Shars equipmnt

toolroom · Dec 17, 2015

Hi everyone,
I would like to know from y'all if anyone had purchased tooling, i.e. rotary tables, milling attachments, diamond grinding wheels and other types of shop equipment from Shars. Are you satisfied with the purchases. Have you had to return anything? Is everything made in China?
I would really like honest opinions here, and thanks for your time.
toolroom

toolznthings · Dec 17, 2015

I have some good luck with 5-C collet set and precision angle plates and a couple of specialty micrometers. Carbide insert tool holder was nice. I have also thrown numerious items in the trash, literally.

Just have to do some comparison shopping and sometimes hope for the best.
When I buy mill attachments ( rotary table, etc. ) I like Grizzly because you can download instructions and parts assembly drawings to seee how things are made and what if any bearings are used. Their Southbend rotary table is a good example of better construction.

Hope this helps you some.
Brian

GregW · Dec 17, 2015

I purchased a digital readout from Shars for my mill not too long ago. Their customer service is terrible, and don't know if I would shop there again. They sent me a dirty, scratched up scale and I wanted an exchange for a new one. Well, when it was all said and done I got my new scale 4 weeks later after repeated phone calls. It was like they didn't care.

vederstein · Dec 18, 2015

I've been happy with Shars. Yes the stuff is Chinese, but at those prices, you have to expect that. I don't buy anything super big or complex.

The most complex thing I purchased was a new chuck for my lathe. It was clean, moved smoothly, and was within the advertised specifications. My thread on this chuck is below:

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/showthread.php?t=19967

They're fine as long as your expectations are reasonable. I've never had to deal with customer service, so I cannot attest to that.

...Ved.

GailInNM · Dec 18, 2015

I have purchased a fair amount of small tooling items from Shars and have been satisfied with all of it. Most of it was purchased through their eBay dealer "discount_machine", but I did purchase some direct from their website.

They are one of the few places that have a good selection of NMTB30 tooling which is what I use on my Bridgeport CNC mill. All of the end mill holders and two NMTB 30-ER16 holders have been within specification. I do check them when I receive them to make sure everything is okay before I use them.

I have also purchased several 5C collets and they were within specification also. In addition, I have bought several 5C clutch collets. The only tests on them were to make sure they were repeatable as the heads were machined to grip special shapes and sizes.

As I was satisfied with all orders I never had to deal with customer service. Shipping was always prompt and well packed. The last time I ordered was about two years ago so things may have changed.

Gail in NM

toolroom · Dec 19, 2015

WOW, Thanks to you guys, I really do appreciate the time you took to be honest with me on Shars. Yes, I was looking for a D1A1 6x1/2" diamond wheel, and they did reply that all their wheels need to be dressed/trued before using. Special thanks to Brian for your insight on the rotary table 'cause I've wanted one for some time. I do know friends that have shops, and they actually do have Grizzly lathes and love them.
Thanks again all your replies have been greatly appreciated, especially on the customer service end.
Toolroom

GLCarlson · Dec 28, 2015

GregW said:
I purchased a digital readout from Shars for my mill not too long ago. Their customer service is terrible, and don't know if I would shop there again. They sent me a dirty, scratched up scale and I wanted an exchange for a new one. Well, when it was all said and done I got my new scale 4 weeks later after repeated phone calls. It was like they didn't care.

Similar experience with a vise. Came in rusty- fully functional, but rust out of the box in a toolmaker's vise just seemed sloppy. Customer no-service was a PITA; they didn't replace it, eventually offered a small partial refund which wasn't taken. Basically, don't spend more than you can afford to walk away from, and don't expect any customer service.

techonehundred · Dec 28, 2015

My results from Shars are fairly good. I am just a hack and probably wouldn't know the difference unless the tools are way off, so take this review with a grain of salt. I live less than 10 miles from the Chicago suburb warehouse. So when I buy things there I do onsite pickup. One of the problems used to be that there was only one person that spoke english well enough to get what you wanted. In the last two years, they have added a couple of Americans working in the warehouse and I have had very good experiences with that. the only order they have gotten wrong, I was able to talk to the stocker and he worked with me and I found out it was my fault because I transposed some numbers, but he was able to fix the order on the spot. As far as answering the phones, there are very few people and they are always scrambling to fill orders. Hiring one or two more would make things better. I have bought a Kurt style 3" vise that was much better quality than what LMS was displaying at the 2014 Names show. I have multiple end mills, lathe tools, collets, and Indexable lathe tools that I use every day. Granted they are not Kennametal, but I did not pay Kennametal prices. That said, I have good experiences from Shars. They are very convenient for me and I will buy from them again.

rleete · Dec 29, 2015

I've ordered from Shars (on eBay) quite a few times. Same stuff LMS and Grizzly sells, but at slightly better prices. Nothing is packaged any better or worse than any other chinese made stuff.

toolroom · Dec 29, 2015

A big thanks to all who posted an answer to my question on the Shars quality.

Shars equipmnt

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

toolroom

Member

toolznthings

Project of the Month Winner

GregW

Member

vederstein

Must do dumb things....

GailInNM

Administrator

toolroom

Member

GLCarlson

Well-Known Member

techonehundred

Well-Known Member

rleete

Well-Known Member

toolroom

Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Shars equipmnt

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

Member

Project of the Month Winner

Member

Must do dumb things....

Administrator

Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!