New Woodturning Catalog

[C Edward Moore]

I just received a new woodturning catalog from Woodworkers Supply and it was designated as the "Premier Edition". This may be old news to some, but I was surprised to receive it. My reaction to the items shown was that this is a well-stocked offering. There is a lot of Woodtek machinery shown, including lathes. Apparently Bud Latven influenced the offering of tools and he designed the Woodtek No. 1 Wood Lathe, which is an impressive 750 pounds that looks like a Oneway 1640 on steroids that is green and yellow. At almost $6400 it SHOULD be impressive. They also showed Powermatic and Oneway lathes.

I was pleased to see that it carried Jerry Glaser tools and had a wide selection of turning and hollowing tools. The prices looked "standard" to me. There were several items with the "Woodcut" label from New Zealand. I believe this may be Rolly Munro's line, which I had heard of but had not seen. They looked good to me. 🙂

So what's my point? I welcome a new catalog service. Packard and Craft Supplies have served the community well, but some more competition may benefit the turner.

 

[Sascha]

i checked it out and it looks to me like grizzly and dewalt had a child and that's what it came to look like.
it might be a great lathe, but boy is this thing ugly,what were they thinking, for most shops with all the pieces it's a bit too long for my taste.

the price is a bit high, but i would have to see one in real life to judge, plenty accessories though.

i'll stick with my stubby 1000 they even changed the paint from black to grey, looks real good now and is one work horse, i love it. especially after i bolted it to the floor, nothing could ever move it

sascha

 

[Jim Carroll]

Ed just to clarify one point you made.
Rolly Munro is in no way assosiated with woodcut.
Rolly has his own very good set of tools and woodcut are another brand.
The only similarity is they are both Kiwi's.

 

[C Edward Moore]

Thank you

Thanks, Jim. I hate to mislead folks and am glad that you corrected me.

Recently I have learned to really appreciate Kiwis. Graeme Priddle did a super demo at Blue Ridge Woodturners a week or so ago. And I am looking forward to a visit with an Aussie, or West Islander, when Jack de Vos is here in August.

Thanks for putting things right,

 

[Caniac]

Good to know. I live a mere mile and a half from one of the three WWS showrooms, but- while they fulfill most of my "flat stuff" needs just fine- I 've been very disappointed in their lack of turning supplies (and in their prices on what little they do stock- and I have to pay sales tax 😱 ).

Hopefully this will signal a trend toward changing that. Thanks for the heads up- I'll try to swing by on my way home and see if I can scare up a copy.

 

[rayebersole]

Do you have a web page

Do you have a web page address, (seach came up with a lot of Woodworkers Supply)?

Ray Ebersole

 

[C Edward Moore]

Website

Ray,

Your question is valid. The front of the catalog says "Visit us at woodturning.woodworker.com". I have tried various forms of this with no success. I did run down the Woodtek lathe on the Woodworker's Supply website. Check out:
Woodtek lathes

Click on the small picture to get a better view of it.

My original post was submitted for the sole purpose of letting the woodturning community know of the existence of the catalog. I do not endorse Woodworker's Supply or any other source - nor do I wish to undermine any of them. :cool2:

 

[hcbph]

Not to hijack the thread, but I'd like to add a comment on Woodworkers Supply and Leictung (which I think was bought by WWS a few years ago). I repair/restore furniture and two sizes tendons used alot in older furniture are 7/16" and 9/16". At one time noone carried either size in a forstner bit or dowel center. I wrote John Wirth about that issue, and they showed up in their catalog and I was able to get them about 6-12 months later. I don't know if it was pure coincidence or if my letter had some effect, but the forstner bits showed up in their catalog. They are even running a contest right now for new ideas, and have some reasonable prizes for ideas. Check their catalog for info.

I'd love to see/try their No 1 lathe. I've seen it advertised for a couple of years and it looks interesting. Unfortunately it way out of my price range.

I have no connection with WWS other than I've bought from them, must be close to 20 years now and I have no complaints.

 

[Bruce McElhaney]

Frustrating experience

I recently tried several times to get on Woodworkers Supply's website to place an order, but no luck. So I tried to order over the phone After holding for 15 min on the phone, I finally got to talk to someone who said the website "may" be down. But then, out of 8 different items I wanted to order, I was told only one was in stock. They said several of the items had not arrived yet, and others were out of stock. I finally gave up and called Packard where I ordered everything I wanted (all in stock and shipped that day) Go figure! 🙄

 

[C Edward Moore]

Valid complaint

Bruce,

I'm not an advocate for Woodworkers Supply, but I still regret that you had problems with their service. When I tried to find their website that they show on the catalog and had no luck I became suspicious that they were "not ready for prime time".

Anyone who has been in my math class or has seen me demo has heard me say "Sequence matters!". I'll spare you the more graphic example, but when on a submarine the order in which you execute "Secure the hatches" and "Dive" is significant. In the same manner, when opening a significant line of products to augment a large existing online store there are a large number of unrelated tasks that must come together at just the right time. I suspect that their catalog was issued prematurely and that the work on the website is behind schedule. Maybe some orders were delayed. In any case, the result is: BAD SCENE

Once they are established, my evaluation of them will be influenced by two factors:
1. Do they have items that other suppliers do not have?
2. Do they have any items that can be purchased at a savings?

I feel that Packard and Craft Supplies have earned some loyalty. If Woodworker's Supply wants any of my business, they must do something to earn it.