Not the best picture but was fitting a Columbus Minimal fork and Hope headset this weekend and when the fork was inserted it was binding in about 3 separate planes when I rotated the forks.
Got some calipers on the aluminium insert and there was about a 1/4mm difference between it and a RockShox steerer, not alot but enough to cause issues.
Gentle use of a hand file has sorted the issue and voided the warranty but are such issues common place or is this just a case that Hope are far more precise in their machining than a factory in China?[img] 
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0.25mm is a lot when it comes to headsets - sounds as if the fork hadn't been faced.
That's what I thought. As removing metal was always going to be the solution I felt an tiny file and an hours gentle rubbing/refit/rubbing would be the easiest solution rather than send it back and moan.