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ATE are China made tools of less than quality for the most part. Got an outlet here that handles a lot of their stuff as well as many other import items. Every power tool I have seen from ATE is undre powered for any serious work but they do have their place. The chop saw like you asked about is not going to compare to one from Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, ect. but will suffice for light cutting such as threaded rod and sheet metal if fed slowly. It is not intended to be a speed cutting machine where you can whack off a piece of 1" re-bar in eight seconds as you can with quality saws. For the occasional DIY'er use cutting a piece here or there with no time constraints, most likely it is an inexpensive hassle saver where one can justify spending the 25 bucks on it to sit on a shelf most of its life. If you're looking for a saw that will give years of service and handle production/construction work, you better be looking at one in the $250+ line. ATE does have some decent stuff but much the same as harbor freight, you have to pick through all the crap to find it. I'm not saying that all the import stuff is crap, some of it is actually good quality. Before you buy, look at where the item is made. Taiwan built items are usually pretty decent and sometimes better than other brands selling at three times the price. Metabo is import yet they are top of the line tools. Every Rigid power tool I have looked at in Home Depot is Taiwan, never purchased any myself but know a lot of contractors that swear by them. ATE is not limited to china either, they brand a cast steel vice made in Taiwan that if put side by side with the Jet brand is identical to it yet sells for 75% less. On the same note, H-F sells the 7"x12" metal cutting band saw that is all cast iron and very well built in Taiwan for around $700 w/ free shipping and coolant system while the Cheapest domestic brand saw of the same size sells for $1100 with coolant systems and shipping are extra... yet this saw is made stamped sheet metal is nowhere near as well made or accurate cutting.
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