I have just had a wonderful experience with McMaster-Carr.
I’m just a small-time garage hobbiest. All thumbs and no talent. But I enjoy it. I spend, max, total, all-in, maybe a $500 a year on the hobby.
I had a need to make a few cuts through a 6x6x8” block of silicon. (Not silicone). I read that a diamond blade could do it. None of the machine shops in the area (I called 27) had such a blade, could cut silicon, or could give me a reference to who could. A high-end water-jet shop said they also could not. Yeah, I’ve heard of EDM or such, but I ran out of energy trying to find a shop in my area able, and willing to do for a hobbiest.
So, I bit the bullet and decided I’d try it myself. After some internet clicking I found three sources of diamond blades for my 4x6 HF bandsaw. $120, $130, and $140. And, I had no way to evaluate them further. Well, I had had a couple of generally positive experiences with McMaster-Carr (I normally am more of a Harbor Freight and EBay Chinesium sort of fellow) so, spent the extra $20 and ordered the $140 McMaster-Carr blade.
I think they must send the order out to some shop—I don’t really know who makes it for them. But, two weeks later (as they said), the blade shows up.
Much to my amazement, it cuts the silicon very nicely. (No, not the 6x6x8 block—that was too big for the 4x6 no matter how I worked to properly support it. I put a diamond blade on a 12” sliding miter saw and made the initial cuts with that. (No cooling/lubricant) Large chip-out (like up to 1/2” chips) no matter how slowly I entered or how light the pressure. The 14amp motor and blade I bought cut at a square inch every two minutes. Slow. Took a while to get a 6x6 slice. But, it did work to get down to 4x6 band saw size.). The $140 diamond blade, on the $200 HF saw, cut silicon quite nicely. Almost no chip-out. Slow, but, I’ve got time.
So, I am cutting up some silicon pieces. Generally cutting 2” wide pieces and 6” deep. 12 square inches a cut. (About 2 minutes per square inch. I have not explored more pressure—am using as much as I normally use and know that my blades all stay straight) Got in 4 nice cuts. And, midway through the 5th cut, the blade broke. The $140 blade, broke. Nothing special about that cut. No twisting. No funny sounds.
OK, not like I lost my life savings or anything. But still, for my budget, this was a significant disappointment. (I was still just getting pieces down to proper project size—so, still needed to do another dozen cuts)
Well, I emailed McMaster-Carr. (Yes, this project report is about them) and asked if they could repair (it was a clean break, seems like someone with a blade welder could fix it right up) or if there was some sort of warranty on it. (I have never heard of a warranty on a consumable, like a saw blade, but heck, it is worth asking.)
Much much to my surprise McMaster-Carr agreed that a properly used blade should not have broken at 50 square inches of cutting, and said they would send me a (free) replacement!
I was gobsmacked. And, today (10 days later), the new replacement blade showed up. Not only zero charge, even for shipping, but zero paper work needed on my part. Wonderfully amazing.
This is simply exceptional customer relationship management. I am so glad I bought from them and, for my non-Chinesium purchases, purchases that are investments, and not disposable, I am certainly going to keep buying from them.
Yeah, McMaster-Carr is a big company. I have no doubt others have experienced them in a negative way at some point. But in this instance, they gave absolutely A+ service.
Oh, and when I finish my little silicon project, yes, I will post.
-Bill
