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“Best” is of course always relative. For one person it means value for money, for another absolute power and quality. Record's woodworking machines sit somewhere between the two. You do not have to pay a fortune for a Record machine, but the price is somewhat higher than comparable Chinese supermarket brands. Record's value for money is nevertheless perhaps the best on the market. Here is the reasoning.
Bandsaws: the new Sabre ranges are Record's exclusive products, designed for professional needs. The brakes, for instance, are replaceable and last between 30,000 and 100,000 start-stop cycles depending on the model. Record generally uses cast iron wheels rather than light alloy ones, from the BS300 model upwards. The table is mounted to the tilt mechanism against a CNC-machined surface instead of simply being bolted on, which guarantees that the table is square to the mechanism and the blade. In other machines in the same price class the table is usually just bolted to a cast surface on a relatively thin table plate.
Particular attention has been paid to the blade tensioning mechanism in two ways: the mechanism is made especially durable so that sufficient tension is possible, which is a precondition for straight cutting, and the tension can be released quickly with a lever and returned to the preset setting with the same lever. Blades should, after all, be slackened when the saw is not in use.
Record does not save on iron when it comes to machine frames. Many others rely on plastic and sheet metal; Record relies on iron and steel. That adds weight, and Record's machines are often the heaviest in their class.
Record's wet grinder is of good quality but admittedly a simple device. It does what the others do, with one difference: its shaft is stainless steel. Most other machines in the same price class make do with an ordinary shaft, and the problem is that it rusts very quickly. The stone rusts onto the shaft and eventually has to be broken free.
The only genuinely better machines are Tormek's grinders, where the details, the finish and the materials are taken further still. Tormek's equivalents, the T-4 (200 mm) and T-8 (250 mm), are however clearly more expensive, by around 40 per cent. In a machine this simple there are no high speeds or rotating masses in play; what matters is the bearing and straightness of the shaft, the material (stainless versus ordinary steel), the protection of the motor from dust and dirt, and the rigidity and adjustability of the rest. Tormek is the Rolls Royce of wet grinders, but Record wins on value for money — especially since Record's grinders come with a diamond stone dresser, which costs 70 to 90 euros depending on the brand. It is also worth noting that Record's and Tormek's sharpening jigs fit each other.
Record Power is privately owned, so decisions are not dictated by capital investors and short-term profit-seeking. That has a surprisingly large effect on strategy: instead of chasing short-term returns for investors, the company builds a quality brand and reliability.
Record's machines are made in the same factory they have been made in for years. The company does not follow the practice of, for example, a certain British chain that sources a new manufacturer for its machines almost every year on the basis of tenders, where quality can vary wildly from one manufacturer to the next. The factories Record uses are not its own either, but around 75 per cent of their output goes to Record and to its American sister brand, so they depend on each other in a healthy way. The rest goes to a European company making high-quality woodworking machines that markets them as made in Austria or Germany. That says something about the ability to maintain quality standards and to make good components.
The warranty on Record's machines is five years for consumers and one year in professional, that is to say daily, use. Record holds an enormous spare parts stock in England, worth around half a million euros, which means the spares are in Europe and genuinely available. What happens after the sale matters to Record, not just selling the machine. They believe in long customer relationships. That is why choosing Record Power as our partner felt natural to us too.
Five years for consumers and one year in professional, that is daily, use.
Yes. Record holds a spare parts stock in England worth around half a million euros, so the parts are in Europe rather than in an order queue overseas.
The frames are cast iron and steel rather than plastic and sheet metal, and the wheels are cast iron from the BS300 model upwards. Mass damps vibration, which shows in the cut.
Tormek takes the finish and materials further but costs around 40 per cent more. Record's grinder has a stainless shaft and includes a diamond stone dresser. The jigs are interchangeable between the two.
Constant tension stresses the wheels and the blade. In Record's mechanism the blade is released with a lever and returned to the preset tension with the same lever.
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