Where to buy American made (if applicable METRIC) tools in New York City

[Infected98]

Hello FOG-ers,

I’ve spent hour’s and hour’s reading on this forum and I like it a lot.
That’s because of different reasons: there is lot of good advice and a lot of good ideas plus I often laugh out loud from some funny responses forum members make.

Today I decided to stop being “guest” and register.
I’m a Dutch hobbyist who likes working with wood best. Back in the previous century, it was 1998 to be exact, I visited a trade-fair(?) in Holland and there was a Festo-stand. I took a look around and liked what I was seeing but that was it. My dear wife asked one of the Festo-representatives if she could have a brochure which she got and she gave it to me.
A few days later I studied this brochure, and the more I read, the more enthusiastic I got. What I liked best was (and still is  ;-) ) the “system-thought”. I like the fact that I can take a hand tool and with the right accessories can turn it into a stationary machine.
Luckily for me the local tool shop sold Festo and I purchased my first Festoys (word I learned on this forum).
Sadly that same day my addiction started which lead to a never-ending growing amount of (Fes)tools.

Reading this forum has led me to know of the existence of American-made tools and that’s where my questions are about.
At the end of October 2014 I fly to New York City to participate in a run and to visit the city. Visiting the USA will give me a unique opportunity to buy a couple of American-made tools for American prices (I’ve already started saving money ;-) ).
My family and I stay in a hotel in Jersey City and a hotel in Manhattan.
Now I have a couple of questions:
- is there a (tool)shop near one of the hotels that sell the American-made tools I’m interested in?
- if there is a toolshop are the items I would like to buy shelf-items or do they have to be ordered in advance?
- or are (part of) the tools only available through the internet?

Now for the funpart: Tooltalk ;-D.

MicroJig
After reading Reiska’s topic “Micro Jig Grripper – is it worth the money?” I definitely would like to buy a Gripper, Handle Bridge and Deflector/Connector as well as a Gripper 1/8" Leg.

Bridge City Tool Works
The KM-1 Kerfmaker interests me a lot. I would like to know what you think of it.

WoodPeckers
I would like to buy
- Accutrax Pencil Blade
- BC4-M2 4" Box Clamp (2x 2 pieces)
The measuring and layout products are more difficult to decide.
I have read that most (all?) people who own a 1281 square like it and I really really really would like a 300 mm METRIC version.
Assuming I can get the 1281 I would like your advice for the next choice:
Either the T-SQUARE 600mm
Or a combination of the 900mm Woodworking Rule with a Woodpeckers Hook Stop and a Woodpeckers Rule Stop-2

Incra
Don’t know if financials will stretch enough (but it being a unique visit …) I’m also interested in
- INCRA LS Positioner Super System 635 mm Metric Edition
- precisionplate for Incra base
- 2 pair short Precision Dogs for precisionplate

Quit a long first post, but finishing of: Any other advice and/or suggestion(s) on purchasing American-made tools in New York City is/are also welcome.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes time to respond,
Hnkjn

PS. Not wanting to only “take” from the FOG but to contribute as well I posted my second post in the Festool and Tanos Systainers discussion.

 

[RC]

Hi Infected & welcome to the board!

Now that I have the Grrippers in hand I do like them and was comfortable to let my 7-year-old son to rip some boards on the CMS-TS55 the other day. Very nice and a good idea to get the double package of the GR-200's if available. The one I bought from Woodcraft has also the added bonus of throwing in the handle bridges which enable setting the handles at an angle to make stable pushing even more convenient - kinda like the OF2200 handles which enable excerting force at an angle to the work piece towards the fence.

You might want to plan for a place to store them & their accessories though since you are left with a few bits and bobs (like they actually add extra T-slot nuts and bolts for custom jigs with the Grrippers - how cool is that?) and the base wideners. Thinking of yet-another-systainer for them  [tongue]

With regards to the Incra LS-positioner I would just shop @ Dieter Schmidts at Fine Tools in Germany - his price is reasonable and you will miss the customs and VAT hell with imports. Also the LS-system even in its transport box dismantled to its components is like 1200 x 400 x 250 mm or so and weighs probably 25kg. You won't be able to get that on an airplane without excess weight or size premiums.

The Precision Plate Set-version comes with the required screws and two of the low dogs so just order a set from PrecisionDogs - they deliver to Europe as well. Don't know if you could time the delivery to your hotel while you are there with Jerry?

 

[Infected98]

Hi Reiska,

Thanks for the welcome and the quick response  [big grin]!

I think customs and VAT are not a problem since each person is allowed to bring goods with a total of 430 euro's from outside the EU and we are a party of 4. It is not allowed to bring a single item over 430 euro and divide it over multiple persons, but everything on my wishlist is less than 430 euro's a piece.

You made a couple of remarcs that did not occur to me like the size & weight of the Incra-stuff.
I will look into the Dieter Schmidts at Fine Tools. There is a supplier in the Netherlands as well where I can order, but the prices in euro's are higher than the price in dollars and each dollar is aprox. 0.75 euro, therefore a lot more expensive then getting it in the USA and "bringing it home".

I don't know if US-webshops deliver to a hotel-adres, maybe worth looking in to...
The only Jerry you're referring to I can think of is Tom. If you mean a different one, please let me know [unsure].

Good luck with deciding which systainer to buy for your MicroJig-collection [wink] and finding the storage space for it behind your stairs  [cool]

Regards Hnkjn.

 

[teocaf]

Kerfmaker is a great little tool that does its job very nicely.  Being a BCTW tool, I don't think they stock it--you have to order it when they do a production run of them.  Call them direct and see when that will be.  Or post a Want To Buy notice on some of the big woodworking forums, check ebay, that kind of thing.  Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[RC]

Oh, sorry for being obscure about the Jerry reference - I of course meant Jerry from Precision Dogs. info@precisiondogs.us

 

[grbmds]

I've had the Grrippers for years, almost since they first came out. Great for table saw work. Since buying the TS55, I don't use a table saw anymore, but I still use the Grrippers on my router table. That said, not using the table saw anymore, I might not buy them today as the table saw is where I think they excel and there are other solutions for the router table and jointer which are much cheaper.

Woodpeckers - Accutrax marking leads break a lot, even though I 've been very careful. They do a great job when marking a cut line with a straight edge or just making a cut mark. But you can't put the least side pressure on the lead or it snaps.    All of Woodpecker's rules and stops are great. I have the Story Stick Pro and have just touched the surface of what I will use it for. I'm sure others will say just make your own and I did that for awhile. I find the Woodpecker version in red aluminum with the clear plastic stops great and convenient and accurate.

For the MFT table, I like the Parf dogs. I also have the dogs that came with my Rip Stop set I bought from Rip Dog Tools. They are also great and fit the holes tightly, just like the Parf dogs. I have the Lee Valley clamping set for the MFT and it is also very versatile, especially the low profile stops. They are great for a stop to hold the wood against when I use the Domino.

Don't know about the rest of the items you list.

 

[RC]

A thought just occured to me - if you have extra weight available in your luggage on your way in you could ask around here if someone in the NY area would like to purchase a CMS-TS55/75 module from Europe that you could carry with you to the US and in exchange help you out with providing a delivery address for the US stuff you are interested in? Then swap the gear when you are in NYC for the run...  [wink]

 

[RKA]

The two local options are Tool Nut (who stock some woodpeckers items).  They are about 45 mins north of NYC.  The other is toolsforworkingwood.com.  They have the knew concepts fret saws, which I've been eyeing for a while.  For most things, I just order via mail.  I can't find everything I want in one place and it's far easier to have it delivered to my door.

If you need a local shipping option, I'd be happy to help.  Just send me a PM.  I'm 40 mins south of the city and my wife works next to the Hyatt in Jersey City.  Some vendors may ship to a hotel, but I suspect most won't, especially with an overseas CC (fraud concerns).

The bridge city km-1 is great!  Simple and elegant, and does what it's supposed to do.  The come in and out of stock, so if you want it, call them now and see if they might be making another run.  If not, PM me and I might be able to help you. 

Welcome! 

 

[shed9]

Another + for Reiska's comment on Fine Tools. The Incra positioner is a hefty beast and going to add to your flight carry limits. I've used Fine Tools a fair bit and they are spot on for customer service.

You also might want to try Peter Sefton in the UK as well. They ship within Europe and are equally customer focused. They supply Incra, Micro-jig and Woodpecker product.

http://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/

 

[Gneyenhuis]

The KM-1 is such a great tool. Well worth waiting for. Today I received my SP-26 from Bridge City. I can't wait to figure out how it will interact with my collection of Festools. In about a week I'm going to receive my Jointmaker Pro v2 that I ordered on Sept 24th of last year. To really appreciate Bridge City Toolworks you have to be able to delay gratification. It gets to be a Zen thing. Whenever I get antsy for my Jointmaker I just go fondle my KM-1. I love great tools and since I ordered my Jointmaker I have lowered my expectations but also become inspired of what I'm going to build when it gets here. Bridge City--The Festool of the west.
Gary

 

[Infected98]

Many thanks to everyone who did respond to my questions!
Your comments have made a couple of things clear:

Definitly not buying during my visit to NYC:
WoodPeckers
- Accutrax Pencil Blade (grbmds: “Accutrax marking leads break a lot”)
- 900mm Woodworking Rule (will not fit in my suitcase)

Incra stuff.
- to big and to heavy to take on a plane. Looked at Dieter Schmidts (Fine Tools) and Peter Sefton (woodworkersworkshop) and both are more expensive then a dutch supplier.

Things left on my wishlist which I would like to purchase during my visit to NYC:
MicroJig
- a Gripper, Handle Bridge and Deflector/Connector as well as a Gripper 1/8" Leg

WoodPeckers
- BC4-M2 4" Box Clamp (2x 2 pieces)
- 1281 square 300 mm METRIC version
- T-SQUARE 600mm

Would like to buy but probably not available
- Bridge City Tool Works - KM-1 Kerfmaker

Others / miscellaneous:
- stil in doubt whether to buy a precisionplate with dogs since I will not buy Incra in the near future
- don’t think I will use a story Stick Pro very often
- I like Reiska’s idea of taking NAINA-stuff to NYC and swap for american-made tools
- visiting ToolNut will take to long  / will be a whole undertaking
- the toolsforworkingwood showroom in Brooklyn is on my back-up list
- the Jointmaker Pro v2 looks like a awesome tool (but will not make it to my wishlist until I win a lottery)

Thanks a lot for your input !
Hnkjn.

 

[Michael Kellough]

You've done your research well.

Tools for Working Wood is the only place in the city worth visiting (for fine tools) but they don't have any of the things you are interested in. A visit there wouldn't be much different from a hand tool focused shop at home.

Spend your time on the things that are unique to NY, although with so many visitors during the marathon they'll all be crowded. Here is a tip, go to the Met's Cloisters museum (far north Manhattan) and check out the boxwood carvings. On second thought, those things were made by Europeans centuries ago and you've probably already seen similar at home...

 

[dutchie]

Hi Infected,

Greetings from Utrecht. Not sure if this is allowed, but the Dutch webshop Gereedschappro(.nl) carries quite some of the products you're looking for! No need for customs, import taxes, hassle etc. etc.

Other then that > sounds very familiar your story! A handyman left a Festool guide rail in the house and I remember thinking "Festool? What kind of Chinese crap is this?" I did some Googling and I couldn't have been further from the truth haha. Also for me it's mostly the "system" thought that I find appealing.

Enjoy your stay in the Big Apple!