Where do you buy tools?

[Boz]

A friend of mine told me that after I got used to working with wood and learn how to make straight cuts with my circular that I'd eventually start buying my tools from mail order and online rather than at Home Depot and Lowes.

Where do the serious hobbyists buy their tools?



EDIT: typo

[NiteWalker]

I get 95% of all my tools from amazon.com nowadays. The deals they frequently have are sometimes amazing. I've saved hundreds buying from them. If you do plan to get a lot of tools from them over the course of a year I highly recommend Amazon Prime. It's a $79 yearly membership where you get unlimited free 2 day shipping or $3.99 per item one day shipping.

You can normally get free shipping but it's not as quick.

Here's some of the things I've gotten on sale from amazon:
Last year, I got this for $236 to my door. Just yesterday I got this for $149 to my door. And this found it's way into my shop for $204. You just have to watch for the price drops and deals. The way I do it is I have anything I want or may want in my cart, and when I check my cart throughout the day it will let you know what items have went down or up in price. You'll want to check your cart several times daily. Be weary that saving money can get expensive at times though...

One more thing I've gotten recently from amazon at a great price: I got this for $119. Even now at $159-20% the final price of $127.99 is excellent for a top shelf dado set.

[mountain]

I buy online when possible because the deals can't be beat. However, if I am in a bind and need a tool, I will go to the local hardware store. Just this past Sunday I made a trip to Home Depot and picked up this Ridgid Sander to smooth out the front curved edge of my CP.

Highly recomended by the way! Two tools in one.

[NiteWalker]

That is a really great spindle/belt sander. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the fact that the spindle capacity is only 2" while a lot of them have a 3" capacity.

A great sander though.

[mountain]

Good point. I wonder if it will accept a 3" spindle. I will measure the tool tonight to see if there is room. In the spirit of BYOAC, maybe it can be hacked! 

[Rusty]

I'm with NiteWalker here.

If you're patient, the deals from Amazon can't be beat.  He explained the process pretty well.  Add what you want to your cart and check on it occassionally.  Also, make sure to check on Friday.  They generally have a special weekend tool sale that starts (though its usually a lot of the same stuff at not-too-great prices, once in a while, you can find something good).

Sometimes, you can even get free blades or accessories on top of the cheap prices.  I'm waiting for the $50 off $250 deals that they had the last 4-5 months of last year to come back! 

[Boz]

Good stuff. Thanks guys.

It would probably help me and others if you see a deal around that "can't be beat" to post it here. You know... just in case we were sleeping? 

[nostrebor]

Most any woodworking forum will have a section on tool deals. I use mostly Amazon as well, but have found some stellar deals locally through threads on bt3central.com or woodnet.

[moriartyds]

I try and find one in a store to check out the feel, etc. but usually end up buying it online, typically Amazon.  Only problem is it's a bit of a pain if you have to return something.

For speciality items (not nesc. tools) like hinges, drawerslides, etc... I usually check Rockler (www.rockler.com).

[NiteWalker]

I'll start posting deals here too. There's a lot to be found.

Rusty; just call amazon customer service and they'll probably credit you while you're on the phone. They've done it for me.

[ScottS]

I generally buy small- to medium-sized power tools through Amazon. Hand tools are generally Lee Valley. Big iron I tend to buy locally; if I have a problem with a 300+lb piece of equipment, I do not want to have to figure out how to box it back up so I can return it to Amazon! Plus, there are a lot of good deals on used tools to be had locally...

[NiteWalker]

Lee valley is great for hand tools, and a lot of small gadgets and other things. As for big machines, I agree about buying locally. I bought my tablesaw from lowe's for $160 less than amazon.

[ChadTower]

Soon, for me, a router.  I want to reface my kitchen cabinets and it's probably easier to cut new doors than to sand off the 6 coats of paint already on them.

[Rusty]

I'll start posting deals here too. There's a lot to be found.

Rusty; just call amazon customer service and they'll probably credit you while you're on the phone. They've done it for me.

No, no... I mean I'm waiting for the deal to come back so I can buy more stuff! 

And if I see any stellar deals, I'll start posting there here, too.

This 12" Dewalt miter saw is as cheap as I've ever seen it.

[ScottS]

Soon, for me, a router.  I want to reface my kitchen cabinets and it's probably easier to cut new doors than to sand off the 6 coats of paint already on them.

When you factor in your time, it's often cheaper to buy cabinet doors from someplace like Scherr's or WalzCraft than to build them yourself. That's what many custom cabinet shops do these days... Scherr's, WalzCraft, and their competitors buy lumber by the boatload and do all of the milling on CNC equipment. I don't know about you, but I'd be hard pressed to match the quality of a CNC router for more than a door or two!

[NiteWalker]

I agree with you Scott. Raised panels and the like are best done with a 3+ HP router. If I needed raised panels I'd either do them on the table saw with a jig or go the prefab route.

[prOk]

I'll by little stuff on amazon, but never the more serious tools.  My table saw, planer, jointer, bandsaw, router table, shaper etc are all pieces that I need local support for so the money is totally worth it at a real store.

Nite, you'd do raised panel on a table saw?  Haven't seen anyone do that in about 20 years

[ChadTower]

When you factor in your time, it's often cheaper to buy cabinet doors from someplace like Scherr's or WalzCraft than to build them yourself. That's what many custom cabinet shops do these days... Scherr's, WalzCraft, and their competitors buy lumber by the boatload and do all of the milling on CNC equipment. I don't know about you, but I'd be hard pressed to match the quality of a CNC router for more than a door or two!

I will look into that.  I'm very new at all of this and for this particular job, quality is the key.  Thanks for that pointer.

EDIT:

WalzCraft only manufactures and distributes products, on a wholesale basis, to custom cabinetmakers and woodworking professionals throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands.

Damn.

[NiteWalker]

Nite, you'd do raised panel on a table saw?  Haven't seen anyone do that in about 20 years

I can't justify spending $60+ on a raised panel set. The table saw works great with a high fence and the blade tilted to 10* or so. It makes a mission/arts and crafts style panel which I favor (mission furniture is my fav).

[ScottS]

EDIT:

WalzCraft only manufactures and distributes products, on a wholesale basis, to custom cabinetmakers and woodworking professionals throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands.

Damn.

I've heard, but not verified, that if you call up and sound like you know what you're doing that it isn't hard to get an order placed. I think they're mostly don't want to deal with DIYers ordering two dozen doors, finding that their measurements were an 1/8" off and wanting WalzCraft to replace the doors for free. They might also want a Federal Tax Identification Number. If so, find a buddy who runs a business to place the order for you. You might also be able to convince a local cabinet builder to put in an order for a nominal fee.

[Donkey_Kong]

I buy online when possible because the deals can't be beat. However, if I am in a bind and need a tool, I will go to the local hardware store. Just this past Sunday I made a trip to Home Depot and picked up this Ridgid Sander to smooth out the front curved edge of my CP.

Highly recommended by the way! Two tools in one.

I picked up one of these to sand my log trim on my cab. I like it for that. I don't like how it oscillates up and down though when I'm trying to sand a wider piece. I wish there were a way to toggle the oscillating feature of this tool.

Otherwise it is pretty cool.

More here...
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61235.msg609623#msg609623