Porter-Cable 4210 Dovetail Jig Problem

[ke4rdb]

Just bought a “new” Porter-Cable 4210 dovetail jig, when I got it home and opened it, I found that there was no dovetail bit, template guide, lock nut or T-handled wrench, I also noticed that it looked used. (Small half circle’s routed into the steel template brackets.

Well I had to drive over 70 miles to buy this and thought I would make the best of it. I called PC and they were supposed to ship the missing items, in the mean time I borrowed a friends, dovetail bit and guide to try out the jig. I discovered that anything setup on the left side of the jig was offset by about 1/8” after playing with it for several hours and BF of popular later, nothing I could do would bring it into alignment (the left side guide must have been machined (stamped) wrong or the template was machined wrong. When I tried setting up the jig and cutting on the right side, everything was fine, 1st of dovetails were perfect and then proceeded to make a small box.

Anyway got my PC replacement parts and nothing was right, they sent a straight bit and lock nut, no T- wrench, no template guide. Called them and got real attitude from the phone person, she would not take the parts number or my info and said she already had them and that the 1st phone person just made a mistake and that it would be 10 to 15 days for parts to arrive, man she was just plain nasty. Well anyway to make a long story short contacted the retailer who without any question replaced the unit (I was trying not to have to go to the retailer as I believed it was not there fault and went to PC instead, mistake). They think it was a return to the PC factory that was repacked and shipped as new. Got the new one home and all is well with it, everything was there and even thou I have not used it all should be well.

Well PC has lost a customer for any of there other products, but the retailer has gained one.

JW

[jackellis]

I understand why you're frustrated. While I'm not especially partial to Porter Cable (or most other manufacturers), before you give up try writing a letter to the parent company CEO and explain what happened.

Whoever was on the phone that day could have been having a bad day. Happens to all of us, and especially to me (born curmudgeon). In my opinion, its unfair to blame the company for a single employee's bad day. OTOH, if they're surly and difficult, well that's another matter.

I did run into a situation where the company (AT&T in this case) was at fault. Since they merged with SBC Communications, there's been an artificial division inside the organization between the "Old" AT&T, which provided long distance service, and the "New" AT&T, which provides local and cellular service. Each time a customer rep tried to explain the distinction, I politely but firmly explained to them that as a consumer, I didn't give a rat's a** about the distinction. AT&T is AT&T. If one side of the house still hasn't sorted out billing with the other, that's a problem of their making. It goes without saying that I'm not buying any services from them that I don't absolutely have to.

[dkerfoot]

Well anyway to make a long story short contacted the retailer who without any question replaced the unit (I was trying not to have to go to the retailer as I believed it was not there fault and went to PC instead, mistake). They think it was a return to the PC factory that was repacked and shipped as new. Got the new one home and all is well with it, everything was there and even thou I have not used it all should be well.

Well PC has lost a customer for any of there other products, but the retailer has gained one.

JW

I'd suggest it is much more likely that the retailer repackaged a return.

Generally manufacturer's have tight controls over processes like this, along with checklists and sign-offs. Also, it is easy to find "refurbished" PC products, so it appears to me that they have a good policy regarding not reselling returned products as new.

While the person you work with at the retailer may be a good guy, how much faith do you place in the judgment and knowledge of their most junior employee? Sounds like a "clueless stock-boy" error to me. But of course, retailers NEVER blame their own mistakes on the manufacturer...