Locally in Canada, we have a group of stores called Busy Bee Tools, of
which I was not aware until today. They were able to supply me with
something that no one else had been able to, so I was a bit impressed
with their operation.

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

As well, I follow the machine threads on the Wreck, and see the popular
names; Jet, Delta, etc. Busy Bee carries a line I've never seen
discussed he Craftex.

I'd never heard of them before, but the store is chockablock with the
stuff, so I figure it must be selling. My untrained eye caught some
prices on lathes, shapers, TSs, etc, and the prices seemed about middle
of the road, or high middle.

I'd be interested in opinions on Craftex, if you guys have ever dealt
with them.

TIA

Tanus

I have been there a few times as I too live in Canada. The Craftex
line is their own brand of machinary. It is all imported from Asia
(China?) and as far as I have been able to tell, it is low end import
stuff. They charge a pretty penny for it too.

My good friend's father worked in the industrial supply trade and he
said their tools are crap.

My advice: steer clear! There is plenty of equivalent priced machines
out there by reputable names; why invest in something that may not be
fully supported 5 years from now?

MHO

Michael

They have a few good machines but most of their stuff is low end. I bought
a few pieces when I stated and they are so so and from what I have read
their products have gone down hill since then. For a lot more input ask
your question at Canadian Woodworking Forum. JG

Tanus wrote:

Locally in Canada, we have a group of stores called Busy Bee Tools, of
which I was not aware until today. They were able to supply me with
something that no one else had been able to, so I was a bit impressed
with their operation.

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

As well, I follow the machine threads on the Wreck, and see the popular
names; Jet, Delta, etc. Busy Bee carries a line I've never seen
discussed he Craftex.

I'd never heard of them before, but the store is chockablock with the
stuff, so I figure it must be selling. My untrained eye caught some
prices on lathes, shapers, TSs, etc, and the prices seemed about middle
of the road, or high middle.

I'd be interested in opinions on Craftex, if you guys have ever dealt
with them.

TIA

Tanus

JGS wrote:
They have a few good machines but most of their stuff is low end. I bought
a few pieces when I stated and they are so so and from what I have read
their products have gone down hill since then. For a lot more input ask
your question at Canadian Woodworking Forum. JG

Tanus wrote:

Locally in Canada, we have a group of stores called Busy Bee Tools, of
which I was not aware until today. They were able to supply me with
something that no one else had been able to, so I was a bit impressed
with their operation.

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

As well, I follow the machine threads on the Wreck, and see the popular
names; Jet, Delta, etc. Busy Bee carries a line I've never seen
discussed he Craftex.

I'd never heard of them before, but the store is chockablock with the
stuff, so I figure it must be selling. My untrained eye caught some
prices on lathes, shapers, TSs, etc, and the prices seemed about middle
of the road, or high middle.

I'd be interested in opinions on Craftex, if you guys have ever dealt
with them.

TIA

Tanus

Thanks guys. Since I've been on the Wreck, I've learned to put a great
deal of faith in what is said here regarding a lot of things, and
machinery is one of them. I wondered why I'd never heard of Craftex on
here, and now I know.

Tanus

In article .com,
"Tanus" wrote:

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

Busy Bee...well.. lemme see... before they get vilified by the unwashed...

They are located at a convenient off-ramp from the highway, so I do frequent
their London, Ontario outlet often. They carry Makita, DeWalt and many other
well-known accessory lines in router-lifts etc. Triton is well represented there
as well. Their Craftex router bits are on a par with Freud at half the price.
Their 12" PSA sanding discs are pretty good, as is the sander which is Craftex.
Then again, it's a motor with a disc... not too complicated.... certainly good
value. I have my eye on a 37" radial arm drill-press which will do what I need
it to do for the money I'm willing to spend.
An acquaintance of mine has a Craftex 12" lunch-box planer (12 years old) and
after many years of abuse, he walked in with a shopping list of obscure
replacement parts and they had ALL of them in stock, so he was up and running
the same day.

The Craftex line is painted in a godawful green with ugly yellow logos and
warning stickers (do NOT use their 48" drum sander whilst taking a shower) but
their stuff seems well-built, solid and cheap. It ain't Laguna nor pretending to
be.
After 30 years, they are still being compared to Grizzly by many, so to call
their stuff crap is merely showing one's ignorance. You get what you pay for,
and some people won't pay for much, yet want everything for nothing.

http://www.busybeetools.com/

r

If I need a tool and I don't want to spend large on it, I can come back with
four for price of the one. I am curious about craftex too. They sell a set
of undersized plywood bits, for 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4" - all 1/32" under. Less
than a single bit at HD. I love their sales. Fills up the tool box fast.

For home use they are the first company that comes to mind for this.

I bet they are the bread and butter for supplies for some operations.

For the price of a rosewood handled square and chisel guide at LV you could
get a square and chisel guide, surface plate, dial caliper, micrometer,
feller guages, pitch gauges, scriber, punches, and a box of 50 sheets of
sandpaper. I haven't calculated.

I know Mitutoyo make the cheap ind. std. dial caliper (over $100), but I
have tested their $22 model with guage blocks and it is bang on, all over.
That is what I like.



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I have owned 2 of their jointers and have a used 15 inch planer. The
original 6" jointer was replaced by an 8" machine and is still giving
good service to it's owner.
They are directly comparable to King and General International tools
(both Chinese imports) in my opinion. the prices I payed are certainly
comparable.
You won't buy the equivalent Delta or General for the same money.
By the by I've had the planer 4 or 5 years now and it was 9 years old
when I bought it.
Having actually owned and used their tools I have no complaints. Your
mileage may vary of course.

Hal

On 11 Apr 2006 20:38:59 -0700, "maico" wrote:

I have been there a few times as I too live in Canada. The Craftex
line is their own brand of machinary. It is all imported from Asia
(China?) and as far as I have been able to tell, it is low end import
stuff. They charge a pretty penny for it too.

My good friend's father worked in the industrial supply trade and he
said their tools are crap.

My advice: steer clear! There is plenty of equivalent priced machines
out there by reputable names; why invest in something that may not be
fully supported 5 years from now?

MHO

Michael

Well said.

On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 08:23:41 -0400, Robatoy
wrote:

In article .com,
"Tanus" wrote:

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

Busy Bee...well.. lemme see... before they get vilified by the unwashed...

They are located at a convenient off-ramp from the highway, so I do frequent
their London, Ontario outlet often. They carry Makita, DeWalt and many other
well-known accessory lines in router-lifts etc. Triton is well represented there
as well. Their Craftex router bits are on a par with Freud at half the price.
Their 12" PSA sanding discs are pretty good, as is the sander which is Craftex.
Then again, it's a motor with a disc... not too complicated.... certainly good
value. I have my eye on a 37" radial arm drill-press which will do what I need
it to do for the money I'm willing to spend.
An acquaintance of mine has a Craftex 12" lunch-box planer (12 years old) and
after many years of abuse, he walked in with a shopping list of obscure
replacement parts and they had ALL of them in stock, so he was up and running
the same day.

The Craftex line is painted in a godawful green with ugly yellow logos and
warning stickers (do NOT use their 48" drum sander whilst taking a shower) but
their stuff seems well-built, solid and cheap. It ain't Laguna nor pretending to
be.
After 30 years, they are still being compared to Grizzly by many, so to call
their stuff crap is merely showing one's ignorance. You get what you pay for,
and some people won't pay for much, yet want everything for nothing.

http://www.busybeetools.com/

r

Simple Canadian/USA comparison:

Harbour Freight = Princess Auto + Busy Bee Tools

'nuff said?

Michael

Hi Robatoy,
Yes, The Trition router they sell is great and at the current price of $299 the
best value in routers IMHO. And their bits are good value too. I have their OSS and
it too is great. I also have their drill press and band saw. Would I buy either
again, no.
As to comparing them with Grizzly, other than the original family relationship and
agreement I haven't read any real comparison, just speculation. Maybe worth a road
trip to PA to check out one of their stores first hand. Cheers, JG

Robatoy wrote:

In article .com,
"Tanus" wrote:

Has anyone else dealt with them here?

Busy Bee...well.. lemme see... before they get vilified by the unwashed...

They are located at a convenient off-ramp from the highway, so I do frequent
their London, Ontario outlet often. They carry Makita, DeWalt and many other
well-known accessory lines in router-lifts etc. Triton is well represented there
as well. Their Craftex router bits are on a par with Freud at half the price.
Their 12" PSA sanding discs are pretty good, as is the sander which is Craftex.
Then again, it's a motor with a disc... not too complicated.... certainly good
value. I have my eye on a 37" radial arm drill-press which will do what I need
it to do for the money I'm willing to spend.
An acquaintance of mine has a Craftex 12" lunch-box planer (12 years old) and
after many years of abuse, he walked in with a shopping list of obscure
replacement parts and they had ALL of them in stock, so he was up and running
the same day.

The Craftex line is painted in a godawful green with ugly yellow logos and
warning stickers (do NOT use their 48" drum sander whilst taking a shower) but
their stuff seems well-built, solid and cheap. It ain't Laguna nor pretending to
be.
After 30 years, they are still being compared to Grizzly by many, so to call
their stuff crap is merely showing one's ignorance. You get what you pay for,
and some people won't pay for much, yet want everything for nothing.

http://www.busybeetools.com/

r