On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 3:17:48 PM UTC-6, Greg Guarino wrote:

It's a "woodworkers club" - with a shared, rentable shop that's located
above the retail store. The store staff seem to be involved with the
club and the classes they give there.

The staff at our local store give all the classes, and they do it for extra money. NOTHING wrong with that, but some of the folks teaching don't have the experience as teachers or as craftsmen to teach. A couple of the classes for wood carving were pretty good as a friend of mine taught them, but he is an extraordinarily talent carver with 40 years as a professional carver behind him.

The guy that was teaching their lathe tool sharpening class learned from me.... a few months before he became their expert. He couldn't sharpen a bowl gouge without a jig.

I can't speak to their return policy, or the accuracy of their squares,
but the guys that work there seem to be enthusiasts who don't mind if
you pick their brains at length, whatever your skill level. One of them
opened a can of stain and tried it out on a scrap for me. So I'd rate
the service pretty good, at least at that one location.

As noted, I think a lot has to do with the actual franchise owner and how he wants to run his/her store. About 25 years ago, the local Woodcraft was a pretty good wood worker's warehouse. Nice tools, a few knowledgeable folks there, lots of high end stuff and plenty of coffee. They franchise was sold to an investor that was looking for a new business, and the whole place changed rapidly to the store it is today, which is a place no one I know goes to.

If it hadn't changed, I would be glad to stop by now and then to look at the new tools, talk to a few of the guys, and look at the new merchandise. I used to like that place a lot and really enjoyed looking at the stuff they would get in to sell.

Robert