Buying tools in bulk

[Howjoe]

At the moment, I'm researching where to buy all the different tools I'm going to need.....woodworking at home and a few 'trade' tools for my new job - carpenter.

When you get down to it, most of the well known on-line deals are pretty much the same albeit a tenner or so difference here & there.

As mentioned in an earlier post on here the on-line suppliers tend not to have much customer loyalty. I'm going to be spending a fair chunk of cash, and want to try and get all the main tools in one place...and a bit of discount wouldn't go a miss...plus I want to know that I can receive good service for repeat custom.......OR am I looking for something which doesn't exist anymore?

Effectively, I'm starting from scratch so it's quite a diverse shopping list - including L&N planes, Thomas Flinn Pax saws possibly, Chisels - not decided yet, Makita power tools, Trend / DeWalt router - not decided yet and general woodworking every day bits & pieces etc etc.

Any advice welcome - I'm getting so wrapped up in this at the moment, I can't see the wood for the trees :?

Cheers Howard

 

[RogerS]

.OR am I looking for something which doesn't exist anymore?

Sadly probably not. There will be instances (I've had my share) where you will be bowled over by the quality of service etc but bottom line is this..

our UK society IMHO places so little value on customer service/loyalty/respect ...

'we' always want the cheapest food/car/petrol...as long as it is CHEAPEST...never mind the quality or whether it works or not...which is why Waitrose, for example, can market 'perfectly ripe' fruit at a premium price

*hello ?? excuse me, could I please have the rest of the fruit ripe and actually with some sort of flavour please...honest...really....if it's not too much too ask

Sorry if I sound too cynical

:wink:

Roger

 

[Les Mahon]

Howard,

The best advice I could give would be shop around locally in person and see what information you get. Although my experience in in Ireland I have had the frustration of dealing with dim wits in lot's of tool shops with no knowledge and less interest, and dealing buying off the net wondering if I was dealing with decent suppliers!

Now I buy only Makita power tools (I'm slowly replacing all my hand power tools with Makita as they break :wink: ) which I buy from a local tool store, who knows what he is talking about, and at most they cost 5% more than on the web (bear in mind I have transport and exchange rate issues buying off the web), but the real reason I deal with this supplier is that every time you buy something, he makes a note in his sales book of your name, address and the model you bought, no messing around with reciepts and the like if you need to return anything for any reason, no faceless call center and dubious "It's not in the computer" type problems!

Un fortunatly he does not do machinery or decent hand tools, but for handtoolsI buy the from either fine tools or Dick tools in germany - bith reputable dealers with an online shop, for machinery - well I just suffer the rubbish service!

Bit of a long post to say that, in my experience, decent retailers do still exist!

Les

 

[Howjoe]

'we' always want the cheapest food/car/petrol...as long as it is CHEAPEST...never mind the quality or whether it works or not...which is why Waitrose, for example, can market 'perfectly ripe' fruit at a premium price

Roger, I agree.

If I'm buying a 'widget', I always try to get the best 'widget' I can afford, but will happily pay extra for it if the people I'm buying it from offer great service and know their 'widgets'......a dieing breed I suspect.

Now I buy only Makita power tools (I'm slowly replacing all my hand power tools with Makita as they break ) which I buy from a local tool store, who knows what he is talking about, and at most they cost 5% more than on the web (bear in mind I have transport and exchange rate issues buying off the web), but the real reason I deal with this supplier is that every time you buy something, he makes a note in his sales book of your name, address and the model you bought, no messing around with reciepts and the like if you need to return anything for any reason, no faceless call center and dubious "It's not in the computer" type problems!

Les, This is exactly what I' looking for, but I can't find it locally. I'd gladly pay a little more to know that I could go back to an actual shop and speak to a friendly & knowledgeable person if I had a problem.

On the Makita thing, have you got one of the new MXT cordless drills or a compound mitre saw?

Cheers.

 

[RogerS]

If I'm buying a 'widget', I always try to get the best 'widget' I can afford, but will happily pay extra for it if the people I'm buying it from offer great service and know their 'widgets'......a dieing breed I suspect.

Absolutely and not just restricted to tools etc. A friend of mine used to run a small hifi/electronic outlet and he's come to the conclusion (with which I agree) that as more and more people buy stuff off the internet (because it's cheaper) then there will no longer be any presence on the high street where you can go and look/touch/feel/try out stuff...or find anyone with the knowledge. The margins on internet sales are so tight...they virtually sell at cost but make up their margins by (a) getting slightly better bulk discounts from suppliers but more importantly (b) living off the interest on you paying for the goods before they have to pay their suppliers. And we wonder why we don't get any after-sales service !!

Having said all that I've just experienced truly 110% customer service from Protrade. I placed an order on their website yesterday for a Festool TS55...for delivery today. This morning they called me to say there had been a glitch with their systems but did agree to ship the stuff to me for delivery tomorrow. Order reinstated on that basis. They just called me back to say that my original order would appear to have gone through and that I should get the goods today. So...110% for feedback and keeping the customer informed. This isn't just a one-off. I bought a Ryobi table saw from them a while ago and part of the fence mount was dented. They very speedily arranged for a replacement part to be sent to me.

No doubt, someone somewhere will have had a 'problem' with them but at least for me I'll try them first in future.

 

[jonny boy]

Avoid Machine Mart like the plague! Getting your money is top priority for them,
Refunding for faulty goods (especially the professional brands) is avoided like the plague by them!

cheers, jonny.

 

[AndyC]

Hi Howjoe!

I was in similar tooling up dilema recently (still in the process actually, dont think i'll ever not be thinking about buying more tools :!: )

I think you'll find that there are quite a few good internet retailers out there. Rutlands, Axminster, fine-tools etc. I know it's not the same as speaking face to face and wont get the discounts you may be looking for but i've found them to be most helpful in answering any queries ive had before deciding on buying things, or any faults on receipt.

Not sure how much you want to spend on chisels but I would advise against sorby chisels (See "robert sorby cheese" in handtools section).

I'd go for the Trend T11 if you can. Just as good as the dewalt but fits all trend extras staight up, no ned for unibase etc! Probably cheaper as well!

 

[Howjoe]

Hi Howjoe!

I think you'll find that there are quite a few good internet retailers out there. Rutlands, Axminster, fine-tools etc. I know it's not the same as speaking face to face and wont get the discounts you may be looking for but i've found them to be most helpful in answering any queries ive had before deciding on buying things, or any faults on receipt.

Not sure how much you want to spend on chisels but I would advise against sorby chisels (See "robert sorby cheese" in handtools section).

Hi Andy

Spent most of today looking at catalogues and on the net! It looks as if Rutlands and Axminster are where I'll end up parting with my cash. Haven't dealt with either before, so any feedback will be welcome.

On the chisel front, still undecided ...I've budgeted to spend £300ish. Thanks for the tip-off on Sorby

T11 is where I'm heading at the mo, although I read somewhere that there was a recall recently?

Cheers

Howard

 

[mr]

If youre prepared to separate hand from power tools when buying, Ive used http://www.classichandtools.com/ for chisels and saws and had sterling customer service from Mike Hancock.

 

[RogerS]

Howjoe

If you're intending a router for a table then the triton is better than the T11 IMHO

Roger

 

[Howjoe]

Howjoe

If you're intending a router for a table then the triton is better than the T11 IMHO

Roger

Yes, and also for a woodrat. Need to to a bit or research on it before I decide.

I see the prices have come down from reading this thread.

Cheers
Howard

 

[RogerS]

Howard

You'll find plenty to keep you busy reading all about routers here :lol: I went the eBay route and picked up a DW625 virtually brand new for about 1/2 price. That went onto the Woodrat...which was designed around the 625..so taking line of least resistance etc seemed the logical way to go.

Being a bit of a lazy b*****r and not liking to mess around with settings once I've set things up I was reluctant to keep removing the DW625 from the 'rat. So coupled with the fact that my Ryobi cheapie combo needed upgrading I came to the conclusion that while Unilifts etc were useful, why pay extra for what you get already incorporated into the Triton. The fine adjust on the T11 doesn't come abywhere close to the range of movement/ease of changing bits in the Triton IMHO. So I waited until I could get a good bargain on eBay.

Roger