PSA: Woodworker's Supply / Woodtek Machinery Closing

[Jeff Roltgen]

Sad news - Woodworker's Supply, a 50 year mail order/online woodworking supplier is shutting down August 25th.
Very kind of them to send me a notice of this. They were somewhat like Grizzly, in that they sold shapers, saws, drill presses and the like in their heyday. Anyone who may have purchased second hand/inherited any Woodtek machines, this is your last call to pick up any spare parts they have left on hand.
Here's the content of their message:


Attention
Our records indicate that you've made a purchase from us for Woodtek Machinery or Parts in the past. Unfortunately, Woodworker's Supply Inc. will end operations on August 15th. It is imperative that you reach out to us for any spare or replacement parts needed before our operations come to an end.

Please give us a call at 1-800-645-9292.

Thank you for being a loyal customer.

Sincerely,
Woodworker's Supply Inc.




jeff

[Bruce Page]

Sad news. There is a Woodworker's Supply showroom/warehouse here in town that got a lot of my money over the years. I was in there a few months ago; very little machinery and a lot of empty shelving. I knew then & there that it's days were numbered.

[Mike King]

You can buy it:

https://woodworker.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/16256837418253

[Ron Citerone]

I don't buy any business less than $10M! :D

I used to buy a lot from them over the years and occasionally do now. Hate to see another source lost to us.

[Tom M King]

Sorry to see them go. They were always a pleasure to do business with. I'm sure the pandemic did them in. I'm using a fair number of pieces of Woodtek equipment, and no complaints with any of it.

[Dave Sabo]

Sorry to see them go. They were always a pleasure to do business with. I'm sure the pandemic did them in. I'm using a fair number of pieces of Woodtek equipment, and no complaints with any of it.


Don't know about that - ( pandemic part )

It appears (one of) the founders past and there was no succession plan in place.

[Keith Outten]

These are some tough economic times for many small to medium size companies. Covid was just the beginning, the view ahead of us looks pretty bad.

[Rick Potter]

They were a great company. I used to travel near the New Mexico store and always stopped in to get stuff. The analogy to Grizzly is good.

[Richard Coers]

Thee are some tough economic times for many small to medium size companies. Covid was just the beginning, the view ahead of us looks pretty bad.
I feel the future of the entire hobby of woodworking looks bleak. Baby boomers are dying at an ever increasing rate. We are the ones with money that can still buy nice materials and machines. Look at all the beginning woodworkers using pallets as a wood source. Young family men are expected to spend more time with the kids, not disappear into the basement for the entire night like most boomers did. Just pick up a Fine Woodworking from the late 80s and see how many of those companies are still around. It will boil down to Amazon as the main supplier in short order.

[Paul Koenigs]

I feel the future of the entire hobby of woodworking looks bleak. Baby boomers are dying at an ever increasing rate. We are the ones with money that can still buy nice materials and machines. Look at all the beginning woodworkers using pallets as a wood source. Young family men are expected to spend more time with the kids, not disappear into the basement for the entire night like most boomers did. Just pick up a Fine Woodworking from the late 80s and see how many of those companies are still around. It will boil down to Amazon as the main supplier in short order.

Yes, another factor is that just about all hobbies have suffered since the explosion of the internet.
More people have gaming/streaming/watching TV as hobbies as opposed to something like woodworking.
That's fine, that's their choice.. not shaming anyone.. but the reality is.. just about all hobbies have shrunk.
I mean, Delta used to be a thriving machinery company.. now it's gone, along with Porter cable and others.
Woodworker's supply has been slowly dying over the last 3 years or so. Their inventory has really shrunk. I got the same email, was not surprised at all.
They have some stuff on clearance on their website. Mostly just odd lots, but maybe there's something you guys can use there.

[Alex Zeller]

At one point we had a Woodworkers Warehouse close to me. There just weren't enough customers to keep it open. They also had a less expensive line of tools, the Reliant brand. As the end came close it was the same thing. Empty shelves. Back then buying off of the internet wasn't like it is now. So I don't think it's a COVID thing. I'm wondering if Rockler and Woodcraft will not suffer the same fate.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Back in the day, Woodworker's Supply was our first choice vendor. Their presence caused other vendors to lower their prices to be competitive. Salesman came by shop at least twice a month. For multiple years, they chartered FREE bus trips to IWF, paid our admission, discounted hotel rooms, etc, plus reception. Sadly, bus was never full. There should have been a waiting list! With most "mom and pop" cabinet shops closing (mine included- retired,) their customer base slowly disappeared. Business models change. My wood supplier when I was in business, no longer wants me, or other hobbiest to grace their doors. Even though I was a small shop, they did everything they could to fill my needs. As an example, I needed two special hinges for one cabinet. Sales person got vendor to send me two as a sample, otherwise I would have needed to order 500 pairs. That's service above and beyond

[Curt Harms]

At one point we had a Woodworkers Warehouse close to me. There just weren't enough customers to keep it open. They also had a less expensive line of tools, the Reliant brand. As the end came close it was the same thing. Empty shelves. Back then buying off of the internet wasn't like it is now. So I don't think it's a COVID thing. I'm wondering if Rockler and Woodcraft will not suffer the same fate.

I imagine any retailer that carries the same products as you can buy on Amazon is going to have a tough row to hoe. I'd guess that anyone selling products you can't easily buy on Amazon like Lee Valley/Veritas or Lie Nielsen should be okay as long as they recognize their target market isn't huge and manufacture accordingly.

[James Pallas]

Too bad. I remember when they started in Albuquerque. Small store in a strip center. Than moved out by Coronado airport. Spent lots of $s 35 years ago.

[Dave Sabo]

These are some tough economic times for many small to medium size companies. Covid was just the beginning, the view ahead of us looks pretty bad.

That could very well be true.

I have two mom & pop woodworking near me that compete(d) with Woodworker's and both of them are doing just fine:

https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/

https://www.ptreeusa.com/

plus, the local Woodcrafts and Rocklers are doing just fine as walk in locations too.

[John Downey]

That's too bad, sorry to see them go. In need to order some sanding sleeves I guess, that is the one thing I still buy from them (for a Woodtek sander).

I can't say as I'm surprised however. I used to buy mortiser bits from them, either Star-M or Nakahashi. When they ceased carrying them I was lucky to find I could special order them (the auger only not the set) through Lee Valley as well. This was a couple years after they ceased carrying Woodtek at all - Many of the Woodtek machines looked like ones Grizzly also carried, so I always suspected they were from the same factory with different paint. I kind of wondered at them discontinuing that line of products, it wasn't as sexy as Delta or whatever, but the lower price point brought customers into the store, and it was serviceable stuff.

The two machines I have are their heavy mortiser and a drum/flap sander. Both excellent machines for imports.

I don't think it was the pandemic. ABQ Exotic Woods seems to have made it through that just fine and they were a much less well established business. Better management is my guess.

[Pat Germain]

I think it's true hobbies are shrinking due to culture changes and technology. But I also think some things are coming full circle. When I was a kid, many moms were stay-at-home moms who sewed, cooked, knitted, crocheted, and served as Cub Scout Den Mothers. In the 80s most of that went away as most moms went to work. I can't remember the last time I talked to anyone who sewed their own clothes. I don't know of any sewing centers currently in business in my area.

Surprisingly, more moms are again becoming stay-at-home moms due to the challenges of child care and just being tired of being stressed out. One of the things to make a big comeback is making bread at home. Who would have thought? One of my high school classmates owns an Alpaca farm. She makes and sells Alpaca yarn and does pretty well. Somebody is using that yarn to knit and it's not industrial factories.

I'm also hearing about more young people getting into woodworking. There sure are a lot of woodworking channels on YouTube and there's no way it's only old guys watching those videos. Some of the YouTube woodworking hosts are women which I think is great. The whole pallet wood thing is definitely absurd. I think most people quickly figure out it's a waste of time. (Was it the Bourbon Moth guy who demonstrated the best way to remove nails from pallet wood by setting it on fire?)

Dads are expected to spend more time with their kids now as compared to generations past. One of the first indicators of this I recall was the closing of the Golf Resort at Walt Disney World. When the Golf Resort opened in 1973, it wasn't uncommon for Dad to play golf all day while Mom took the kids to the Magic Kingdom park. A lot of dads didn't want to stand in line and sit on "kiddie rides" all day. But this was quickly changing. Occupancy at this resort was never great and by the 1980s it was rethemed. Eventually, Disney gave up and sold the resort to the Department of Defense for military members. It's now called, "Shades of Green".

As part of the full circle thing, now I get the impression dads are expected to be more handy. Hiring professionals to do things around the house has not only become ridiculously expensive, it's downright difficult to find a contractor who is reliable and shows up to do quality work. So now dad has to buy a table saw and build those shelves in the kids' rooms and down in the basement. When I go to my local Woodcraft, the customers I see there are mostly younger guys. And a lot of them are with their wives and girlfriends talking about a project they want to do. I think that's great. Last month I bought a SawStop. The manager told me he was selling a LOT of those saws recently. I think that's also great.

I don't know why this particular business went under, but I'm not sure a lack of interest was a factor.

[Paul McGaha]

i'm sorry to hear they're closing.

I bought my Unisaw from them. Centerpiece of the shop.

PHM

[Ray Newman]

Anyone remember the Leichtung woodworking catalog? Did the company go out of business or was it bought out. Haven't thought of Leichtung in years, but some reason this thread made me recall the catalog.

[Dave Sabo]

Anyone remember the Leichtung woodworking catalog? Did the company go out of business or was it bought out. Haven't thought of Leichtung in years, but some reason this thread made me recall the catalog.

I remember it. Kinda ironic that Woodworkers Supply bought them out, eh ?

While strolling down memory lane I also saw (remember):

Trend-Lines
Constantines
Garrett Wade
Sears Tools

only catalog I still receive is a gem from Highland Woodworking.

[Bruce Page]

I still have and use several Leichtung floor mats that I bought from them many years ago.

[Tom M King]

My little workbench came from Leichtung in 1977. It was the first time I ever saw free shipping as a sales promotion.