The Woodshop - Woodworking for the Regular Guy

First, let me say this -
Everyone has their own experiences with suppliers. One person will think that a certain supplier can do no wrong, while another would not order anything from that same supplier if they were the only supplier in the world. The descriptions below are based on my experiences and opinions - you may not agree. That's OK, just don't bother e-mailing me and telling me what an idiot I am for having a certain opinion.

However, if you find that any of these suppliers have performed really poorly, I would like to know. Sometimes a supplier can change, and I don't want to make recommendations that will steer someone in the wrong direction. If you want to tell me about your experience with a supplier, e-mail me with the facts. Don't bother to write if all you are going to do is rant with no details to back it up.

With that said, here goes -

Amazon.com /Tool Crib of the North - What can I say? You start out ordering books and before you know it your shopping cart is filled with tools. And I have filled that shopping cart several times. It is hard to beat most of the pricing on the brand name tools they offer. Availability is usually the problem. When you shop their web site, you will find that it is not uncommon to want to order something that they "will e-mail you when this item becomes available." I have also had items that are expected to ship in 2 - 3 days suddenly become unavailable. The claim is that it is first come, first served, and they do not have real time inventory counts on the web site. While this is very frustrating at times, I always have the option of canceling the item or letting it sit on backorder. Usually the price encourages me to wait, but that's my choice. All-in-all, I have been pretty happy with them, particularly when they offer free shipping (usually on orders over a certain amount). The savings can add up. The availability of stock is the biggest problem. And of course, they have a ton of woodworking books, along with much other stuff not related to woodworking, including computer software. Oh my, how quickly that shopping cart fills!

Grizzly Industrial, Inc. - Tools, machinery, woodworking supplies, metalworking supplies - they have a bunch of stuff. First, I will have to admit that I have never purchased any Grizzly brand power tools or machinery, so I don't know what the quality is like, though many other people have favorably reviewed their equipment. I use Grizzly for keeping the costs down on specific items. I have ordered dust collector system components from them, as well as small hand tools, compressed air equipment and other miscellaneous items. The people have always been pleasant to deal with. The prices are usually excellent and order fulfillment and delivery is very good. Of course, if something is backordered, you can be stuck for a little while, but they have always let me know when this happens and I always have the option of canceling that part of the order. I have found them to be a good company.