A polite note to beginners from ARC

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

I like the way Ketan is prepared to share the reasoning behind what he does. I remember when he explained his reasoning for withdrawing from the show circuit, as much as I enjoy seeing the trade stands at shows the world has changed and now we can see detailed pictures and specifications with videos of equipment in action all online. I think we forget that many of the suppliers we use have other customers apart from the niche of the home workshop. Full marks from me to Ketan for indulging us with the interesting insights to the import business, unfortunately I had assembled most of my workshop and tooling before Arc entered the fray so my tool acquisition is mainly consumables and things that I develop a need for or just fancy but Arc are well up on my preferred supplier list.

Mike

[Graham MeekParticipant @grahammeek88282]

Ketan has in my experience always given good advice. Whether that advice is taken depends on the person it is directed at. I have known such good advice being shot down because of bias against ARC over some previous issue by a poster. Nine times out of ten the biased advice is somewhat dubious.

How do I know good advice?

Well 5 years as a Technical Apprentice at Dowty's. 30 years as a Toolmaker in jobbing shops and 10 years as Head of the Mechanical Workshops, The Oncology Centre, Cheltenham, has given me the Experience to know.

All that I have purchased from ARC has been of good quality and appropriate for the money paid. It cannot be easy trying to bring tooling and machinery to the market place at a price which people are prepared to pay.

I had better add that I too have never received any payments in kind, or otherwise, for any article written on behalf of ARC.

Regards

Gray,

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by CHARLES lipscombe on 20/05/2020 23:59:16:

Nowadays I usually buy what are obviously ARC items from Ausee here in Australia, simply because that way I avoid horrendous postal charges from the UK. I would be interested to know what the link is between Ausee and ARC.

Hi Charles,

Steven Tao runs Ausee. He is the nephew of the General Manager of one of factories we work with under the SIEG Group. He was sent to ARC for training over a period of six months, before setting up shop in Melbourne.

Ketan at ARC

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Thank you all for your kind comments.

Reading all this now also makes me feel a little embarrassed and silly for creating this thread.

Initially my intentions were to just give polite advice to beginners to be respectful and grateful to the collective for freely sharing knowledge, rather than getting carried away as I did.

At the time of making the post, it felt good to release what I was thinking. However, after further discussions with one or two forum elders, Michael G in particular, and after reading some of the comments on here such as the thought presented by Hopper, I now have a better understanding of how things got miss-understood.

By the response, different from what I was expecting, I can see that I let my ego get the better of me by overthinking negative thoughts. A new lesson learned – thank you all.

Ketan at ARC.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Having read all the above, I have to agree with Ketan and the positive comments.

My justification for my far too many comments on the forum are: Time served, qualified Engineer. (Until 1958 had never seen, let alone handled a lathe or a Milling machine. It was some 25 years later that I next touched a milling machine, and another twenty before I got my first lathe. ) Probably, the high point was being involved in spending £3M a week on one commodity. Pride came before a fall; I was made redundant!

Consequently, although familiar with machining, very much as a spectator in Industry, I have things to learn, and thinking of those coming into the hobby, wish to help them.

Hence my total agreement with Ketan over advising newcomers to be aware of their limitations and not try to sprint before they can even walk, and to learn the absolute basics.

I have to say that I do tend to point prospective purchasers in the direction of ARC. The only gift that I have received from them was when Ian sent the last two batteries of a type that they had stopped stocking, when I returned the incorrect ones..

I admire John Stevenson. He was a good practical Engineer, who would find a solution to many problems that others would consider to be past recovery. How do I know? From his postings on the Forum and meeting him for a very few minutes, face to face.

My dealings with ARC have always been cordial. The service is good, and always friendly and helpful.

When I ordered a Vertical Slide, intending to fit it to my ETR BL12-24, I knew that it would require an adaptor. Ketan's response was "If it doesn't work out, as long as it is unmarked, send it back for a refund" AMAZINGLY fair! That is probably by far the biggest single purchase that I have ever made from ARC.

There was a long post by someone in Australia, who had problems with a lathe, not bought from ARC. Ketan still provide advice and support.

Ketan advises folk about setting preload on bearings; often on machines that ARC have not sold. He is happy to explain why his business trades in the way that it does. I know that he would rather not sell a machine that was unfit for the purchaser's purpose, rather than have a disillusioned customer complaining to all and sundry and costing further sales.l I think that that is an honest way to do business.

So Neil and Jason had a machine for free in return for a review? Carrying out all the checks, writing up the report and taking all the photographs will have taken so much longer, that paying a fraction of the commercial rate for such an investigation would vastly exceed the value of the machine. Often, as a result of such reviews, the feedback results in improvements to the machine in terms of "user friendliness", if not in performance, durability or reliability.

Time to stop rambling

Howard

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Ketan Swali on 21/05/2020 16:08:51:

…

Reading all this now also makes me feel a little embarrassed and silly for creating this thread.

…

At the time of making the post, it felt good to release what I was thinking. However, after further discussions with one or two forum elders, Michael G in particular, and after reading some of the comments on here such as the thought presented by Hopper, I now have a better understanding of how things got miss-understood.

…

A new lesson learned – thank you all.

Ketan at ARC.

No need for an apology; it's not as if Greta Thunberg had been caught shooting baby Black Rhinos from a helicopter.

It's Hopper I feel sorry for. Can't believe he admitted on this Forum to having an Arts Degree!

It's worse than the man who asked for a Gin and Tonic in the Pump Room at Bath.

Dave

[MC Black 2Participant @mcblack2]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 20/05/2020 15:00:54:

I agree about beginners needing to read the series done by Jason and Neil. Perhaps the two authors could cash in and help beginners by publishing both series in booklet form?

That's a great idea.

MC Black

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