Anyone else here not a huge fan of woodcraft?

[george wilson]

I really do like the people and most of the products and the atmosphere at our local(almost local to me) Woodcraft store. It is the ONLY such store around this area. I always get a fresh injection of inspiration there. Pleasant's Hardware in Richmond has a large selection of woodworking tools,but I have a more enjoyable experience at Woodcraft,and would hate to see it go. They teach classes there,too,which I've been invited to teach in. A bit far for me to run in on Saturday morning,though.

The relatively few cheap products they sell are annoying,but I can't realistically compare the Woodcraft of the 60's to the one of today. They have to sell what they can get,after all. They still are the dealers for the ne plus ultra Swiss carving tools I like so much. They used to sell a few LN planes. I bought a few shoulder planes from them. But,I guess that deal is gone. I WISH we had an LV store here,too!!

My old 1960's Marples square has the brass facing to the wooden beam attached with a sliding dovetail,not just screwed onto the wood as it is today. That level of craftsmanship in small commercial tools like squares in the old companies is gone,except for a revival going on in LV,LN,and the small companies like Vesper Tools,and several small saw makers,and some English tool makers like Iles. Hey!! This list is pretty long!! Maybe we aren't in such bad shape after all!! I could probably name some more good tool makers,but I just woke up at 4:30 this A.M.,and am not in gear yet. My back won't let me sleep.

It would really be good if Woodcraft could sell some of these limited production tools. I suppose the mark ups would be too high for them,being small makers as they are. I certainly can't afford to make and sell tools wholesale,nor am I inclined towards production anyway. Did a bit of that in the museum. Never enjoyed it. Cramps my creativity. I wish Chris Vesper would start making tools with scales IN INCHES (he's all metric)!!!! He has a pretty decent out put of squares,bevels,marking knives,etc.. And,he's much younger than I am. Had him here for a week last year. He makes some real nice things.

There is nothing like a store,where you can actually examine what you are buying. I'd loved to have gone to the original store in Boston in the 60's.

I know what Matthew says is true about the tough row to hoe that Woodcraft has. In our jewelry business,we only allow 1 dealer per zip code,and try to protect them.

There is a guitar amplifier maker in Va. Beach who sells to local stores. He won't make it long,because when the customers in a store see that he's nearby,they go directly to him and make a deal. His amps sit unsold at the stores. Soon they will be out of selling his stuff,and He'll be out of the free advertising,too. Well,just another Fender copy anyway,like many other such amps. If they had real taste,they'd copy Standels! Probably couldn't round up the original 15" JBL speakers,though. You've just GOT to protect your dealers if you want to do business.

Enough of my disjointed ramblings!

[Matt Meiser]

I doubt many markets would support a high end store like LV. And remember, much of what makes LV so great, they are the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer. No "middle-man".

The quality of a Woodcraft store is all about who owns it and how they run it. I absolutely refused to go to the one in Canton, MI for years because the manager the absentee owner had in place was a terrible and it reflected in everything they did. He finally left and they are slowly on the mend. In the mean time one opened in Toledo. Its very rare that I go in there and one or both of the owners aren't in the store. They've now promoted one of the original employees to manager. The owners and staff know me and my family by name and they do a lot of free demos, many that are more than just "let me show you the Kreg Jig" to give people a reason to stop by. Last year they did an invitation-only Festool demo that was really more of a training on the MFT coupled with demos of some of last years new tools. I learned a lot and they sold me on an MFT. Unfortunately I had to wait a couple days for mine because they sold another guy too and he was first--their guy did THAT good a job demonstrating it. I do shop there quite a bit including several of my Festool purchases and my Sawstop. Other miscellaneous stuff I may pay a little more but having a good local store is worth it.

Rockler is the one I tend to dislike. I stop in the St. Louis store every time I'm in town--very convenient on the return trip to the airport. I rarely buy anything as I couldn't carry most of it with me. Detroit I only go to rarely as its over a 150 mile round trip. What really rubbed me wrong about Rockler is the whole "Independent Rockler Reseller" thing. I regularly get Rockler coupons in the mail that I can't use at the semi-local independent reseller and it makes no sense to drive 150 miles to use them. The sale prices in the ads are only available online (with shipping fees) or at the actual stores. I wrote them an email about the issue, but the response back was that there was no possible way they could work that out--which I call BS. Since then the local reseller has basically disintegrated into a tool flea market so I suppose it doesn't matter anyway.

[David Weaver]

Rockler uses what we call the "kohls" model here. Sell a lot of low manufacturing cost stuff and offer a coupon for all of it. Make the list price up by increasing it the price of the coupon (or more) and draw people in who don't do comparative shopping.

From time to time they'll have a real deal, but living about 2 miles down the road from one, I rarely use the coupons because I can't use them on the things I'd actually want, and it's cheaper to go up the hill and get TBIII at home depot if I need some.

I don't like the coupon business model much because it encourages retailers to sell crap to preserve their margin, but I guess these days, all of the mail order places are replacing anything they can with crap, because a $1 made in china item that they can sell for $10 is better business than a $20 US made item that they can sell for $25-$30. One only has to go look at alibaba to see the per unit costs of a lot of the imported junk.

Kohls is the same way - a whole lot of short-lived imported clothes that can only be a good deal if you can stack coupons on top of sales. But it sure gets people in the store, just as rockler's coupons do.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I have shopped at the Woodcraft in Woburn Ma since about 1984 or 85. It was the only store at the time and had the warehouse a couple of streets behind it for the mail order business. I now primarily shop at the Newington NH store because it is closer and I don't have to pay a sales tax. Service at both stores has had its ups and downs over the years as the staff and store managers changed but it has generally ranged from good to very good to excellant. During the better part of 40 years I've only had one or two "iffy" experiences. In my book, that is pretty damn good for any business. As enthusiasts in a relatively narrow area of interest I would suggest that we hold higher expectations for any of our specialty retailers than we do for businesses ranging from the local supermarket, the discount department store, or the big box hardware/lumber retailers. Our level of knowledge also makes us far more critical of any lapses.

These days when I walk into Woodcraft I am a disappointment to them since I'm generally only picking up abrasives, hardware, finishing supplies, or maybe another carving gouge. My big ticket purchases are pretty much in the past and I seldom spend more than $25-50. If there is a larger dollar value purchase it generally is from one of the more specialized and innovative dealers on the internet. As we progress through levels of experience and skill in our favored hobby our needs, desires, and expectations change.

[george wilson]

Me,too. I bought machines while still working,but have had everything I need at home for a long time. I'd like a 20" planer,but worry about all the weight in my original 16' x 22' garage I added my 30' x 40' building onto. The old garage doesn't have a real strong foundation,at least to my eyes. An awful lot of weight in there already. My wood rack weighs 800# EMPTY. Now,it's chock full of mostly heavy woods. Plus,all my woodworking machines,except the bandsaw and drill press.

[Caleb James]

Needless to say,lumber at Woodcraft is VERY expensive. We used to have a decent lumber dealer in Richmond,but they are long gone.

George, aside from Woodcraft, what would you say is the best bet for lumber within the Williamsburg/Richmond area? Being new to the hobby, I am stumped on where to locate quality domestic wood for a decent price. Mail Order?

George, Lumber Sales,in Richmond is still good . Not a lot of exotics beyond mahogany ,but that is good there.

Guess I should have read the full post. Mel where would you advise on purchasing wood in Richmond?

[Mel Fulks]

Sorry I wasn't clear, the name is LUMBER SALES inc or company. They are consistent because they always use the same suppliers ,for example ,poplar from them is flat and straight and does not explode when you cut the bundle bands. They are mainly suppliers to the trade ,don't know what policy or minimum order is.

[Edward Mitton]

The local Woodcraft here in south Denver is only a 3 minute drive from my workplace, so I can slip over there during any lunch hour. I usually only buy things that are on my 'want list' and that have gone on sale. My most recent purchase was a 6 piece Wood River chisel set. The chisels are generally good quality, but I had to spend some time flattening the backs of the larger sizes. They also carry a very good selection of off-the-shelf books and DVDs. Recently picked up a copy of Raffen's turning DVD for my wife. Another thing I like is their class offerings. Even though there is a hefty tuition for most, occasionally they will schedule a free demo session. The folks that work at this particular location are generally a good, friendly, knowledgable lot.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I live on an island, so when I go to the states I look up Woodcraft to see if there is a store in the town I'm going to. They are great for specialty tools, and I can save money on shipping if I find a store nearby.

I also check out Rockler but they are pricey. By the way, never sign up for their email. You will get bombarded with sales, all of which in some form or fashion will include a bench cookie. They act like these bench cookies are so great, but they are always on some sort of sale. "Buy a nail, get a bench cookie. How about this lovely Swiss Army knife. It has a knife, scissors, tweezers, and a bench cookie." Haha. I jest, but not far from the truth. It's a hockey puck with a pad on it. In fact at one time they actually were selling hockey pucks at one of these places.

We have a Home Depot now on island, and they have some good stuff, but I sure wish they would get some Porter Cable, Delta, or other stuff. It is mostly Ridgid (which I actually mostly like for the price) and Ryobi, which is about as sorry a tool brand as they come.

[Jim Koepke]

By the way, never sign up for their email. You will get bombarded with sales, all of which in some form or fashion will include a bench cookie.

Now if it was a chocolate fudge chocolate chip cookie they would have me.

jtk

[Jack Curtis]

...As enthusiasts in a relatively narrow area of interest I would suggest that we hold higher expectations for any of our specialty retailers than we do for businesses ranging from the local supermarket, the discount department store, or the big box hardware/lumber retailers. Our level of knowledge also makes us far more critical of any lapses....

I don't know, basically consider it somewhat more important what I ingest. I tend to hold all retailers to high standards of customer service and product quality. If they don't want to play, there's always someone online who does.

[Jim Neeley]

You will get bombarded with sales, all of which in some form or fashion will include a bench cookie. They act like these bench cookies are so great, but they are always on some sort of sale. "Buy a nail, get a bench cookie. How about this lovely Swiss Army knife. It has a knife, scissors, tweezers, and a bench cookie." Haha. I jest, but not far from the truth. It's a hockey puck with a pad on it. In fact at one time they actually were selling hockey pucks at one of these places.

Since you mentioned it i just checked Amazon which sells a dozen hockey pucks, freight prepaid, for $19.14. Rockler wants $12.49 plus freight for 4 cookies.

If hockey is local to your area you can get pucks for $1 apiece in the hockey shops.

[Tom Bussey]

The nearest WW store to me is Woodsmith and it is 2 4/5 minutes at70 MPH. Rockler and Woodcraft are about 4 1/2 hours away. HD, Lowes and Menards are an hour away so count your blessings even if you are not thrilled. It would be wonderful to start on a project and be able to just run oner and pick up some of anyhing needed for it.

Tom

[Jim Matthews]

These days when I walk into Woodcraft I am a disappointment to them since I'm generally only picking up abrasives, hardware, finishing supplies, or maybe another carving gouge. My big ticket purchases are pretty much in the past and I seldom spend more than $25-50.

It's my belief that you're purchasing from the higher profit margin items, if that's your shopping list.
They're not making money on the big ticket items; it's the disposable things that add up.

[Dave Anderson NH]

That's no doubt true Jim, but if I want to complete a project it is necessary and it costs only a pittance compared to the wood and the labor I've invested.