Kreg supplier

[AES]

Mods, this may be in the wrong place, please move if necessary, thanks.

Q: I learnt yesterday that Axi are no longer selling Kreg stuff (pocket hole jig, special screws, etc). As soon as their present stocks run down, that's it for Axi with Kreg (pity that, I've always had excellent service from them - usual disclaimers).

Anyway, various web searches reveals NIL dealers in Switzerland and the Axi people themselves told me that a company called Silverline in Yeovil is now the Kreg dealer. Their website contains nil links to Kreg except for dealers to log in via an SSL secure password and I'm not a dealer.

Talking direct to Kreg Customer Service in the US provided me nil dealers in Switzerland (a couple in Germany and Austria of whom I've never heard) plus several in UK including Workshop Heaven in, I think, Banbury.

As I now have a pocket hole jig on the way from Axi I shall clearly need some screws (!!!) and I wonder if anyone has any experience of dealing with Workshop Heaven - especially anyone who is outside UK and has experience of WH's export service (many UK companies do not export at all, and most of those who do are not even aware that Switzerland is not in the EU - hence NIL VAT to be charged).

Any comments welcome, thanks in advance.

Cheers, AES

 

[chippy1970]

D&m tools sell kreg still as far as I know.

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[chippy1970]

http://www.dm-tools.co.uk/brand.php/show/Kreg

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[foxhunter]

Advert in the current issue of The Woodworker - www.kregtool.eu

 

[Dodge]

I think you will find that Matthew ate Workshop Heaven is now stocking Kreg so his excellent service is available!

 

[powertools]

I think that most sellers are well aware that Switzerland is not in the EU but it is not worth the extra hassel to account for a non VAT sale for a box of screws.

 

[foxhunter]

EU does not mean EC. It means Europe.

 

[AES]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

A couple of points:

@foxhunter: 1. Thanks for the Kreg Europe address. Unfortunately you can't buy from that website, it's for info only. If you hit their "Buy Online" key on that website you just get sent to another (retailers) website.

@foxhunter: 2. I don't understand the point you are making about EU and EC, sorry.

@chippy: Thanks for the D&M info. Not heard of them, will try tomorrow (see below).

@Dodge: Thanks for the info. Have heard good things of Workshop Heaven (on this forum). Have just tried them on line. Result? A) they want to charge me 32 quid courier for a box of 20 quid screws - post MUST be cheaper; B) despite my Swiss address their website has automatically added on the UK VAT. I now have a query into their Customer Service and am interested in what reply I get. Meantime I'll try D&M.

@powertools: Sorry I don't accept that argument. First, my own experience to date shows that many retailers who do export do not appreciate that Switz is not in the EU (OK, one of the, I think, 26 European Union countries for foxhunter's benefit!) so that therefore UK VAT should not be charged - see above for an example from today. 2nd, yeah, I may only be buying a 20 quid box of screws today, but in this particular case (and there are many other obviopus cases too) this 20 quid box of screws would have been part of an order to Axi of well over 15 times that amount if Axi hadn't stopped selling Kreg. As said in my original post, there are NIL Kreg dealers in Switz that I can find after pretty extensive searching and so I buy from someone else who's got a good rep. Who's to say that I won't be buying a much more expensive piece/s of kit (Kreg or otherwise) tomorrow?
Sorry the days of retailers being able to say "that order's too small for me" are long gone - or should be anyway.

Thanks to all
AES

 

[AES]

Update:

Have just tried D&M's website. They don't even get past the starting post - if your address is not in the UK then you just don't exist!!!!

Hope Workshop Heaven's Customer Service comes up with some answers on Monday!

Cheers
AES

 

[AES]

Further Update:

Someone called Matthew has just sent me an E-mail (it's 10.30 pm on a Friday here, so 9.30 in UK - that's what I call customer service)!

He clearly explains the courier "problem" and acknowledges the VAT problem. As said that IS Customer Service!

Just to add tio the point above about order size, the reasom WH want to use courier is because the box of screws I want to order is just over the max limit for post. So you can guess who's going to be getting a somewhat larger order than I originally planned!

AES

 

[marcros]

was there a thread once about using some form of chipboard screw as an alternative to the kreg ones? anybody remember?

 

[Richard S]

Just because Axminster will not be selling Kreg branded items, does not necessarily mean they will not still be selling their own brand pocket hole screws. I have a large box of Axminster branded screws that I use with my Trend PH jig. Worth an email to check with them direct I would have thought.

Richard

 

[houtslager]

try panhead screws - there available everywhere

K in A'dam

 

[Lord Kitchener]

I use quite a lot of pocket screws, and have done for a good many years, and although I normally get Kreg screws from Aximinster (mainly for convenience, as I'm usually ordering other stuff as well) the pocket screws I like the best are the Trend ones.

 

[AES]

Once again, thanks to all of you for the various inputs. Again some comments in reply:

1. @marcros - before my original post I did do a search on UKW - but must admit I didn't include "chipboard screws" within the search term;

2. @RichardS - thanks, I had no idea that Axi do their own brand of PH screws. Funny the Cust Serv lady didn't tell me that on the phone when she told me that Axi aren't doing Kreg any more;

3. @houtslager - "panhead"? Maybe, but my problem is that up to now I have nil experience of PH jigs and have never even handled a PH screw. From the descriptions and (small) pix I've seen I thought they have a "load-spreader washer" machined/forged into the head. My order from Axi and WH (below) is now on the way so I'll see the screws "in the flesh" for the first time soon;

4. @Lord Kitchener - Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. I had no idea that Trend make PH screws too. I'm pretty much a newbie at this woodworking lark and up to now had only associated the Trend name with routing.

5. General info - thanks to whoever recommended Workshop Heaven (above). As I noted on Friday they contacted me late that evening, explained the courier "problem" and also said they'd fix the VAT problem. So I placed an order with WH on line today (Sunday morning) including enough "stuff" to make the 32 quid courier charge worthwhile. On Checkout I found that their website does not now charge UK VAT if the buyer's address is in Switzerland. That really IS very impressive customer service - guess where I'll be buying again sometime?

Again thanks to all for the helpful info.

AES

 

[houtslager]

here you go, I use these as the pull the timber together nice and tight, and if I have the torque set right I don't go through the first bit and "blow" the hole.

SPAX are available all over the place.

Hth,

Karl

 

[AES]

Thanks houtslager, it's a big help to see a decent-sized piccie. I'll compare that to my Kreg screws when they arrive, but I do believe I have seen screws as per your pic here in Switzerland (no idea what they're called though).

Cheers
AES

 

[captainpk]

A bit late in seeing this thread.

Has any one tried the UJK Technology Pocket Hole Jig from axminster, to me it looks better built!