Griot's 3" Random Orbital

delikid

delikid

New member
In my latest Road & Track was an ad for Griot's. They're offering a free catalog and a free DVD of "maching polishing." So, what the hey, I called them. Got the catalog. Watched the vid. It's not *anything* like the one offered by showcargarage.com!



But, in the catalog is an ad for Griot's 3" Random Orbital for $79.99. Now, after using my PC on all the skinny parts of cars, this lil machine has sparked my interest. However, after searching over the autopia forums, I found a numberof less than stellar comments on Griot's machines.



I googled for a 3" random orbital. But, that wasn't much help. Lots of sanders out there. But, I gave up on finding a r.o. polisher after 3 pages of search results.



SO... Can anyone offer comments on Griot's 3" Random Orbital or another solution for a "small area" machine?



Thanks for any wisdoms!



Ian
 
Last I heard, Griot’s machine still hasn’t been released yet.



I tried a prototype for a few seconds when they were doing demos out here in SoCal a couple months back. I think it'll be a decent tool.



It appears to be a knock-off of the Metabo SXE 400, which is a great little buffer/sander. I do use Griot’s pads with my Metabo.





PC.
 
Thanks. Looked up tha specs on the SXE400:



Diameter of supporting plate 3.125 "

No-load speed 5000 - 10000 /min

Output power 100 W

Rated load speed 6000 /min



The Griot's specs (as much as they'll give up)

variable speed control

Output power 240 W

10000 spin/min
 
According to Griot's Web site their electric 3" random is not available because first shipment arrived with quality issues they are correcting. Posted availability date is August. I have purchased SX E 400 in the meantime.
 
I literally was "THIS" close to plunking down the money for that 3" RO from Griot's. I make the phone call to place the order and whamo! back ordered due to quality issues. Thankfully, my local woodworking shop carried the Metabo SXE400 and I haven't looked back since. I actually did some correction work with the SXE400 and attached a 4" orange pad on to it and used Menzerna IP followed up with an orange pad combo with FP and it took out the slight swirling my PDR guy put on. I'm very impressed with the Metabo's smooth operation... almost vibration-less coming from my PC's 4" attachment setup.



For what it's worth, I also use Griot's 3" pads and it works great on the Metabo.



-Mike
 
Any supplier besides Griot offer pads smaller than 4"?

I am considering the smaller Metabo but don't want to us my 4" pads. I have other machines for that.
 
I've spoke to my friend that works there. He said the machine is great, but I guess release date has been set back based on what everyone else has posted. I'll probably pick it up once it has come out cause there's parts on my car and my customer's cars that can definitely use it.
 
I've been searching the web for an SXE400 cheap. Best I have found is $119 delivered. With the Griot's machine being $94.99 delivered, it's hard to figure out if which one is best given there's only a $24 difference.



Of course... there's the pads you'll need, too... So many toys, I mean tools, to choose from! ;)
 
Let’s see, Griot’s machine is made in China for a catalog marketing company that sells mission critical items like carbon fiber ball point pens and Ferrari logo’ed scented candles. And they aren’t selling them yet because they’re having quality problems.



The SXE 400 is made in Germany by a company that’s been manufacturing industrial tools like hammer drills and angle grinders for over 80 years.



Yup, tough choice.



Ok, I don’t mean to pick on Griot’s. I like the company and I’m happy with stuff I buy from them. They even sell some first class tools from well respected manufacturers like FACOM and Wiha. Best of all, Richard really stands behind his products with a lifetime warrantee on everything.



Still, all things considered, I’m impressed the Metabo is only twenty four bucks more.



I think the Griot’s will be an OK machine. But if my Metabo were eaten by sharks this morning I’d buy another one tonight.





PC.
 
Try to think of it this way... My dad always told me "Buy quality tools that you can afford. Take good care of them and they will last you a lifetime."



That's the main reason I bought the Metabo... that and the fact that I have three of their other woodworking tools.



-Mike
 
the other pc said:
Still, all things considered, I’m impressed the Metabo is only twenty four bucks more.
Click to expand...

That is maybe because Griot is selling "his own" tool at "manufacturer's" SRP while Metabo's price is in a channel. If I remember correctly Metabo's MSRP is more than that.



In any case my comment doesn't matter in the end, in the end what matters is final price paid, and that being said, for only $24 more you can get field tested and proven Metabo right now or you can wait months for a promise of something that had initial quality issues and on the paper specs wise is not supposed to be any better. That was a no brainer for me. I got Metabo without thinking twice.
 
I have a friend that bought that machine and it sounded like it wanted to blowup.I would not buy even if they do correct the issue.Spend the 24-25 difference and get a tool you can trust.Thats just my opinion .
 
delikid said:
Even with the smartass comment, PC makes a good point about engineering and "quality issues".
Click to expand...
Fair enough, I apologize for the wisecrack.



At least I mentioned Griot’s is a good company and they have an excellent warrantee policy. If you like it you’re set, and even if you’re not happy with it you can send it back.





PC.
 
the other pc said:
Ok, I don’t mean to pick on Griot’s. I like the company and I’m happy with stuff I buy from them. They even sell some first class tools from well respected manufacturers like FACOM... Best of all, Richard really stands behind his products with a lifetime warrantee on everything. .
Click to expand...



Pardon me for taking this utterly off-topic :o



My Facom ratchets are *constantly* breaking, they're even worse than my Craftsman ones. Meanwhile my decades-old Snap-Ons work like new, even the ones that're a lot older than I am.



I also had one of his fancy low-profile floorjacks jam up with a car on it! A car that was dead in the water until I got another low-profile jack so I could finish the job.



Yeah, GG's replaces stuff after I pay to ship it back (I did get them to pay for the floorjack's shipping, but it took a little doing), but a replacement doesn't help you finish the job that same day ;) Beware of tools of unknown quality.



Disclaimer: I still like Richard. I give him a lot of business and constantly recommend some of his stuff.



Now returning you to the topic at hand, sorry for the thread-jack....
 
When it comes to lifetime warranty there are three kinds of companies: First that design and implement product so reliable that it is highly unlikely to break within the lifetime, which results in adequately higher price. Other that calculate failure rates of average product, rate of returns due to failure (that is not directly related to failure rate, it can be much lower, how many of us are going to spend time and money shipping $5 product with lifetime warranty?), and hike up the price to assure they still make a profit. And then there is third that is a mixture of previous two in varying ratios and approaches.



It is all game of math. Fact that it does have lifetime warranty does not mean it is a high quality product. It just means you are paying one way or the other for that warranty.



P.S. This does not apply to lifetime warranties for electronics, especially computer gear. Those are completely different game. In them manufacturers are counting on product becoming obsolete before it breaks. To quote one "reseller" from many years ago: "I do not mind giving a 5 year warranty on 486 motherboard as I know in 5 years equivalent of such motherboard will be worthless".
 
Accumulator said:
And it seems that relatively few fall into the first category ;)
Click to expand...

At least not anymore. It used to be. It also used to be that even products with non-lifetime warranties were built very robust. Not anymore.
 
So I mailed Griots just to see what reply I'd get: " have been considering getting a Matabo SXE400 for the same tasks as your 3" Random Orbital. Can you provide a spec sheet for the Griot's 3" Random Orbital?"



Thank you for taking the time to email us. Because we are redeveloping our Professional 3" Orbital, I am not able to compare and contrast the two products. The product points we had may be changing with the new machine. One thing I can point out is our price point is going to be $79.99 which as I see is much cheaper than the model you pointed out as well as ours will have a life time guarantee against defects. I hope this information helps somewhat. Keep an eye out for our new machine. It is going to be popular. If you have any additional questions please feel free to reply to this email, or call our Customer Service Department at (800) 345-5789 from 6 am - 6 pm Monday thru Friday and 7 am - 3:30 pm Saturday PST. Thanks again for your email, and have a great day!



Have fun in your garage!



Customer Service Representative

Griot's Garage
 
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