meal waiting for you at our diner. Unfortunately it's located in an area known as "Little Gaza", but it's still reasonably safe.

Wow...cheers...that's what I mean...a country full of great people.

[keen]

I have to say that I have been watching this thread and it has made me a little hesitant to order a mill. I have had my quote sitting on my desk for a week and have yet to pull the trigger because I'm curious if Tormach is having some bigger issues. The last thing I want to do is drop the money on an 1100 and 6 months later not have any support for it. It would be nice if someone from Tormach could chime in on this.

Yes back on the thread subject. There is concern out there about Tormach currently, and it would be good to hear some reassurance from senior management..... (or a 'team leader')

Potential buyers are concerned, and current owners have a lot invested and at stake. Keen

[oneineight]

I have to say that I have been watching this thread and it has made me a little hesitant to order a mill. I have had my quote sitting on my desk for a week and have yet to pull the trigger because I'm curious if Tormach is having some bigger issues. The last thing I want to do is drop the money on an 1100 and 6 months later not have any support for it. It would be nice if someone from Tormach could chime in on this.

I think Tormach's problems are growing pains.
And this warehouse thing will lead to faster shipping.

[bfnt77]

I hope that's the case. I finally found someone in my area that had an 1100 that I could go check out and I liked the machine for what I'll use it for.

[Steve Seebold]

Ugh, you guys talking about snow makes me cold just reading about it.

My PCNC1100 is in my garage in San Clemente, California where on a "really cold day" the temperature might dip all the way down to 52 degrees.

I like it here. The weather here never gets cold enough for me to wear long pants or long sleeve shirts. I haven't worn long pants in over 15 years and I see no reason to start any time soon.

[eltejano]

If I was told Tormach was in trouble, I would still buy al 1100. Actually, I did. a few weeks old.

Bang for your buck, you can't beat it. The huge online community around these, and the simplicity or repair and maintenance is so easy I would not be too scared about it. There area ton of machines out there that have almost zero community involvement, and have a handful of videos online of them even working. All the parts are easily sourced and replace-able.

Sure, I paid the extra for the support but one of the big factors was the large community behind these. Look at all the popular youtube channels that have been centered around a Tormach mill. Which translates to a lot of knowledge out there about these.

Oh, Z-bot LLC that makes the tool changer, I go by there from time to time and they are going non stop. They just hired a friend of mine to keep up with the ATC and the Smartcool manufacture.

I learnt on a communal Tormach 1100 at Techshop. This thing is beat to **** and it is still, after adjusting the gibs, almost just as accurate as my 3 week old one. X axis motor, r8 collet are the only things, to my knowledge, that have been replaced. It is oiled every day and kept clean. I think the X stepper conduit had to be replaced too.

Plus pathpilot is Linux and it is open source. If something happened, the Linux CNC community would have a field day with it.

So I am not too worried.

[bfnt77]

All of those reasons are what attracted me to Tormach in the first place. I like the idea of being able to do all maintenance and repairs myself. I suppose I could always just order an extra spindle to keep on the shelf and call it good.

[tmarks11]

... it would be good to hear some reassurance from senior management..... (or a 'team leader'). Potential buyers are concerned, and current owners have a lot invested and at stake. Keen

Tormach has seemed to have a long standing company policy NOT to participate in CNC Zone. Greg Jackson (RIP) would occasionally comment.