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Teknatool in trouble in the USA

There's a reddit topic with a post from 4 months ago that says they had a big layoff and "There's still 3 people trying to run and ship stuff from the US facility. The plan is for them to get absorbed in to Teknatool International", along with some posts from remaining employees. A long time ago I spent 20 years with a company (great job, flaky management) that had 3 chapter 11 bankruptcies with 2 recoveries, and know somewhat about what they must be going through. I imagine those three must be very busy right now. My last direct via eBay Teknatool order was a refurb SN2 in 2014, and from an emails search all I got was a PayPal receipt back then. I was surprised 10 years later that their ordering site didn't send the typical automatic email confirming the order. All apparently unnecessary worry, I got a ship confirmation from one of those we ship for you site and it's due here in the north woods tomorrow.

IDK how many times my tooling costs are over what I spent on lathes, as I tend to buy and rebuild older machines, but this order pushed it up another notch. What's the rule of thumb, 2x as much in tooling as the machine(s) cost?
 
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Jerry Bennett said:
The fact that this thread is still going and no one from them has lifted a finger to respond is beyond silly. I don’t care how big you are it makes no sense whatsoever.
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Jerry other than Brent or Dan Hewitt what companies have responded to questions or problems here. How often have you seen Powermatic, Grizzly or any major company post here. I'm sure companies have enough on their plate trying to respond to questions or problems (real or perceived). And no they aren't perfect as just today above a person had a problem with the woodcut corer missing a blade and Woodcut didn't answer fast enough. Dan Hewitt responded that they missed the query and apologized. It happens and I'm sure it happens to all of them. I've dealt with Dan Hewitt's dad, Brent English, the Latimers of Nova and many more and they are all fine people doing the best they can to deliver great gear and great service. I've written over 50 published reviews of woodturning gear and as I've stated before it is darn near impossible to write a bad review because these folks all put out great products.
 
Kirk Yarina said:
IDK how many times my tooling costs are over what I spent on lathes, .... What's the rule of thumb, 2x as much in tooling as the machine(s) cost?
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Yikes, hurts my thumb to think about any such rule.

Not only woodturning; I can't imagine the cost of extras and mods for the metal lathe and milling machine.

Or attachments for the skid steer and excavator - to they count as tooling? Ooo, I REALLY need a rotary brush, a forestry mulcher, hydraulic ram, flail mower, angle broom, telescopic auger mount, just a few more buckets, and a brush cuter to reach over and clear slopes and between trees...

1752235804420.png
Somebody stop me.... I know, I'll just ask my wife to review and approve and please pay for every purchase!!

JKJ
 
John K Jordan said:
Somebody stop me....
Click to expand...
I identify with that :) . I'm active in several CNC forums, as a hobbyist but many pro machinists have hobby CNC gear. I think that's where I heard the 2x "rule". I can definitely say that I've surpassed that for both lathes and CNC stuff. We have a wound down small farm, including an older skid steer (aka sheep pooper scooper but it's way more than that). Even after having forks made in the local machine shop, only to find that I could have bought them way cheaper, the machines are ahead of the attachments.

I usually use the beg forgiveness approach, including saying the stack of Amazon packages was "shop stuff", which works on occasion. We'll see about the chucks, although 4 SN2s (it was a really good sale :) ) and a few PSI models is in the minor leagues.
 
Bill Blasic said:
Jerry other than Brent or Dan Hewitt what companies have responded to questions or problems here. How often have you seen Powermatic, Grizzly or any major company post here. I'm sure companies have enough on their plate trying to respond to questions or problems (real or perceived). And no they aren't perfect as just today above a person had a problem with the woodcut corer missing a blade and Woodcut didn't answer fast enough. Dan Hewitt responded that they missed the query and apologized. It happens and I'm sure it happens to all of them. I've dealt with Dan Hewitt's dad, Brent English, the Latimers of Nova and many more and they are all fine people doing the best they can to deliver great gear and great service. I've written over 50 published reviews of woodturning gear and as I've stated before it is darn near impossible to write a bad review because these folks all put out great products.
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If you want to stay in business, not responding at all is beyond silly. Three or three thousand, it makes no difference.
 
Kirk Yarina said:
I usually use the beg forgiveness approach, including saying the stack of Amazon packages was "shop stuff", which works on occasion.
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My Lovely Bride has never been in my shop since I built it, I tell her it's so full of machines and tools and supplies there's barely room to walk and she doesn't care. She sees what comes out of the shop and how quickly anything gets fixed.

She told me once that in 55 years there was ONE thing she learned from me - to buy good quality. We now have one of the best equipped kitchens around. And since she is, IMHO, the best cook in the southeast we eat like royalty. :) Just 30 minutes ago she got a new shipment of her favorite olive oil from Italy, the field narrowed after much comparison on previous trips.

JKJ
 
Package received, and it was a great deal and included a free microfiber towel that I think has their logo on it. Nan picked the box up from the mailbox, no problem. I'm surprised that nobody else has mentioned the sale.


1752271655330.png
 
John K Jordan said:
My Lovely Bride has never been in my shop since I built it, I tell her it's so full of machines and tools and supplies there's barely room to walk and she doesn't care. She sees what comes out of the shop and how quickly anything gets fixed.

She told me once that in 55 years there was ONE thing she learned from me - to buy good quality. We now have one of the best equipped kitchens around. And since she is, IMHO, the best cook in the southeast we eat like royalty. :) Just 30 minutes ago she got a new shipment of her favorite olive oil from Italy, the field narrowed after much comparison on previous trips.

JKJ
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what's for dinner.... tomorrow? I'm 8hours away!:)
 
Just got a 30% off sale email, more than the July 4 20% but without extra bare chucks sale price (I might have enough of those for a while, anyway, they're working great, and no dropped chuck screws). I'm not sure this is a good sign for the US office but it's good if you want something from them

From July 17–21, get 30% off everything on the NOVA website, with promo code:
SAVE30
at checkout. Lathes, chucks, jaws — all ready for your next project. Because great projects are the best gift — any time of year.
 
Mark Jundanian said:
Does this include lathes?
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All their sales include lathes. They also have a club discount program on their entire inventory of 20%. Their needs to be a point person from the club to coordinate orders. You can contact Sabrina and she can explain it to you. She is very responsive and they are trying hard to rebuild the brand.

sabrina@teknatool.com
 
Dave Hulett said:
what's for dinner.... tomorrow? I'm 8hours away!:)
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Sorry, that day we were getting ready for a trip out west. Had to settle for simple pork cutlets, hand-mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, sauteed mixed veggies, and either fresh blueberry/cherry squares or banana pudding for dessert. She buys meat directly from the farmer, flash-frozen and vacuum sealed. I pick the blueberries.

When you come visit you can put in your order ahead of time or she could just surprise us. :)

JKJ
 
John, here in the UK we often wonder what “Biscuits” are in America. In the UK what we call Biscuits you call Cookies. Can you enlighten me as to what your Biscuits are made from and what they look like? :)
 
Bill Alston said:
John, here in the UK we often wonder what “Biscuits” are in America. In the UK what we call Biscuits you call Cookies. Can you enlighten me as to what your Biscuits are made from and what they look like? :)
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Biscuits.

For use with butter/jam/honey, more:
1753269907432.jpeg

With gravy:
1753269994007.jpeg

To align wood:
1753270082302.jpeg 1753270210104.jpeg



We have access to "dictionaries" for the curious. Written in "English". I've used one on occasion.
www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of BISCUIT

a small quick bread made from dough that has been rolled out and cut or dropped from a spoon; cookie; earthenware or porcelain after the first firing and before glazing —called also bisque… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com

And can even use internet searches to delve deeper in the digital bin. Common words and slang:
www.dictionary.com

British English vs. American English: Words, Spelling, And Pronunciation

What really sets British and American English apart, besides an ocean? Learn about the different terms, spellings, and pronunciations here.
www.dictionary.com www.dictionary.com

And that's everything I know or could discover in the time I had to fall about. Off to the loo.

JKJ 😅
 
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Bill Alston said:
They look like what we call Scones. They are normally served with Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam. I always buy the ones with Sultanas in them.

View attachment 77688
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Our biscuits are not sweetened, even a little. (American scones are way too sweet)

And "oh my, what big teeth, er, photos you have" said Little Red Message reader.

JKJ
 
Like JKJ said - I have had "Scones" here in the USA but they looked nothing like your photo, and they were more of a dessert , decadently sweet - Biscuits here (the eating type) are light and fluffy, they do look somewhat like your photos, but they are not sweetened at all - when done properly they're delicious with butter, jam, or often we do biscuits and gravy (chicken in gravy, sausage gravy on biscuits for breakfast, etc.) so think of one of your scones but no sweetening to it, would probably be just what we call biscuits here...

(Look up "Grands" from Pillsbury for the store bought type - or Cheddar Bay cheesy biscuits... to name a couple of our faves... We've also done our own home made ones using Bisquick baking mix.. I remember my grandma's made from scratch biscuits but they were not quite as good, they often came out hard as rocks, so they'd have to be soaked down with syrup, milk (like Johnnycakes were) or gravy... )
 
Dave Hulett said:
Post's from Nova Woodworking Facebook page:

NOVA Woodworking​

dSotsonprelmh2ht0h6P2aMu5f8r c3 26a3lt4amm2 M7fu621:60m6u tl ·

If you've heard any buzz about NOVA, let’s clear things up—we’re still your #1 trusted brand in woodturning, and with the ever-changing business environment, we’re constantly evolving to stay at the forefront.
Exciting changes and some amazing new products are on the horizon, so stay tuned! #Woodturning #StillTurning #NOVA #NOVAProud #woodworking
View attachment 73179

And the next day this:
NOVA is now selling direct—order your tools straight from our website!
www.teknatool.com
More Access. More Innovation.
The world keeps changing, and so does NOVA! We’re making adjustments to ensure you have direct access to the tools you love—because the craft and community matter.
#WoodturningYourWay #NOVA
View attachment 73180
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Seems to be we turners on this forum and other AAW outlets are dedicated to bringing Teknatool and Nova down in the US. How else to explain the threads telling us that Nova chucks are unsuited to wood turning (what are they for then) and the bankruptcy posts about Teknatool US bankruptcy/reorganization. Has anyone seen a clarifying statement from Teknatool US or from NZ?
 
Jay Simmons said:
Seems to be we turners on this forum and other AAW outlets are dedicated to bringing Teknatool and Nova down in the US. How else to explain the threads telling us that Nova chucks are unsuited to wood turning (what are they for then) and the bankruptcy posts about Teknatool US bankruptcy/reorganization. Has anyone seen a clarifying statement from Teknatool US or from NZ?
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I've paid little attention to most of that. My first impression of the initial message in the thread "Teknatool chucks not suitable for woodturning" was it seemed like a touch of satire - it was about a table in the manual listing the maximum published speeds for Nova jaws, the speeds unrealistic for a woodturner. Several, including me, were of the opinion that lawyers may have influenced the speed listing table.

I think Hughie said it well: "it seems taking responsibility for ones actions is rare, we have also lost the value of common sense. ... we have to give warnings on everything for the fear of ... litigation"

But I haven't looked at all the messages except to note they have wandered around, of course. People have opinions.

When I communicated with Nova USA recently they seamed to be doing well and restated their determination to continue making great tools. My source is an email from the person in charge.

Over the last 20+ years I've been quite happy with Nova chuck utility, precision, and safety. I usually keep around 20, occasionally rotating new chucks in when giving older chucks away to friends and students.

JKJ
 
I’ve made no secret of the fact that the SN2 isn’t the best quality chuck I’ve got. It’s more than serviceable though and was very good value for money at the time. I’ll likely not buy another Nova chuck unless they bring out something innovative or unique to open my wallet. Choice is obviously a good thing though so I hope they continue to flourish.
 
I just could not help myself. Again my personal thoughts since I own all the major brands of chucks and their different offerings among their brands is that the only difference is what you pay for them. I started to look at prices before I posted this and just searched for "woodturning chucks". Wow haven't done that in a long time and surprise there are a ton of cheap chucks. One especially caught my eye, a chuck from BMWood (China). This is what caught my eye.

Jaws are compatible with the chucks: Super NOVA2. G3 Nova. Robert Sorby Patriot. Record Power SC3. Record Power SC4.(All listed chucks require our NCK-JS8-M6 M6x12mm jaw fixing screws to be used)

As I said I could not help myself as $69.95 with free shipping, had to try it. Looks exactly like a G3, the wood screw looks exactly like the Nova wood screw and will be interesting to see if the T handle fit the G3. I will let you know. They also have a huge selection of jaws. The jaws in the photo do not look like the Nova jaws with the birds beak, we shall see.
 
Bill Blasic said:
Again my personal thoughts since I own all the major brands of chucks and their different offerings among their brands is that the only difference is what you pay for them. I started to look at prices before I posted this and just searched for "woodturning chucks". Wow haven't done that in a long time and surprise there are a ton of cheap chucks. One especially caught my eye, a chuck from BMWood (China).
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Agree with you, Bill. The G3 chucks & jaws I have perform just fine at a much lower cost than some other brands. My favorite jaw sets, though, are Oneway Profiled Tower Jaws, and I have a couple of Stronghold chucks for them.

Very interested in your input on the BMWood chuck & jaws. They look the part, but I haven’t tried them. I’m particularly interested in the chuck key gear, how well it mates into the lower hole and whether it jaws to eject itself under force. When I started turning I had several PSI Barracuda chucks - the worked well except for the key design. I wore out the lower locating hole on a couple of chucks and the key tip rounded off. The bmwood key looks very similar in design.
 
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Bill Blasic said:
As I said I could not help myself as $69.95 with free shipping, had to try it. Looks exactly like a G3, the wood screw looks exactly like the Nova wood screw and will be interesting to see if the T handle fit the G3. I will let you know. They also have a huge selection of jaws. The jaws in the photo do not look like the Nova jaws with the birds beak, we shall see.
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For what it’s worth; I have the following BMWood jaws all mounted on G3 chucks. They all work fine with no issues. I wouldn’t hesitate getting their jaws. I don’t know anything about their chucks.
BMWood-Pin-Jaws.png
BMWood-Long-Nosed-Jaws.png
BMWood-Deep-Grip-Jaws.png
BMWood-Step-Jaws.png
 
I don’t have any Nova jaws for my SN2. I bought another compatible make (2 different sets) and they work fine, and much cheaper. I then got some Record Power jaws on special offer that also fit the SN2. More recently I bought a Record Power SC3 chuck which can also use these jaws. The only thing is that you sometimes need different screws (smaller head) in able to fit them. I just buy ordinary screws and turn the heads down a little on the lathe.
 
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