Having run a Kwik-Way 30 years ago , I just couldn't bring myself to buying a bar made in China , let alone one made in India where quite a bit of machinery production seem's to be shifting twords.
Before driving to Georgia and taking a chance of paying too much for a machine that parts were no longer made for ( we can always make our own ) I searched around and found that Irontite took over the valve grinder and flywheel turning machines and had some left over parts like stock type boring bits and drive belts . But for the most part everything went to Craig .
I asked Joe at Irontite what happened to an iconic company like Kwik-Way . He said that they were having a hard time getting good casting's for the main housing as well as other outside parts. Every year they ordered less and less volume. To the point where some vendors couldn't afford to deal with them . The tooling was old and pretty well worn , and no one was willing to reinvest is a dwindling market . He said they kept the two products they could produce and still make a profit , at least for the time being . Pretty sad , what we have done to our self's .
So next I spoke to Craig , he said he had gears , shaft's , bushings , bearings , feed screw's , pretty much anything I needed to get one up and running, even if it has been sitting for quite a while . It was nice to speak with someone who cares for these machines more so today , than when he started with the company three decades ago.
The big thing seem's to be the micrometer . Or course they are no longer available . Guys on flee-bay want 1K for one that's beat up . They usually sell the machine "missing a few tools" and then sell the gotta have it's later for a crazy price . Craig didnt have one at the time , but he said he sell's one that he true's the contact face and re-calibrates for $500.
The other thing is the "cat whiskers" that it takes to cover the 3 - 4.5 inch range . Three or four sets of three whiskers @ $100 ea whisker starts to add up pretty quick .
So I left for Georgia , expecting the worse , but was presently suprized to find a closed-up auto parts store straight out of the 60's . We had to look around , but found EVERYTHING . I paid the man what he was asking , swapped a few stories of days gone by and away I went . I couldn't help but look in the rear view mirror , glancing at the old gal , knowing she was built in a time when factory workers took pride in what they were making . Assemblers who took time to shim every tolerance perfectly , even if it meant pulling the unit apart more than once . Not worrying if the management team was going to pull them off the floor for " being incompetent" .
30 years ago , I didn't see any of that . I ran one because it was a way to make a pay check .. today , it's more like riding an old flathead , flying in a Piper Cub or being lucky enough to take a tour of Chris Carson's outboard museum room .... Perhaps that's why the Kwik-Way gods have entrusted me with such a fine specimen of an era gone by ..