Seriously?

[Al Launier]

Seriously? $100 + minimum $10 shipping? http://www.woodcraft.com/category/3/1001069/2084361/Woodpeckers%20OneTime%20Tool%20Program.aspx Seriously?

[Scott Brandstetter]

I got the same email but didn't get to the pricing part. Holy cow, what a price. Remember though, they are only making a limited amount of them. Haha

[Mark Bolton]

http://www.amazon.com/Swanson-SO101-7-inch-Speed-Square/dp/B00002255O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410385744&sr=8-1&keywords=speed+square

[scott vroom]

Remember though, they are only making a limited amount of them. Haha

That would matter to me if it were a collector's item. $110 bucks for a 6" carpenter's square? You'll not likely find that one in my shop.

[eugene thomas]

Sure is fancy looking though.......

[Mike Heidrick]

What should they cost?

[Cary Falk]

Ha!Ha!Ha! I was wondering when somebody was going to post this. I have several Woodpecker Squares and other items which I love but I don't see the value in this. I use a speed square for rough carpentry work and my $3 plastic one works just fine. That one sure is purdy though.

[scott vroom]

http://www.amazon.com/Swanson-SO101-7-inch-Speed-Square/dp/B00002255O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410385744&sr=8-1&keywords=speed+square

I looked at the Amazon page in your link. I found it comical that Amazon charges more when you buy in bulk:

qty 1 price: $9.48
qty 2 price: $ 29.02
qty 6 price: $79.78

All advertise "Free" shipping....lol that's a hoot. I wonder how many people will buy the 6-pack rather than ordering 6 individual squares?

You've got to be careful with Amazon...I see this sort of crap often.

[Chris Padilla]

You forgot the sexy case it comes in!!! :)

[David Kuzdrall]

It is listed as a "one time tool" I guess the square is going extinct...hence the price.

[Moses Yoder]

I could make one exactly like that for a lot cheaper prolly like five bucks. I have files, countersinks etc., probably all the tools I would need and aluminum is easy to machine. I know some guys that do anodizing.

[Paulh Tremblay]

Geez. Festool owners wish they could buy the bigger Woodpecker square (no longer made) to square of the MFT3 table, but this 6 inch tool would prove too small for that task. I understand if you are clever enough, you can purchase a Speed square and make it nearly perfect.

[Earl Rumans]

They are really proud of those "One Time" tools. Every time they send one of these emails out about a new one, it cracks me up at the price. The last one I remember was that mortise center finder.

[Ray Newman]

Bridge City "wannabe"?....

[Justin Ludwig]

By buying a One-Time Tool, you will own a limited run precisely machined tool that will make you the envy of all your woodworking friends and you have a tool that will be used for generations. These tools are proudly made in the U.S.A.

I'd buy one just to drop it on concrete. :cool:

I've seen people purchase less for more.

[Andy Compton]

Looks like Amazon only sells the 1-pack. The 2 and 6-pack are sold by some merchant called "TheHardwareCityCO"...

[Andrew Kertesz]

I've been using the same $6.95 speed square for 30 years and haven't had a house fall down yet....

[Peter Quinn]

I can't imagine buying many of the tools they make, others seem to fill a real niche, but I haven't bought those either Often they create elaborate and expensive solutions to problems I don't have. To me the tools are probably worth the asking given the time and material involved, particularly given the precision that is claimed. Question is do I need a tool that precise and so specific to a task? This one is more general, but there are probably 5 other implements in my shop that are equally precise and cost less. For actual carpentry these are comical.

[Dan Hunkele]

Another tool for those that buy them to look at them.

[Bill Orbine]

If it's made to be a collectible, it probably isn't!

[Myk Rian]

Another tool for those that buy them to look at them.

Or with too much money and not a lot of sense.

[Jerome Stanek]

Thats almost as bad as this harbor frieght $2.99 Starrett $37.99

[Keith Weber]

Thats almost as bad as this harbor frieght $2.99 Starrett $37.99

Comparing a Harbor Freight punch to a Starrett is like comparing a wooden yardstick to a micrometer. One of them is just crude. I'd be willing to bet that one blow of a hammer to that HF punch into stainless steel would bend the tip, and round it over. Chances are, the point on the tip isn't even centered. The Chinese make punches and nail sets that look like their American counterparts, but they just don't understand the concept of hardening. All of my nail sets from before I stopped buying anything Chinese are all bent or flared. My Snap On set is like new after years of hard use. I see the HF one in your pics as the overpriced one!

[Peter Quinn]

Comparing a Harbor Freight punch to a Starrett is like comparing a wooden yardstick to a micrometer. One of them is just crude. I'd be willing to bet that one blow of a hammer to that HF punch into stainless steel would bend the tip, and round it over. Chances are, the point on the tip isn't even centered. The Chinese make punches and nail sets that look like their American counterparts, but they just don't understand the concept of hardening. All of my nail sets from before I stopped buying anything Chinese are all bent or flared. My Snap On set is like new after years of hard use. I see the HF one in your pics as the overpriced one!

Ditto. LOL. I remember a guy in the shop making fun of my starret combo square, probably cost me $80. Gets used constantly. I have cheap groz machinist squares that are fine for basic layout and set ups, save money where I can. but when it involves moving parts and mechanicals.....they can keep the Chinese junk, not worth fighting with. So the guy who made fun of my starret has a Chinese 3 piece combo with angle finder...and one day job pops up where he needs to pull angles off a template....I watched him spend 25 minutes trying to get the angle head on the ruller...cussing, fighting, couldn't do it. Pulled out my starret to taunt him. Ten seconds. I'm standing there laughing...See buddy....10 second set up every time....you have wasted enough shop time ($70/hr) just today fighting with your Chinese low budget junk to have paid for the starret! And when you finally get that head on it's no guarantee that it will actually read the angles correctly anyway given how sloppy it is. Plus or minus 7 degrees is not my idea of accurate! Never confuse cost and value.

[Greg R Bradley]

$100 seems reasonable considering the materials, workmanship and features.

It is just that most people that need a CARPENTERS square don't really need those materials, workmanship and features. That leaves a VERY small market for those.

Makes sense for movie set builders, scale model builders, and ........... OK I'm running out of possible buyers without getting to the people who collect tools instead of use them.

[Ryan Mooney]

They are really proud of those "One Time" tools. Every time they send one of these emails out about a new one, it cracks me up at the price. The last one I remember was that mortise center finder.

The one time creates a sense of urgency so you have to "buy it now or never get another chance" which is really a smart marketing strategy. If you don't know what you need its easy to get confused. My hats off to their marketing department (although my wallet will stay in my pocket).

[Jerome Stanek]

Comparing a Harbor Freight punch to a Starrett is like comparing a wooden yardstick to a micrometer. One of them is just crude. I'd be willing to bet that one blow of a hammer to that HF punch into stainless steel would bend the tip, and round it over. Chances are, the point on the tip isn't even centered. The Chinese make punches and nail sets that look like their American counterparts, but they just don't understand the concept of hardening. All of my nail sets from before I stopped buying anything Chinese are all bent or flared. My Snap On set is like new after years of hard use. I see the HF one in your pics as the overpriced one!

You don't hit it with a hammer they both are spring loaded. I have had the Harbor freight one for 15 years and it still works like new. I used it every day for the first 5 years installing CVS pharmacys. How do you not center a point? If you want to bang on the Starrett with a hammer then go a head also the Starrett is aluminum.

[Bruce Page]

Thats almost as bad as this harbor frieght $2.99 Starrett $37.99
My Starrett spring punch is at least 30 years old, it has thousands of punches under it's belt and still works as good as new. I don’t see the HF giving me that performance.
Mine is steel.

[John Lanciani]

I could make one exactly like that for a lot cheaper prolly like five bucks. I have files, countersinks etc., probably all the tools I would need and aluminum is easy to machine. I know some guys that do anodizing.

But could you make a couple hundred of them to the listed tolerance and sell them for $5 each and feed your family at the end of the day?

[Myk Rian]

I'd be willing to bet that one blow of a hammer to that HF punch into stainless steel would bend the tip, and round it over.
1) They aren't designed to be used with a hammer.
2) They don't work well with stainless.

I have a Starrett, and a HF. They work equally well, by hand pressure only.

[Jerome Stanek]

My Starrett spring punch is at least 30 years old, it has thousands of punches under it's belt and still works as good as new. I don’t see the HF giving me that performance.
Mine is steel.


My harbor Freight punch is brass and I was using it to punch hundreds of times a day every day for 5 years used it for hanging signs that needed 20 to 30 punches per sign plus centering drill holes in steel doors and steel gondola. great tool for the price. When I bought it I was skeptical also but that is one of the gems I found at Harbor freight

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I could make one exactly like that for a lot cheaper prolly like five bucks. I have files, countersinks etc., probably all the tools I would need and aluminum is easy to machine. I know some guys that do anodizing.

I'll order 10.

[Myk Rian]

I asked the seller if they were insane. I'll let ya know if I get a response.

[Tom Walz]

One-time tools are very important to Woodpeckers becausethey keep people employed during the slow season. Once the weather warms up woodpeckers’ salesdrop way off and pick up again when the weather cools down.

I tend to be pretty careful with my money. I live in a secondhand house, drive asecondhand car, and even old Feebi the dog is a secondhand dog. There are places where I think it isworthwhile spending money. Grandkids atChristmas is one of them. If I thinksomething is worth the money, I buy it. IfI do not think, something is worth the money I just do not buy it.

We sell Woodpeckers and we sell it at the lowest prices theywill allow. Woodpeckers has strict ruleson advertised prices.

Woodpeckers does not allow us to offer any discounts on one-timetools. However, we can offer discountson your order we just cannot tie it directly to a one-time tool. As an example, we are offering the one-timetools at full retail but there is a 10% discount at checkout if you enter thecode “creekers”. In addition, some ofthe marketing people ran a little contest for a discount on Woodpeckers toolsthis week. If you posted on our Facebookpage, you were entered in the contest. Firstprize was $40 off any woodpeckers purchase and there were a couple of other prizes.

Tom Walz
President
www.carbideprocessors.com

[Moses Yoder]

Thats almost as bad as this harbor frieght $2.99 Starrett $37.99

Yes, but, my Starrett was $2 :rolleyes:

[Chris Parks]

Tom, if they want to keep the production floor going they should halve the price and sell three times as many. I see your point but pricing something as ordinary as a speed square as they have the sales will be miniscule if the reaction here is anything to go by.

[Keith Weber]

You don't hit it with a hammer they both are spring loaded. I have had the Harbor freight one for 15 years and it still works like new. I used it every day for the first 5 years installing CVS pharmacys. How do you not center a point? If you want to bang on the Starrett with a hammer then go a head also the Starrett is aluminum.

Well, pardon me -- it looked like regular center punch that you DO hit with a hammer. I couldn't really see the spring in the picture. I'm not saying that there's not a market for HF tools. The fact that they're in business and sell a lot of their, uh... stuff, proves that there is a market. It all depends on what you do. If you're just installing CVS Pharmacys, then you're probably right -- you won't see a difference. I realize that this is a woodworking forum, but for some of us, woodworking is just one of many things we do. You won't find many HF tools in a precision machinist's tool kit. Using my Ball-screwed Bridgeport with an Albrecht chuck holding pricey, American-made cobalt drill bits, I'm able to accurately drill small holes in very small parts. My buddy has a Chinese Mill Drill, with a Chinese Chuck holding drill bits from a HF set that cost about $20. You can actually see the wobble in the chuck, let alone the bit. Needless to say, he's a frequent visitor to my shop when he needs something fixed, or redone.

Yeah, there's those few HF "jems" out there that everybody talks about. The ones where you get 99% of the function for 20% of the price, but they're definitely not the norm. I'm not in any way knocking people that buy HF stuff. They allow a lot of people to get into woodworking/metalworking/welding/etc. that would not be able to otherwise. For that, they're great. My point is that you shouldn't knock the quality brands because you can buy a Chinese knockoff for 10% of the price. You might not always be comparing apples to apples.

"How do you not center a point?" Haha! You should ask the Chinese that question. They seem to be experts on that. I've seen Chinese punches where the ground point is not even close to being in line with the center line of the punch itself. If it were ground on a lathe, it would be centered, but if it was ground after the fact by hand on a grinding wheel, it can be off center by quite a bit. If you're punching a mark on a flat piece with lots of lateral room, then it's not really a problem -- you just line up the point visually with your mark and strike the punch. But what if you've lined up a part, and you need to transfer a hole center onto the other piece? If your punch barely fits in there, you don't have the option to shift it laterally to compensate for the fact that your punch point is off center. They actually make a type of punch specifically for this purpose (called transfer punches). They come in a set with different outside diameters to match the hole whose center you're trying to transfer. Funny enough, I've seen a cheap, Chinese transfer punch set that was obviously pressed instead of machine ground, so the points were all over the place. The whole idea of a transfer punch is to have a centered point. But when you're a Chinese knockoff factory, you probably don't even know what the function of what you're making is, so you don't harden the steel, and you don't grind the points. As long as it looks like what you're copying, somebody will buy it and you'll make money.

It really boils down to what kind of performance you get and what you want to spend. I don't own any HF power or hand tools myself, but I am guilty of owning a HF engine hoist. It does its job (kind of). The casters suck and seem to have a mind of their own as to which way they want to travel, the jack will leak over time, so if I left shop for a couple of days, whatever I was lifting will be resting on the floor, and I would never put any needed body parts under the hoist. But, at $129, I couldn't have bought the steel to weld my own. So it's there, I use it, I curse it, I put up with it. It does what I need it to. If I used it every single day, or I needed it to hold a load steady for a long time, I'd spend the money and get an American-made one. By comparison, my 15-year old, American-made Southworth scissor lift table (also a 2-ton lift), settles 1/4" in 3 months (vs. 36" in 2 days for the HF lift.) You USUALLY get what you pay for.

[Justin Ludwig]

I tend to be pretty careful with my money. I live in a secondhand house, drive a secondhand car, and even old Feebi the dog is a secondhand dog.

I'm glad you don't make secondhand saw blades. I'm very happy with my World's Best Saw Blades, and I'm eagerly waiting the arrival of my latest purchase for my RAS. Keep up the good work, Tom.

[John Sanford]

Anybody who thinks this particular One-Time Tool is aimed at the average carpenter is smoking something. On the other hand, given all the complaining here about shoddy workmanship by the average carpenter, maybe those carpenters should be investing in better tools than they're currently using.

Many of the OTT's seem a mite bit silly to me, but others seem like home runs. If you don't want to drop $100 on this particular tool, well, then don't. Going on and on about it, and even worse, insulting both those who produce it and those who see value in it, well, that's just rude and uncouth.

[eugene thomas]

I don't see value in this tool but some of the ott are pretty handy. I use their gap gage every time set up my dado blade.

[Keith Hankins]

The one time creates a sense of urgency so you have to "buy it now or never get another chance" which is really a smart marketing strategy. If you don't know what you need its easy to get confused. My hats off to their marketing department (although my wallet will stay in my pocket).

No not really a marketing team. The take advance orders since these are cnc'd and not regular runs all the time. Matter of fact if you ever get the chance check out their site and see the size operation they have. They run these in batches and want to schedule those. They will run those again, as they have their other OTT runs, but it won't be for a while. They cant' just spit out a few, and they don't keep inventory on hand for the specialty tools.

[Keith Hankins]

Anybody who thinks this particular One-Time Tool is aimed at the average carpenter is smoking something. On the other hand, given all the complaining here about shoddy workmanship by the average carpenter, maybe those carpenters should be investing in better tools than they're currently using.

Many of the OTT's seem a mite bit silly to me, but others seem like home runs. If you don't want to drop $100 on this particular tool, well, then don't. Going on and on about it, and even worse, insulting both those who produce it and those who see value in it, well, that's just rude and uncouth.

I have been watching this thread with interest. I noticed the same thing. These are not the same as the aluminum squares for a contractor building a house. I did contracting work back in my early years. I never measured length with them, and if they were off a degree big whoop.

Some times having a good tool to do a particular job is really nice. Some could question why buy an expensive Starrett square, or Lie-Nielsen plane, or Knew concepts coping saw. However if you have used any of those tools you know the worth. (if you every get to use the knew concepts coping saw you will agree with me).

I myself did not see the need for this one, but I would never challenge anyone that decided to get it.

Tool envy (no jokes here please) is unnecessary.

[Larry Copas]

Have I missed out on this deal?

I catch fish with gaudy, flashy, expensive lures. Worms work better....

[Ryan Mooney]

No not really a marketing team. The take advance orders since these are cnc'd and not regular runs all the time. Matter of fact if you ever get the chance check out their site and see the size operation they have. They run these in batches and want to schedule those. They will run those again, as they have their other OTT runs, but it won't be for a while. They cant' just spit out a few, and they don't keep inventory on hand for the specialty tools.

I would argue its both (and I'm not dismissing your point at all here - the cost of one offs is certainly considerably more than a batch run, and eating the overhead of stocking the inventory would indeed be rough). I still think its a smart marketing move they way they do it though - I can't imagine they'd get half the sales in twice the time if they just did the run and then sold until sold out.

[Cary Falk]

I have been watching this thread with interest. I noticed the same thing. These are not the same as the aluminum squares for a contractor building a house. I did contracting work back in my early years. I never measured length with them, and if they were off a degree big whoop.

Some times having a good tool to do a particular job is really nice. Some could question why buy an expensive Starrett square, or Lie-Nielsen plane, or Knew concepts coping saw. However if you have used any of those tools you know the worth. (if you every get to use the knew concepts coping saw you will agree with me).

I myself did not see the need for this one, but I would never challenge anyone that decided to get it.

Tool envy (no jokes here please) is unnecessary..

+1 on everything in this post. Those names crossed my mind when I read some of the responses. Some of the planes cost more than my tailed jointer.:eek: A lot of people complain about Chinese crap(they can make good stuff) and then there is a well made USA made alternative and people cry bloody murder. I am confused about this offering since they have a standard 12" carpenter square for the same money and a 6" for $70. I have the 18" OTT and use it quite often.

[Stew Hagerty]

Here is the previous 1-time tool offering of a Speed Square from Woodpeckers.

http://www.woodpeck.com/1pccarpentersquare.html

I have these, and despite how much I like Woodpeckers Tools, $100 for a Speed Square is an awful lot of money.

[Tom Walz]

Limited production tools are expensive to make. Small runs so you don't have a lot of tools to spread the set up cost.

I think Woodpeckers is a great company and we are very proud to sell their tools but they are not really busy driven. Woodpeckers is owned by a genius engineer who loves designing and making really good tools. He adds features you don't find on less expensive tools but that is the way he wants to do them.

Enough people like his tools so that last spring they had to move to a new plant that is better than twice the size of the last one.

As for buying something and just looking at it, below is a picture of Feebi, the latest dog. She is very old and needs a lot of medical care. I hadn't really thought of her like this before but she pretty much falls in the category of something expensive I bought just to look at. I still meet all my financial obligations. Plus Feebi and I are pretty happy with the arrangement. So we figure it is an o.k. thing to do.
296552

[Bruce Page]

I don't know Tom, it looks like Feebi is getting ready to make a run for it..

I agree with many of the sentiments here. If the apparent value to you does not equal the asking price for an item then don’t buy it.

It’s like judging the value between a Toyota Yaris and a Bugatti Veyron. They both perform the same basic function and they both have satisfied owners.

[Craig Behnke]

Bridge City "wannabe"?....

yeah, pikers in the eyes of Bridge City Tools. check the website to see for yourself.

[Phil Thien]

yeah, pikers in the eyes of Bridge City Tools. check the website to see for yourself.

All I know is, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd be stimulating the carp out of the woodworking tool business.

Finely made things are expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as things that don't work.

[Myk Rian]

I asked the seller if they were insane. I'll let ya know if I get a response.
The shipping has been adjusted. More like $20.