KBC Tools Sale

[Susquatch]

I had to pickup some bandsaw blades at KBC Tools today. I ordered in advance to save the shipping.

While I was there, they showed me some backroom deals.

The King 7x12 is on sale for 1099.



I had a chance to fiddle with it a bit. It is a tiny little thing, but I liked it! I'd have to actually use one to form an opinion. But for $1K it doesn't seem bad. Very small and compact too.

I also scooped these goodies off the sale shelf.

Two large surface grinder wheel arbours and one regular arbour for $10 each. No info but they looked ok, so I had to just take a chance. I checked them when I got home. They fit just fine!





The small 3/8 Dumont grinding wheel was $5.

Very happy. Highly recommend checking out the back room at KBC.

 

[thestelster]

I had to pickup some bandsaw blades at KBC Tools today. I ordered in advance to save the shipping.

While I was there, they showed me some backroom deals.

The King 7x12 is on sale for 1099.

View attachment 43782

I had a chance to fiddle with it a bit. It is a tiny little thing, but I liked it! I'd have to actually use one to form an opinion. But for $1K it doesn't seem bad. Very small and compact too.

I also scooped these goodies off the sale shelf.

Two large surface grinder wheel arbours and one regular arbour for $10 each. No info but they looked ok, so I had to just take a chance. I checked them when I got home. They fit just fine!



View attachment 43783

The small 3/8 Dumont grinding wheel was $5.

Very happy. Highly recommend checking out the back room at KBC.

Good score. I don't think I've ever seen wheel adaptors in their catalogue.

 

[Mcgyver]

Good score. I don't think I've ever seen wheel adaptors in their catalogue.

I don't either, bought mine on amazon. KBC will order stuff outside of the catalogue so maybe they are specials that didn't get picked or were returned etc. I don't remember seeing TP grinding wheels either

 

[Susquatch]

I don't either, bought mine on amazon. KBC will order stuff outside of the catalogue so maybe they are specials that didn't get picked or were returned etc.

The boxes they were all shrapnel. Could also be that they used to carry them a million years ago and were cleaning up the warehouse.

A total bonus find for me. I'm happy to have them. I needed a few more anyway.

Wish I took pictures of the other stuff there. There was a nice 6" Kurt Vice, and a bunch of other things.

I'll be checking that back room every time I go from now on.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

Huh, I’ve never been over to pick things up. I usually try to hold off on ordering until we can get free shipping.

Now I'm curious as to what I’m missing out on…

 

[darrin1200]

Yeah, they all kinda keep their prices the same. BusyBee has their mini lathe on for $1099 as well.

 

[trlvn]

Highly recommend checking out the back room at KBC.

Is that the Windsor location? I haven't been in the Toronto establishment for a few years but that sort of stuff was at the right hand end of the counter back then.

BTW, what is the minimum purchase now? Still $25?

Craig

 

[Susquatch]

Huh, I’ve never been over to pick things up. I usually try to hold off on ordering until we can get free shipping.

Now I'm curious as to what I’m missing out on…

The stuff was all on a counter and on shelves in the machine display area. The guy described it as "junk". But it clearly wasn't.

The other funny thing was that he couldn't figure out how to enter it into the sales records. A girl from the warehouse had to show him.

She is also the one who gave me some pro tips for navigating the KBC Website. Wonderful young lady.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

The stuff was all on a counter and on shelves in the machine display area. The guy described it as "junk". But it clearly wasn't.

The other funny thing was that he couldn't figure out how to enter it into the sales records. A girl from the warehouse had to show him.

She is also the one who gave me some pro tips for navigating the KBC Website. Wonderful young lady.

Pro tips, eh??? Let me get a pen!

 

[Susquatch]

Is that the Windsor location?

Yes. But Oldcastle really. Oldcastle is on the outskirts of Windsor.

I haven't been in the Toronto establishment for a few years but that sort of stuff was at the right hand end of the counter back then.

It's a separate room with mostly King machines on display.

BTW, what is the minimum purchase now? Still $25?

Yup, still $25.

 

[Susquatch]

Pro tips, eh??? Let me get a pen!

You asked......

Pro Tip 1

It's almost impossible to find what you want on their website. A typical search will find a few thousand hits.

Do it anyway. Eg. Search on Bandsaw Blade which is what I wanted. If you search on 5ft 4.5" or 64.5, it doesn't help. So keep it simple - just "bandsaw blade".

In my case, that finds 16 pages of results with 753 items. Totally useless you think.

Then scan the list for any real band saw blade. It doesn't matter if it's a different blade than you want. In fact, it doesn't even matter if it's not a bandsaw blade, but that does help.

Select that item.

At the top of the item details page that opens up is a category breakdown that shows where that item is in their on-line catalog. I circled it in the screen shot below:



Now click on bandsaw blades at the end as highlighted by my arrow.

That will open a category filter system like this:



Now you can check off the filter boxes as appropriate, and click apply for each group till you are happy with everything you checked.

In my case, I selected Starrett and 5'-4-1/2".

That brought that huge giant list down to just 11 Choices including the blade for aluminium that I was after.

Pro Tip 2

Once you get the list narrowed down and can see what you want on the list, (mine was the top one) you can see the quantity at the right.



Mine says "shipping soon" cuz I cleaned them out when I was there. But if you click on the other one I circled, you get this popup that shows what store has what.



If my store has it, I can just go get it. If not, I have to place a phone order for pickup.

Pro Tip 3-xx

I am too old to remember........

I'll come back here and edit this post if they come to me. The two above are the most helpful.

 

[Stuart Samuel]

You asked......

Pro Tip 1

It's almost impossible to find what you want on their website. A typical search will find a few thousand hits.

Do it anyway. Eg. Search on Bandsaw Blade which is what I wanted. If you search on 5ft 4.5" or 64.5, it doesn't help. So keep it simple - just "bandsaw blade".

In my case, that finds 16 pages of results with 753 items. Totally useless you think.

Then scan the list for any real band saw blade. It doesn't matter if it's a different blade than you want. In fact, it doesn't even matter if it's not a bandsaw blade, but that does help.

Select that item.

At the top of the item details page that opens up is a category breakdown that shows where that item is in their on-line catalog. I circled it in the screen shot below:

View attachment 43806

Now click on bandsaw blades at the end as highlighted by my arrow.

That will open a category filter system like this:

View attachment 43808

Now you can check off the filter boxes as appropriate, and click apply for each group till you are happy with everything you checked.

In my case, I selected Starrett and 5'-4-1/2".

That brought that huge giant list down to just 11 Choices including the blade for aluminium that I was after.

Pro Tip 2

Once you get the list narrowed down and can see what you want on the list, (mine was the top one) you can see the quantity at the right.

View attachment 43812

Mine says "shipping soon" cuz I cleaned them out when I was there. But if you click on the other one I circled, you get this popup that shows what store has what.

View attachment 43813

If my store has it, I can just go get it. If not, I have to place a phone order for pickup.

Pro Tip 3-xx

I am too old to remember........

I'll come back here and edit this post if they come to me. The two above are the most helpful.

Thanks! KBC makes me crazy, but I haven’t found a great alternative. Maybe this’ll make me slightly less crazy.

 

[Susquatch]

Thanks! KBC makes me crazy, but I haven’t found a great alternative. Maybe this’ll make me slightly less crazy.

Me too. But I've used them since they first opened, they have stuff other outfits don't, most of their lineup is high quality, there is a store an hour away, their stock is pretty good, and they have great staff.

Their shipping sucks though.

These two pro-tips stuck with me because they address my main needs.

 

[trlvn]

check off the filter boxes as appropriate, and click apply for each group till you are happy with everything you checked.

Rather than first doing a search, you can get there directly by selecting the "Products" button at the top-left of any page on their site. For example, "Cutting Tools" under "Products". Select one of the product groups and then you'll get the page with all the different options to filter. See attachments.

Craig

 

[Susquatch]

Select one of the product groups and then you'll get the page with all the different options to filter.

That's basically what I used to do. I found it confusing because stuff isn't always where I thought it would be. The Protip is what the employee uses. That says something right there.

Try my example band saw blade that way....

Or how about an internal threading tool?

I actually complained about not being able to find the blade I wanted. That's what caused her to give me the pro trips cuz that's what she uses. It's faster for me too. I just tried bandsaw blade again. Never did find it.

But of course, you are right. That's how it should work. Just doesn't always work the way it should. Seems to me Princess Auto is the same.

 

[trlvn]

I just tried bandsaw blade again. Never did find it.

Yeah, it is a bit hidden. You can get there from Cutting Tools via "Saw Blades". Weirdly, though this is the picture shown on the Cutting Tools page:

Not what I would use to illustrate "Saw Blades". Literally, that is a saw but most of us probably don't instantly associate that with the general category of sawing tools. Kinda the same 'logic' Obi-wan Kenobi uses ("From a certain point of view") to explain why he lied about Luke's father being dead.

Craig

 

[Dan Dubeau]

You should have given her a pro tip about how to setup a website. Go to Mcmastercarr.com.....

KBC is alright. I usually make an order or three every year, either through work, or personal. I don't hate it, don't love it. We have other more local sources for most consumables and things like that, so they don't get all that much business from me. I used to like popping into the store once in a while. Have not been in probably over a decade.

 

[Susquatch]

Yeah, it is a bit hidden. You can get there from Cutting Tools via "Saw Blades". Weirdly, though this is the picture shown on the Cutting Tools page:

View attachment 43816

Not what I would use to illustrate "Saw Blades". Literally, that is a saw but most of us probably don't instantly associate that with the general category of sawing tools. Kinda the same 'logic' Obi-wan Kenobi uses ("From a certain point of view") to explain why he lied about Luke's father being dead.

Craig

I like your Kenobi example. Too funny.

I tried again with your help. And I did get there this time.

Products takes you here



Then cutting tools takes you here. You can see band saw blades this time, but the photo is even worse than the hole saw!



Then finally clicking that gets you to the filter page.




I like her pro tips. I'm there in a fraction of the time and I don't have to use any artistic interpretation of the imagery.

Bottom line is that the web site could be a lot better as @Dan Dubeau says.

I wonder what the lost sales dollar value is......

 

[Stuart Samuel]

You should have given her a pro tip about how to setup a website. Go to Mcmastercarr.com.....

KBC is alright. I usually make an order or three every year, either through work, or personal. I don't hate it, don't love it. We have other more local sources for most consumables and things like that, so they don't get all that much business from me. I used to like popping into the store once in a while. Have not been in probably over a decade.

Who are you ordering from, Dan? I’m mostly using KBC for consumables like cutting tools (drill bits, end mills), pneumatic fittings, etc. Hardware is mostly from Spaenaur. I order from McMaster once or twice a month. I like the carbide end mills we’ve gotten from Castelar, but I’m reluctant to spend more of my day dealing with lots of smaller, more specific orders.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

We have good reliable local tool reps at SB Simpson, and CCS Industrials for cutting tools I usually use. Mcmaster carr usually fills the void in the hardware and "other" departments, along with a few other vendors for industry specific supplies. KBC is generally for setup stuff, or sale items that catch my eye. McMaster is handy, but very easy to overuse as it's not the cheapest source of stuff. I use it sparingly for personal use, but submit all my orders at work through mcmaster to the shipping/receiving manager, as that's the only way I know I'll actually get exactly what I need. Tooling orders for my dept I do directly and don't have to play broken telephone.

Thanks for the Castelar lead. They have some nice looking reduced neck long tooling I might check out. I need to order a couple new ones for stock and might give them a try if I can.