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Whether you are new to woodworking or have substantial experience under your belt, you probably have an opinion of Woodcraft stores and Rockler stores.
Because these names are some of the best woodworking shops in the market, you can’t go wrong with choosing either one, but they each have unique products that might suit your situation better, tools like air compressors or hand tools.
So, Woodcraft vs Rockler: which is better? And which one is right for you?
We have compiled a complete guide of these two industry-leading woodshops and broken down their pros and cons.
| Feature | Woodcraft | Rockler |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Products | Better selection of wood species, both domestic and exotic | Varied selection of plywood, wood veneer, dowel rods, inlays, live-edge slabs, and knife scales |
| Tools | Specializes in woodworking | Expansive power tool offerings and innovative accessories |
| Price | Top-end prices, offers more email discounts | Top-end prices, tends to have more sales |
| Quality | High quality | High quality |
| Customer Experience | Email discounts, modify/cancel orders, strict price matching | More frequent discounts, free shipping on some products, no email discounts |
| Overall | Larger brand with diverse products | Boutique with better customer service |
Contents
Woodcraft
With over 72 stores in 35 states across the United States, Woodcraft is a giant in the woodworking world. They have been in service since 1928 when they started as a small one-room shop in Boston.
Whether you look at woodworking as an artist, in your profession, or somewhere in between, chances are you have come across woodcraft products without even having to seek them out specifically.
The range of their products is very diverse. They offer everything from power tools, hand tools, wood species, workshop accessories, and home goods. They are the closest thing you will get to a big box store specializing in woodworking.
Their box stores offer a great place for novice and intermediate woodworkers to meet and share tips, get their hands-on tools, and try them out. It is also an excellent resource for kit and project ideas, as they sell kits as a part of their product offerings.
Perhaps their most sought-after products are their quality and exotic wood offerings. In many areas, the woodcraft store is the only place locally that provides them, and flexibility is one of the more important things when working on a project.
Having more choice in materials allows for greater flexibility in completing a project.
Their selection of woods is too numerous to list, but we will highlight a few standout examples that give a feeling for the Woodcraft’s availability range.
Macacauba
Macacauba wood is rated highly for its durability and resistance to decaying and rot. This durability also provides excellent protection against insect attacks, meaning pests will have difficulty infiltrating their grain.
It is grown primarily in South America and has become somewhat rarer as tree populations that produce it have continued a steady decline.
Padauk
It is an African-grown wood that is popular among woodworking hobbyists because of how easy it is to work with, its unique color, and its pleasing scent.
It can be a pale pinkish-orange to a deep brownish-red. It is distasteful to insects making it highly resistant to any pests that would like to eat them.
Rockler
Rockler has 31 stores in over 21 states, less than half of Woodcraft. They are a family-owned business that has been expanding since 1954 as their start as a small mail-order business.
Rockler has a substantial web presence in addition to their box stores, and they offer hardware, wood species, power tools, hand tools, and instructional training through both business channels.
Rockler wood products’ selection is noticeably less than Woodcraft, especially in the exotic species department.
Where their wood products do shine is their different product types. While they offer domestic and exotic lumber, they also have a varied selection of plywood, wood veneer, dowel rods, inlays, live-edge slabs, and knife scales.
They also have a great selection of power tools that is quite expansive. They have everything in-store and online from dust collection, air filtration, sawing, woodturning, sanding, routing, and laser machines.
Rockler uses its store as a platform to host classes and woodworking events and offer expert advice and project ideas to novice woodworkers.
Another reason Rockler is highly known is that it has developed a suite of innovative gadgets that pair well with its other products. These gadgets improve the quality of life of the woodworker and vary from building your own LED lights and clamping hoses to cheese slicer kits and glue applicator sets.
As a comparison, Rockler is similar to the Apple company, where they develop a base product and then a suite of products that support this base product and are compatible with one another.
Comparing Rockler vs Woodcraft
In this way, Rockler and Woodcraft are the Apple and Microsoft of the woodworking world. They have many cross-over, but they both focus on different things, with other pros and cons to both approaches.
Wood Products
In terms of wood material products, Woodcraft wins hands-down.
They have a much better selection of wood species, both domestic and exotic, and have a greater availability to communities due to their greater number of locations.
Tools
Rockler beats Woodcraft in their availability of power tool offerings while they offer a similar amount of hand tools as one another.
Rockler also has the edge on accessories with many innovative products designed to go great with their other tools.
Price
Lets face it – both Rockler and Woodcraft charge top end prices. Neither really can take the claim of being the better priced brand, although both offer good value for what they provide.
These brands are not the cheapest in the market, but they are not meant to be super affordable.
The value these brands add to their products with in-person instruction and project service is what adds extra value to the prices of their products.
Rockler does tend to have more sales than Woodcraft, but Woodcraft offers more email discounts than Rockler, so the two balance each other out.
If you are concerned about getting the best price between the two, then researching promotions may lead to one brand being better in price to another during different times.
Quality
Many experts and novices alike swear by the quality of both Rockler and Woodcraft products.
They are definitely not on the cheaper end in terms of quality, and one brand doesn’t necessarily have an advantage over the other brand.
If you buy a Rockler and Woodcraft product, it will generally be a reliable and quality product, which means that you are getting a good deal either way.
Customer Experience
Rockler does have the edge over Woodcraft supply for the customer experience side of things and does most of these things better than Woodcraft.
Rockler has more frequent discounts and promotions on their products and offers free shipping policies for some of their products and international shipping. They lag behind in some places because they don’t provide email discounts and do not let you modify or cancel orders.
By contrast, Woodcraft has email discounts and lets you modify or cancel orders, but they do not give you free or international shipping. They also have very strict price matching policies.
In terms of customer service, customers report a similar amount of good and bad experiences. Since both companies franchise out their locations, your experience can vary significantly from store to store.
The knowledgeable staff and project planners are a big selling point for these stores that justify the higher price tag than picking through a lumber yard.
These two brands perform similarly in this area and have similar offerings for hands-on experience for novice and intermediate woodworkers.
Final Thoughts
Woodcraft is a larger brand with more products and offers routine discounts through its email newsletter. Rockler is more boutique and has far better customer service. Both brands offer great quality.
Whoever you choose between Rockler vs Woodcraft, there are many benefits to both. The number of woodworking products dramatically exceeds the time and imagination of woodworking hobbyists, artists, and professionals, so narrowing them down to the right product comes down to personal choice.
Whether you are on the lookout for rare products, quality products, or more affordable products, the Woodcraft and Rockler brands will not let you down in any department.
