Rockler store closes: the good and the bad

Next weekend the Cleveland area Rockler store will close it's doors. I have been going there for the last ten years or so and will miss the convenience of picking up something quickly. The only national vendor for woodworking supplies in the Cleveland area will be Woodcraft. Although they are very similar in many ways, the Rockler store tended to have more hardware items in stock. My closest Rockler store will be in Columbus Ohio, so I imagine I will be using the Rockler catalogue for most of my purchases from them.

The good part is the 50% off everything in the store. I made two sweeps through the store. When I returned to the car after the first purchase I remarked to my wife, "I could have spent another hundred dollars easily." And the love of my life uttered these golden words in response, "Well why don't you go back in and get what you want. This won't happen again." So I did.

I bought a 6 foot birch work bench top, several turning tools, some sand paper, some inlays, and a few bits. The turning wood blanks had been pretty well picked over and what was left was the really expensive pieces (even at 50% off) and the pieces with cracks.