Stanley Works - Black & Decker merge!

[Ivan Warrington]

Hmm, wonder what this means?

[Matt Day]

Good timing - I was also wondering about this.

Anyone have experience with this #92 shoulder plane?:
http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=PLANES&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=12-140&SDesc=No%2E+92+Shoulder+%2F+Chisel+Plane
I've been thinking about asking for one for Christmas, and this might be a good alternative to the much more expensive Veritas. Would this be considered comparable in size to the Medium Vertias Shoulder Plan?

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have some nice stanley hand tools which is probably why that brand name can do well in box stores and wal-marts... I have nothing against them though I know most of their stuff is from China.

Though I can't say the same for B&D because my one experience with a $20 jig saw I got from target broke after an hour of use... When I took a survey I found that I put B&D power tools at the bottom of the list of brands. Worse than HF...

My grandpa even gave me a hand me down vintage b&D sander... It didn't even turn on when I plugged it in. Didn't surpise me there.


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Stanley Works (SWK) agreed to buy Black & Decker Corp. (BDK) for $4.5 billion in stock, combining two household names in the market for tools.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091102-716571.html

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/02/news/companies/stanley_black_decker_merger/index.htm?postversion=2009110216

[Ken Fitzgerald]

According to what I saw...Stanley bought B&D. Maybe that means an upgrade for B&D?

[John McClanahan]

So, how many brand names will Stanley own now?

John

[Clint Winterhalter]

Stanley will also take control of DeWalt, Porter Cable and Delta as a result of this transaction...

[Dave Lehnert]

So we may now know the real reason The New Yankee Workshop was put to bed. Stanley taking over Delta may have dried the funding up.

Quintessence that the end of NYW was announced two weeks ago and the Stanley takeover today????????

[Matt Meiser]

According to what I saw...Stanley bought B&D. Maybe that means an upgrade for B&D?

Can it get worse? :rolleyes:

[Peter Quinn]

Maybe Stanley will keep PC and DeWalt brands, improve Delta's machine focus, and sell off the B&D line, perhaps to a toilet paper manufacturer trying to integrate vertically?

I just spent a few hours starting to tune up some old Stanley planes I was given from a guy that grew up in New Britain, CT. His father got them from a friend that worked at Stanley Works in New Britain. Man, they have been through some changes over there. Used to be around here everybody knew somebody that worked at Stanley works I'm told. Now I'm not sure anybody does.

On the up side, when I order odd parts for my old Stanley acquisitions, they nearly always have them, and they arrive in rather short order. Perhaps they can straighten out Delta, who seem to think anything past warranty is obsolete.:eek:

[Rod Sheridan]

Can it get worse? :rolleyes:

Sure, Harbour Freight could buy the lot:rolleyes:

Regards, Rod.

[Greg Crawford]

Matt,

I've put a square on some of the Stanley shoulder planes at Woodcraft, and they were hardly even close. Before buying a new 92, I would check it with a good square. Maybe an older 92 would be a better choice.

[Matt Meiser]

Sure, Harbour Freight could buy the lot:rolleyes:

Regards, Rod.

At least they have a liberal return policy. :D

[scott spencer]

Stanley will also take control of DeWalt, Porter Cable and Delta as a result of this transaction...

DW, Delta, PC, Oldham, Viper, Hickory, DevilBiss, B&D, Firestorm, and who knows what else...

[George Beck]

This is more of the wall street myth that two bad companies make a big better company. Usually results in poorer product quality, lay offs and better earnings.

[John Coloccia]

I didn't know they had DeVilbiss. Yikes.

[Joel Goodman]

Good timing - I was also wondering about this.

Anyone have experience with this #92 shoulder plane?:
http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=PLANES&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=12-140&SDesc=No%2E+92+Shoulder+%2F+Chisel+Plane
I've been thinking about asking for one for Christmas, and this might be a good alternative to the much more expensive Veritas. Would this be considered comparable in size to the Medium Vertias Shoulder Plan?

I would avoid anything recent by Stanley in terms of planes. Get an older (pre WW2) or get the Veritas or LN versions. The current Stanley #92 is not a bargain.

[Denny Rice]

This is more of the wall street myth that two bad companies make a big better company. Usually results in poorer product quality, lay offs and better earnings.

Could have not have said it better myself.

[Denny Rice]

So we may now know the real reason The New Yankee Workshop was put to bed. Stanley taking over Delta may have dried the funding up.

Quintessence that the end of NYW was announced two weeks ago and the Stanley takeover today????????

This is also a very real possibility. I know Norm has said in the past that The New Yankee Workshop was 100% reliant on the funding it received from Delta and the others to stay on the air.

[John Sanford]

Methinks the folks on the Porter-Cable side of the house are going to get mighty nervous.

[John McClanahan]

Stanley also owns Bostitch. The list keeps growing.

[Rob Robinson VT]

This is more of the wall street myth that two bad companies make a big better company. Usually results in poorer product quality, lay offs and better earnings.
Any bets on how long the new Unisaw will continue to be made in the U.S.A.?

[Frank Drew]

Maybe Stanley will.... sell off the B&D line, perhaps to a toilet paper manufacturer trying to integrate vertically?



:D


This is more of the wall street myth that two bad companies make a big better company. Usually results in poorer product quality, lay offs and better earnings.

We'll see, of course, but this is certainly the way these things usually go.

[Denny Rice]

Any bets on how long the new Unisaw will continue to be made in the U.S.A.?

NOT LONG!!!!!!! The CEO's that run these companies just don't get it.

[Karl Card]

I hate to hear this because I am a porter cable fan. If porter cable bought stanley id be ok...but stanly buying porter cable makes me nerveous... I literally have no fear of buying used PC items in a pawn shop or used condition, and the things I have bought operate better than new insubordinate brands.

[mickey cassiba]

NOT LONG!!!!!!! The CEO's that run these companies just don't get it.
Oh they get it all right...big fat bonuses. We get it too, right up the behind!They change will be swift, as it was when B&D bought PC/Delta. It was 90 days from when the sale was announced that the shuffling and lay offs started. I look for the UniSaw and a couple other machines to stay at the Tennessee plant for a while, at least. DeVillbis will probably not be badly affected, their tank welding facility is second to none, and they do produce about a third of the compressors sold in the US, under a dozen different labels. A lot of Oldham moved to the PC plant in Tennessee when B&D took over, there's a fifteen acre machine shop in there, kinda hard to move. Kwickset and Baldwin employees may be in for a shock though.(they are also part of the B&D web). This is going to be interesting, to say the least.