Crappy carbatec products

[DiRob]

:(( Who else is dissatisfied with carbatec products . So far for me three strikes ,13 inch spiral thicknesser? Arrived with anti kickback fingers broken,excalabur scroll saw broken parallel arm attachment,8 inch sander had to modify switch position to adjust the drive belt.slow learner I guess.

[Wrongwayfirst]

Seems I am the odd one out, carbatec have given me good service and have had no issue with products......machinery warehouse (hafco) on the other hand will never see my credit card details again.

[elderly]

Happy to say that I have not had any problems with either of them.
Cheers Frank.

[spokeshave]

The first table saw i got from Carbatec had a broken casting on the blade tilt mechanism, this was replaced immediately with quick and friendly service. I also ordered a set of thicknesser blades and all i recieved was an empty post-pack, this was also rectified no problem with a replacement set.

Everything else i have bought since has been fine.

I suspect the damage to my table-saw was done in transit.

Steven.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Sad to hear that you have had such a bad run. I'm pleased to say that I have had great service from both Carba-Tec and Hare and Forbes. I have had three of the latter's machines fail electrically within their 12 month warranty period BUT, in each case they have been prompt, efficient and courteous in their repairs, in one case supplying a higher quality replacement motor for my saw.

When I have had some minor supply problems with Carba-Tec's call centre I only had to make a comment to their salesman to immediately get put onto a senior manager. He was more than eager to hear about the problem so that he could fix it. That indicated to me that Carba-tec are serious about service, but, like any company can be let down occasionally. They seem keen to address that though. They have alot of sales and sometimes too much success can cause some failures - if you see that.

So, all I can suggest is talking gently to them and see if they come to the party. BTW, I am just a consumer, I have no affiliations with either firm.

Good luck and best wishes for future transactions.

[rod1949]

Never had any issues with the machinery/gear that I have brought over the years from the Carbatec Balcatta shop :2tsup:

[DiRob]

I may not have been entirely fair with Carbatec. My problem is with their quality checks when a product is to be posted some distance from where it is bought They should be checking the item before posting. I live at least two and a half hours from the nearest depot and while they come good with item purchased it is the inconvenience of returning them that is a pain

[Albert]

Bought some corner clamp from Carbatec, the clamp are made of plastic and it was like $29 for 1 corner clamp, bought 4 of them, 2 weeks later I bought myself proper Lamello corner clamps.

I wont criticise the clamp on how easy they break, they were inadequate from the outset and I should have known better.

[nrb]

I bought a table saw from them a couple of years ago,bearing locks on arbour came loose and seized up,they picked it up from home by taxi truck,fixed it then sent it back.
Good service no problems,a tick from me

[goldman]

When it comes to Carbatec I must say that I now find having to go through their call centre in Brisbane is sometimes quite a difficult experience. I have phoned them often and found that the person I was speaking to had little idea of what I required, and their knowledge of what Carbatec actually carry was not up to scratch. Maybe I am old school, but a customer talking to someone you know and trust in your local store is where I would prefer to be. In fact, I have given up on a couple of occasions and bought elsewhere.
One could also say, with their new website - it now lacks a great deal of product that Carbatec carry, so that is also frustrating when one is looking for a particular product. With respect their web site could be substantially improved.
I was going to buy a Festool 55mm plunge saw, but even in their search engine, it won't appear. I ended up going elsewhere to buy mine.

[ajw]

I don't like the new carbatec website either. I also searched for some festool products and couldn't find them. I ended up getting a TS55 from Sydney Tools. Their website was accurate, and the service great.

i hope carbatec lift their game on the online front. I'm happy with the in-store service (Sydney) but online leaves a bit to be desired.

cheers,

ajw

[Mobyturns]

I don't like the new carbatec website either. I also searched for some festool products and couldn't find them. I ended up getting a TS55 from Sydney Tools. Their website was accurate, and the service great.

i hope carbatec lift their game on the online front. I'm happy with the in-store service (Sydney) but online leaves a bit to be desired.

cheers,

ajw

I don't think you are alone there. In the past I have had good customer experiences and have found their customer complaint resolution to be quite good on the odd occasion that I had a problem. However I haven't purchased anything from Carbatec since they "upgraded" their website, much rather deal with others now.

I find it very frustrating and quite frankly astounding to see pathetic grainy images of products on an online store website. eg https://www.carbatec.com.au/clamping-vices-and-workholding/holddowns/clamp-toggle-gh-302f

There is no way I am going to base my purchasing decisions on an image like that and I'm not going to visit each one of these links https://www.carbatec.com.au/search?ProductSearch=toggle%20clamps to see if i have got the right one by luck. Oh there is the hidden clue with the product code under the title but the image is cr*p.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/power-tools/accessories/kreg-heavy-duty-trak-48 same again here does it have radiused or square corners in the extrusion??

https://www.carbatec.com.au/workshop-accessories/workshop-hardware-and-fittings/3-8-16t-10-3-8-16-propell-n Or which items is this in the photo? Product C,D,E, or F? At least to the initiated they know it has to be one of them but to the inexperienced which one is it? Does it have 3, 4 or 6 prongs???

Again, which track is it in the image? https://www.carbatec.com.au/workshop-accessories/workshop-hardware-and-fittings/3-double-t-slot-track-veritas after a bit of re-reading and some Sherlock Holmes deduction one comes to the conclusion it is 2nd from left, the installed 2nd from left that is???

There seems to be an assumption through out the whole site that the customer is well informed and knows what they are looking for and knows what the product does or what the benefits of one item over another may be.

Sorry Carbatec you need to sort this stuff out. McJings site is much easier to navigate. After my last two purchasing experiences where "specials" were not actually in stock and I had to wait several weeks for the order to be totally complete I am now more than a little wary.

[Chris Parks]

I was looking for a half speed grinder and saw this https://www.carbatec.com.au/sharpening-grinding-and-polishing/sharpening-machines-and-accessories/sharpening-machines/wide-stone-grinder-6-slow-speed

I noticed it said half speed but rotated at 2800 rpm so I rang up to clarify whether it was either half speed and the RPM was wrong or high speed and the half speed description was wrong. The bloke on the other end of the phone basically told me I did not know what I was talking about; that was many months ago and it is still misleading on the website. Apart from that I have found their service pretty damned good and had no problems.

[derekcohen]

Never had any issues with the machinery/gear that I have brought over the years from the Carbatec Balcatta shop :2tsup:

Ive known the guys in Perth for 25 years, from before they were Carbatec. They are like family! The Perth Carbatec has always produced excellent service.

It seems as though stores may vary, or that bad luck travels in threes.

Regards from cold Cornwall

Derek

[aldav]

https://www.carbatec.com.au/power-tools/accessories/kreg-heavy-duty-trak-48 same again here does it have radiused or square corners in the extrusion??

Since when is 4 feet 1,016mm? In their defence they do state that standard 1/4" bolts fit the track. Of course you may not have wanted to use 1/4" fasteners with it. A proper drawing of the profile with measurements wouldn't be hard to provide, bet you could find one on a Kreg website. I wonder if M6 bolts fit well?

[P.W.H.]

Since when is 4 feet 1,016mm? In their defence they do state that standard 1/4" bolts fit the track. Of course you may not have wanted to use 1/4" fasteners with it. A proper drawing of the profile with measurements wouldn't be hard to provide, bet you could find one on a Kreg website. I wonder if M6 bolts fit well?

I got some Rockler track from Carbatec, and M6 bolt heads don't really want to go in there. Fortunately I got more than enough T-bolts to go with it in the kit. I have what I think are 1/4" bolts also from taking this and that apart, and the heads are too fat to want to fit the track - vertically.
Might be due to US and Brit 1/4" head sizes being different, not sure. Kreg track may well be different for all I know.

In general terms, on the subject of Carbatec NZ, I can only say that the service is very helpful and friendly. The three machines I bought from them (Jet dust extractor, Carbatec 15" thicknesser and 8" long bed jointer) are all solid machines. Unfortunately, the quality control of the boxed machines in MY experience is horrid. Loose bolts, machines not fixed down properly in the crates, motor not fixed properly inside cabinet - trashing it internally. We can't really even blame Carbatec for that, because they obviously receive the machines in boxes that are nailed shut in China. But I feel it really would not hurt if they gave their suppliers a rev-up. This kind of nonsense is not going to do their reputation any good, and into the bargain it may cost them money. If it were not for the 4 1/2 hour drive to the store, I would have asked for a new jointer cabinet, due to the motor swinging off one bolt inside and a clear forklift indent on the outside. :(

[cava]

We can't really even blame Carbatec for that, because they obviously receive the machines in boxes that are nailed shut in China.
Actually you can.

[Yanis]

I was looking for a half speed grinder and saw this https://www.carbatec.com.au/sharpening-grinding-and-polishing/sharpening-machines-and-accessories/sharpening-machines/wide-stone-grinder-6-slow-speed

I noticed it said half speed but rotated at 2800 rpm so I rang up to clarify whether it was either half speed and the RPM was wrong or high speed and the half speed description was wrong. The bloke on the other end of the phone basically told me I did not know what I was talking about; that was many months ago and it is still misleading on the website. Apart from that I have found their service pretty damned good and had no problems.

To be perfectly accurate a high speed bench grinder runs at about 6,000-8,000 rpm and uses resin wheels. They are typically used for fast rough grinding by steel fabricators. Don't see them around much any more.

John

[Handyjack]

The wide stone grinder is now described as slow speed.
https://www.carbatec.com.au/sharpening-grinding-and-polishing/sharpening-machines-and-accessories/sharpening-machines/wide-stone-grinder-6-slow-speed

[Chris Parks]

The wide stone grinder is now described as slow speed.
https://www.carbatec.com.au/sharpening-grinding-and-polishing/sharpening-machines-and-accessories/sharpening-machines/wide-stone-grinder-6-slow-speed

And has an RPM of 2800 which is not slow speed.

[Sturdee]

And has an RPM of 2800 which is not slow speed.

My slow speed grinder bought a few years ago from Carbatec has a speed of 1425 rpm. It is the Creuzen 6" one but they no longer stock it. Here are the details as listed on Axminster's website (http://www.axminster.co.uk/creusen-hp7500ts-powerline-grinder-slow-speed-510061).

Carroll's also used to sell them and they may have one left worth an email to find out.

Peter.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

I also can't complain about in-store service in Brisbane, nor about their freight staff who are pleasant and excellent, BUT, the website is so vague in the descriptions that I have to search elsewhere to find what they are talking about. I also agree that the website search is very poor and, have, like others, purchased elsewhere instead of trying to figure out which item they actually mean.

Come on Carbatec, this is the internet age, fix your web site - it was MUCH better before you "improved it".