I have been looking at getting into intarsia. I saw the ads for the Al Sesona grinder and it looked like a compact precision made machine. I went to the website and clicked on the Free Information Kit link and discovered that it does not work. I should have known something was wrong. Not to be deterred I clicked on the contact link and asked for product information. In about a week I got a letter with price list, with a few pictures and not the clearest descriptions of what he has for sale. Being a machinist by trade he has developed some unique gear for his grinder and given this gear his own unique names. Still not being sure what gear is necessary, what is optional and what is for really high end complex jobs I send him what I though was a simple request, "I got the letter with all of the options and attachments, but I am unclear what I would need to do intarsias". Nearly all business people when asked "What do I need to buy from you" respond with a list of what to buy or try to figure out your needs so they can give you a list. Al's response was,"Google Intarsia on-line and seek enlightening references to provide insight some helpful guidance". He adds to go find a local rock club that does intarsia with one of his grinders and ask them. He then goes on to say how a local lapidary school uses his product and is very happy with it. The problem with Googling intarsia is that you don't find out what Al Sesona grinder products you need. By now I am kind of peeved at his "don't bother me" attitude, but I am not ready to write him off so i email him back. "So you are not going to tell me what pieces of gear I need to buy from you to do intarsia? If that is too much to ask then I will take my business elsewhere". He responds that his grinder comes with a 180 grit lap, tells me the price and adds, "Wish I could be more helpful than that, Paul, but making all component parts for the Grinder requires full time and none available to instruct". I didn't ask for a lesson, just a list. He goes on, "Given your abrasive attitude reply after my taking time to help, I suggest you educate yourself with lapidary before spending hard earned money buying ANY piece of equipment, only to find out your choice wasn't the best choice to assist your hobby needs". I don't consider the first reply of "Google intarsias and find other people using my gear" to be "help". If you can't go to the equipment manufacturer to get "educated" about what you need to buy from the manufacturer, especially considering the unique nature of the equipment, where do you go? I have been doing lapidary for 21 years now, I know very little about intarsia, but I do know that a 180 grit wheel on a flat lap is not all i need by a long shot. I have never run into anyone selling high cost items that makes it so hard to purchase the items. One of the things that I believe distinguishes rockhounding from all of the other hobbies I have had is the helpfullness people show to one another. When I collected comic books, stamps, coins, sci-fi stuff, etc it was about getting there first and getting the time into your collection where it probably stays till the day you die. Rockhounding and lapidary is all about sharing. You may not get invited to load up at someone's gold mine, but more often than not rockhounds will take you to where they discovered the cool rocks. We show off our work and almost all the time we tell folks how we did it so they can make something cool also. That is why Al Sesona struck me as so strange. I like the idea of "the little guy" with some technical skills designing an innovative machine, but if you are unhelpful and hostile to your customers there are plenty of nice, helpful folks you can do business with.
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Topic: Stay away from the Al Sesona grinder!!!!!! (Read 10554 times)