# My first purchase from MLCS



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Members usually like to hear about how the service is from on line vendors. I recently made my first purchase from MLCS and thought I would share the experience. When I phoned in the order the sales lady was very polite, walked me through the order and thanked me for my business. 4 days later my order arrived and was as expected. This sounds like a great reference... but it is not. Being happy at how quick the service was I browsed the web site and found that the bit I ordered was listed in the clearance section for half the price. Now the nice sales lady could of told me this and I would of had two bits for the price of one but she chose not to. Not getting a sale price because you are not aware of it stinks in my opinion. When an item is on sale all customers should get this advantage automaticly, not just the few who spent hours pooring over the web site. I am calling MLCS today to ask them for a comment on this, and I will report their response.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I chatted with Chris at MLCS today. He explained that the bits that were half price were out of spec. That is a reasonable response so I guess I have to report that my initial feeling was correct. Quick, accurate service.


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

Glad you're happy with your purchase, but out of curiosity, did the bits that were half-price state that they were out of spec? Just wondering so that if somebody makes a purchase in clearance, they are fore-warned that it may be defective.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I have had several dealings with them and have found them to be a pleasue to deal with. I bought the Marval small router. When it arrived the latchs on the case were defective. I called them on it got a new case in 2-3 days. I agree however on the bits, should have told you what the status was and why. Thank you for the report.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

There is a disclaimer for the bargain section so they are covered.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Mike,

I've had nothing but great luck with MLCS. I'm glad to hear that your first experience with them was a good one.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

"were out of spec"

This surprises me Mike, I would have thought that they would have been binned at the factory or off-loaded to a $2.00 store!


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

MLCS / Penn State Industries has a somewhat checkered reputation. Most people either love 'em or hate 'em. 

So far, from both companies I have good service and good products. In all my dealings with them I have ordered on-line and used their email addresses for asking questions. Always prompt responses to my questions. Of the two sides of the coin, Penn State was the slower to ship but they did get the job done and everything was as described.

The non-binning of the out-of-spec parts doesn't particularly suprise me. Sometimes, it isn't terribly critical that a bit be the exact diameter. But it is important to KNOW if it is or isn't. 

YMMV


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I love 'em. even with the postage costs to the U.K. Their paper catalogue was brilliant years ago, a joy to read and re-read. I like the videos on their website.


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## rcp612 (Oct 22, 2008)

My first order to MLCS was great IMHO. Within 10 minutes of placing an on-line order I received an E-mail stating an "out of stock" for the one and only bit I had ordered. They gave me options and a discounted price for a Katana bit that would serve my purpose. I thought that was fantastic and personalized service.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Mike, it appears that all of us who hail from Cheshire are not only clever but modest with it!


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

well, i just placed my first order from them online and ordered it 2nd day. i will see how their service is and respond here when i receive it.


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

ive ordered from them online with no problems, got it here real quick too


gotta love free shipping


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi levon,

When I've ordered from MLCS in the past, I've always went with the free shipping offer. I've never had to wait more than 4 days the norm from them.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hi Ken,

im leaving town in 2 days and was trying to get it here before i left. that was my reasoning and i want to make sure it is here by the fourth weekend, my friend BobJ is supposed to ship me a lot of stock to work on, lol.

just teasin BobJ.


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## jigmaker (Jul 17, 2007)

I have purchased a lot of stuff from them and never had a problem, everything has been of good quality. I am very pleased with the service.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

i should have already responded, i got my order sooner than expected. i do really like the collet extension and to avoid having problems getting bits out, before using the extension i made the wedge tools like BobJ recommended.

its a real plus when template routing and using short bits.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

harrysin said:


> Mike, it appears that all of us who hail from Cheshire are not only clever but modest with it!


Only just spotted this! Where in Cheshire, Harry? Happy hours in The Rising Sun, in Tarporley.
BTW, I once spent the night in the police station in Altrincham!

I agree about MLCS's old paper catalogue. (something on topic, at least!)


Cheers

Peter


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

I just wonder if any Canucks here have ordered from MCLS? How was it for exchange/duty/taxes?


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## Ianwhitefeather (Jul 18, 2009)

I dont know about Canucks, But I have ordered online from MLCS and I live in South Africa......their service was excellent and the goodies arrived within about 10 days.....I expected to wait at least a month........But then I have to Say, I also order from Lee Valley and Rockler ......and the same thing applies to their service......10 days or so and my goodies are there....as ordered. and I have had a few mails where the itmes I wanted were out of stock but they recommended a replacement and all worked out fine.
I woudlnt hessitate to buy form anyone of the three I have mentioned above.


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## zzdodge (Aug 10, 2009)

I have ordered from MCLS about twice a year for almost 20 years. The last order was a 0.5 micron filter canister for my Jet dust collector. The quality was OK, and parts of it, well, the important part, the canister was very nice, but some of the other parts were cheap, and not of good fit and finish. Also, they didn't say that a plastic collector bag came with the canister, so I bought a pack of them...which really weren't needed.

I've bought about 75% of my bits from MCLS. Most of them are OK. Generally I go through trim and roundover bits the most. Those have been a good value for the money. I've tried some of the highly promoted router bits, and find some but often, little functional difference in those simple bits.

I don't use large or fancy bits, so I have no experience with those bits, even though I own a few.

I don't consider MCLS the low cost supplier, but they are a good first approximation. I have the impression that if I was really dissatisfied, I could return something to them, but I never have.

Their shipping is OK, but not always fast. Specifically sometimes, for reasons I can't explain, they sit on an order for a week or so. After a week I usually contact them, and they then inform me that the order hasn't shipped. I don't recall them ever saying that they were out of stock...just that the order was being pulled. That's frustrating if you have a project on hold.

That most recently happened with the filter canister. It has happened several times before, in the last 5 years.


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## Pherdnut (Jan 26, 2009)

I like them. I don't feel like there's any real pretense about what they offer, which is solid accessories and medium-grade bits and they have one of the better woodworking merchandise sites on the web as far being informative and attentive to beginners is concerned.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

I've been ordering from MLCS and have generally been very satisfied with their service. The free shipping is advertised as 7-10 days but is typically about 5 and quality seems to be fairly good on the bits.
I wasn't terribly impressed with their accessories.
The table I got from them I immediately rebuilt the fence. The t-track that came installed on it was pretty worthless for feather boards, was placed to optimize the use of the finger guard. That's OK but changing the guard a little would have allowed better use of the track. Also the tracks for the fence were to far below the top of the table. Left one was .011 below and the right one was .023 below which created snag points. Some plastic shim stock took care of those problems. Mitre track is also almost .030 below but isn't a real issue as it runs parallel to the stock path. I will get around to fixing that one of these days.
I also ordered their clamping mitre gauge. That is pretty much a joke as far as a mitre gauge, but the clamping mechanism works well. I use it when crosscutting longer pieces of stock on the table saw. My saw wont accept an extension table to the left so the clamping helps me manage longer stock. I'm space challenged in a basement so I need to use portable contractor saws that, for the most part, don't offer such an option. I did find the Ridgid 2400 which will fill that void and it is high on my list of future aquisitions. A couple of problems with the mitre gauge is that there is not enough head clearance around the locknuts for the presets so they have never been tightend and just sorta wander around under vibration. One fell out first time I used it!  Will take a die grinder and rotary file to that one of these days. Another thing is that the fence portion doesn't lock down very well but I think a larger flat washer and steel lock will fix that. I'm looking at the Incra V120 as a replacement mitre and keep the clamping one to help with endgrain cuts on the mitre table, I haven't got the hand strength anymore to feel completely comfortable being able to control the stock on those cuts without some help.


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## Adam Kreissl (May 22, 2008)

Thats quite an underhand dealing. I think you were correct in calling them. Very poor.


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