Menard's; Wilton out, PerformaX in

[Doug Jones]

Stopped in at Menard's after work to get some wood glue and took a stroll through the tool section. Went to look at the Wilton lathe they usually have stocked for $99. Noticed there were none and in its place was a PerformaX lathe for $119. It looks like the same lathe but different colors. Wilton was blue, PerformaX is red. Then I took a gander at some of the other Wilton stuff that use to be there and they are all now red PerformaX tools, the lathe, bench grinder, planer, miter saw, and a few others. For those of you that might not no it, Wilton, PerformaX, and Powermatic are all the same company,
WMH Tool Group http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com/
I wonder if WMH wasn't getting the attention and sales from the Wilton line based on the "not" known brand name. So they changed the color put one of their better known names on it hike the price a bit and try it that way?

**shameless plug**
If the lathe is the same (I suspect it is) even at $119, I think this is a very good starter lathe or a dedicated pen lathe.

[drumpriest]

It's my understanding that they make the lathe sold by PSI, as well as the one now sold under the M-Power label at Rockler. Anyone else hear this??

[Ed62]

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new circular saw. Went to Menards. They had several models to choose from, and there was a Skilsaw and a Bosch next to each other. They were identical in every detail except the color. Same current draw, same plate, identical screws, even storage for the wrench in the handle. I remember the Bosch was about $10.00 higher. I have the Skilsaw. I always thought they were made by a different company, but now I'm not so sure.

Ed

[LCHIEN]

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new circular saw. Went to Menards. They had several models to choose from, and there was a Skilsaw and a Bosch next to each other. They were identical in every detail except the color. Same current draw, same plate, identical screws, even storage for the wrench in the handle. I remember the Bosch was about $10.00 higher. I have the Skilsaw. I always thought they were made by a different company, but now I'm not so sure.

Ed

From the BT3 FAQ. Bosch tool group owns Skil, Rotozip, Bosch, Dremel and Vermont American:

Tool manufacturers/brands/Families

BD -

Black and Decker tools, also owner of DeWalt, Porter-Cable, Delta, deVilbiss and Oldham
Bosch – Robert Bosch Tool Corp (Bosch, Skil, Rotozip, Dremel, VA)
CH – Campbell Hausfeld – manufactures air compressors and air tools
DW - DeWalt

PC -

Porter Cable

TTI – TechTronic Industries Co. Ltd. Hong Kong (Ryobi, Homelite, Dirt Devil, OWT, and soon,
Milwaukee)
OWT - One World Technologies, subsidiary of TTI, manufacturer of Ridgid bench and stationary
woodworking tools
Pentair – former owner of Delta/Porter-Cable

Ridgid

– power tool maker, formerly owned by Emerson, now owned by OWT, a Techtronics
Ind. Company, probably made in Ryobi factories.

Ryobi

– Ryobi Tools is owned by Techtronics Industries Co., Ltd.; Ryobi lawn and garden
equipment, sporting goods are separate companies now.

Skil

– a division of Robert Bosch Tool Co.
VA - Vermont American

WMH –

WMH tool group, owner of Jet, Performax, Wilton, Powermatic tools
Crapsman – derogatory reference to Sears Craftsman, whose tools are made by many different
manufacturers under contract to Sears.

Grizzly

– Manufacturer of hand, bench, and stationary power tools, less highly promoted than the
big name brands. Sold only through Grizzly mail/internet but affiliated with Amazon.

[Ed62]

Very interesting, Loring. Thanks.

Ed

[JSCOOK]

Milwaukee is now listed on their website, so you might want to edit out the "soon" ... I was shocked to see that "Homelite" was listed, grew up using that brand of chainsaw for many years (family has run a Tree Service business for almost 40 years now)

IIRC, TTI was recently discussed as part of one of those documentaries about China/Hong Kong and their impact on the North America economy and manufacturing ...

TTI – TechTronic Industries Co. Ltd. Hong Kong (Ryobi, Homelite, Dirt Devil, OWT, and soon,
Milwaukee)

[germdoc]

The Wilton/PM lathe is a decent lathe for pen turning, wine stoppers and the like. It has a variable speed which is nice. It's pretty underpowered for any serious bowl or spindle turning, so if that's what you're into I'd look at the Rikon, Jet or other midilathes.