Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | May 11, 2005 11:57pm | #1

   Customer service will operate through June 17th

   May.. out of business... and still customer service a month after!  Dang! Had to come by these days

   HARD to come by.. Geee  Sorry

   
   

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   Edited 5/11/2005 4:59 pm ET by Will George

2. 
   nikkiwood | May 12, 2005 01:34am | #2

   They came (and went) before they even got up on my radar screen.

   "I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
   -- Bertrand Russell

3. 
   jc21 | May 12, 2005 04:48pm | #3

   I wonder if WWC's closing is somehow related to B&D's closing of the Oldham plant which is also in West Jefferson, NC.

1. 
   MarkRD | May 12, 2005 05:36pm | #4

   Can't say, but I think the woodworking tool/gadget/parts/ etc market is quite saturated and takes a serious catalog mailing campaign to keep it viable. Think about how many Rockler and Lee Valley catalogs you get in a year. (Or worse LLBean!)LV and Rockler are big. Then there is McFeeley, McMaster, MLCS ... the list goes on and on. Tough for a small operation to keep up.Mark

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.

   View Image

1. 
   forestgirl | May 12, 2005 06:10pm | #6

   "McFeeley, McMaster, MLCS...."  Seems like the specialty companies might be holding on better.  I know I always check the price with them before I order from a general catalog that might have to mark the price up more.  Becomes a balancing act between saving a bit of $$ and the hassle of ordering from more than one co.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   forestgirl | May 12, 2005 06:01pm | #5

   I don't know if they're related.  I've never ordered from TWC, though I did pick up a handful of small items from them at the WWing show in April.  I suspect the overall downturn in the economy has made a big impact on the ww'ing market.  Generalist catalogs such as TWC have a hard time standing out and, as mentioned above, need to show up at your doorstep in paper pretty regularly to get attention.  That's an expensive proposition.

   Lee Valley stands out, I believe, not only because of superb customer service, but also because they develop so many of their own special products and people are confident in them.  Again, expensive proposition.

   Rockler seems to have a big part of the market and due to their advertising and price points, get the attention of incoming woodworkers pretty quickly.  Their marketing approach has worked well for them, the catalogs come very frequently and show lots of blue-and-white Rockler designs and the speciality hardware they seem to concentrate on.  Even they show signs of stress in recent years, though.  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   highfigh | May 14, 2005 07:38pm | #13

   I bought 3 zero clearance inserts at the WW show in Feb and, having the keen eye for detail that I do, got the ones for something other than a Grizzly 1023S even though I was told that they fit. The e-mail I received from their CS dept. had a reference to her name/Oldham/PENTAIR/US on it. They did have a wide selection and OK prices, but if they were actually tied in with Oldham, I guess they fall under "collateral damage".
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

4. 
   BarryO | May 12, 2005 08:14pm | #7

   Wow.

   They always had a big presence at the woodworking shows.  The last show I went to was alot smaller in terms of vendor presence, etc.

   Too bad.  I never ordered online from them, but used to buy things at the shows.  Especially things awkward to ship; i.e., picked up an 8 ft. T-track a couple of years ago.

1. 
   Olebiker | May 12, 2005 09:02pm | #8

   I had never heard of them before going to a woodworking show a few years ago and do not recall ever receiving a catalogue from them.  The catalogues I have seen from them seemed rather unprofessional.

   Dick Durbin

5. 
   cherryjohn | May 13, 2005 12:40am | #9

   whatever its worth to them i just ordered a set of router bits..30 bits.  What the heck, I am sure ill use ant least 10............... and for $80............cheap even if I dont use all 30.  Now I am sure that someone is going to come on and tell me that there are bits far superior and that I didnt really get such a good deal.  So sue me..I felt bad they were closing.........even if I didnt know who they were before today.

   Wicked Decent Woodworks

   (oldest woodworking shop in NH)

   Rochester NH

   " If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"

6. 
   none | May 13, 2005 05:24am | #10

   TWC was owned by US saw.  B&D bought them as part of the package when they bought PC and  Delta.  They were one of the larger trinket vendors on the show circuit. Bought a lot of neat  stuff from them over the years, you know the stuff that costs more to ship than it costs. Another casuality fo B&D motto "Make it cheaper and sell it for more" Care to guess how much the sharpening coupons that have been included with Oldham blades are worth now?

1. 
   MarkRD | May 13, 2005 02:05pm | #11

   Funny, I just got an oldham from a tool liquidator with the coupon... so the coupon is worthless. Bummer.Mark

   Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.

   View Image

2. 
   forestgirl | May 13, 2005 05:31pm | #12

   Ah, mystery solved.  How do you guys find these things out?  Hubby has all the company-tracking knowledge in this family, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)