re: ARE TOOLS MADE OVERSEAS OF POOR QUALITY AND IF SO WHO'S TO BLAME

I bought my first Unisaw (right tilt) around 1979. I paid about fifteen for it. Well over ten years later, I bought a left tilt and paid about the same. Up until the current version, with the controls out front, the price of the units did not reflect inflation.

The quality of my left tilt seems as good as the first, though the former might have had a metal motor cover.

Clearly, something changed in manufacturing or marketing to keep the price down. Delta cut its profit, improved manufacturing, outsourced it for cheaper labor, or cheapened the product. I suspect it was a bit of the the latter three.

What is obvious is, better equipment, even China made, is going to leave you a happier camper than had you bought the cheaper model.

Comparing my long gone Craftsman band saws to my Powermatic would be a good example. The Powermatic gets used nearly daily. The Craftsman, far from it, well, I gave two away.