Sad gloat

[Thom Sturgill]

On he treasure coast, we are about 90 miles from the nearest Woodcraft, one north in Orlando and one south in Pompano Beach. The one in Pompano is closing :( and sent out a post card last week so my wife and I drove down Saturday morning.

Spend $550 and saved $350 - big items were a vise, a Trend Airshield and a HD (1/2" thick) scraper. Wife got some carving knives and I picked up a few pen kits for some graduation gifts.

I had been looking at the triton, but could not pass up the price on the Trend. Picked up a spare battery too. I don't normally wear a shield becasue of the florida heat, but maybe this will get me in the habit.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thom, Congrats!

I wear the Trend in our summer heat which can go as high as 118ºF. It keeps me from perspiring and keeps my glasses fog free. It works well. In the future should you need it, there is an article here on building new batteries for the Trend Airshield. They operate much longer between charges, are much cheaper and use an intelligent charger so you don't have to worry about pulling off the charger at a specific time.

[Roger Chandler]

Thom,

I am very glad I got the Trend Airshield Pro............It has made a big difference in my sinuses and really protects well when sanding. Good call on getting the spare battery..........I found two spares for only $9.99 each [new]from Amazon.com [I think they were reducing inventory, and had a clearance on some they were not going to carry anymore]and they are usually in the $60 plus range. I jumped on that with both feet!

Here is a link to the thread......I don't know if they will have them again?

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?145492-Great-Deal-on-Trend-Air-pro-Battery

[Dan Forman]

Sounds like you did well. Sad to see stores closing. From your title, I was expecting something more along the lines of someone passing away and leaving you their wood stash, tools, etc. Glad it wasn't one of those.

Dan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thom - congrats on your new accessories! I started off with the Trend and it works well. I made a couple of battery packs for it so it could use digital camera batteries. Charge much faster, last longer and are a heck of a lot cheaper!

Sorry to hear that another woodworking retail store is closing! Glad you were able to find some bargains while you could!

[Thom Sturgill]

I realized the title could be mis-construed. Our club did have an acquaintance (flatworker) who came down with altzimers last year and lost all memory of woodworking. Hurt him to see the 'shop' so his wife sold the machines and gave us the wood - lots of spindle stock. Ken, I'm aware of the thread you mentioned and plan on checking it out. The batteries were outrageously priced even with the sale.

Was sorry to see the store go. I don't get down there much, but always stopped by when I did. This is the second store I've had close on me. I used to stop at the Charleston, SC store every time I went to NC until they closed. 'Course I'm like a kid in a candy store every time I go in one.

[Scott Hackler]

Its too bad to see ANOTHER Woodcraft closing. :( I was actually looking into buying a franchise for Wichita, but after seeing the initial investment and overhead required (static inventory)... well lets just say, I understand why a bunch of them have had to close down in the last few years. One thing that surprised me was the fact that the catalog sales aren't re-directed to the closest store to be a sale for them. The catalog sales are ALL corporate sales and come out of regional warehouses.

Now a "copy" of that type of store is still being floated around my head......

[Michael James]

Our Local just closed this last weekend. there were talks of possible sale before Dec, but no takers. No warning, no sale, no Woodcraft here no more. I suppose what I saved in shipping I spent in gas, but they were great folks and very helpful and supportive in all things "wood". RIP
mj

[Rick Markham]

The one in Orlando is worth the drive... (nearly 60miles from my home)