Hemingway Kits (US alternative)

[greglwood]

35 British pounds is only $42 USD.

What about shipping though? The kit price isn’t the issue. If the kits heavy or big so is the shipping.

 

[DavidR8]

What about shipping though? The kit price isn’t the issue. If the kits heavy or big so is the shipping.

None of the kits you mention require massive amounts of stock. Perhaps the die holder would have a biggish diameter chunk of round stock but it wouldn't be terribly long.
The knurler kit came in a box about 6"x8"x2" and shipping was £20.85. All in I paid £40.77 or $63.64CDN/$47.95USD.
I know that I could not buy the materials for the knurler for $64 so it was an easy choice for me.

 

[greglwood]

None of the kits you mention require massive amounts of stock. Perhaps the die holder would have a biggish diameter chunk of round stock but it wouldn't be terribly long.
The knurler kit came in a box about 6"x8"x2" and shipping was £20.85. All in I paid £40.77 or $63.64CDN/$47.95USD.
I know that I could not buy the materials for the knurler for $64 so it was an easy choice for me.

Well thats my point but in your case the shipping was almost 50%. Not saying it’s a bad value but a similar kit bought from here in the US would require much less shipping. Kits with castings will have a much higher shipping difference.

 

[WobblyHand]

Well thats my point but in your case the shipping was almost 50%. Not saying it’s a bad value but a similar kit bought from here in the US would require much less shipping. Kits with castings will have a much higher shipping difference.

Shipping isn't free. It's either embedded into the price or added on explicitly.

You need to determine if the value received for the total cost including shipping is worth it to you. I sometimes balk on shipping costs, but I have to remind myself that if it's the cheapest I can find and the item is needed, then I should get it. Sometimes I add small items to the order just so it feels like I'm getting "more stuff" for the shipping paid.

 

[JPMacG]

For kits that do not involve castings, like the Hemingway rotary broach, you could purchase the drawings from Hemingway and obtain the materials locally.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

35 British pounds is only $42 USD.

It's the shipping if you buy material or castings from hemingway that costs.. I opted to buy just their worn assembly for their 4" rotary table for that reason. That said I'd still buy their lighter kits

 

[Winegrower]

I really don’t agree that the shipping is expensive. I just built the Hemingway set over center…the whole deal was a bargain, can’t recall what shipping was but it was pretty insignificant. I’ve paid more for 5 resistors from Digi-Key.

P.S. The quality was very satisfying.

 

[GeneT45]

I really don’t agree that the shipping is expensive. I just built the Hemingway set over center…the whole deal was a bargain, can’t recall what shipping was but it was pretty insignificant. I’ve paid more for 5 resistors from Digi-Key.

P.S. The quality was very satisfying.

Unless those were expensive power resistors, I doubt it. I've purchased a few kits from Hemingway and the shipping was exhorbitant. I've frequently considered how odd it is that I can buy something form China ( a country we are not allied with), and then a part from Great Brittain somehow costs three times as much to buy and four times as much to ship...

The Hemingway / TEE stuff is excellent, but it's pretty premiumly priced for someone in the U.S;

GsT

 

[Winegrower]

Unless those were expensive power resistors

What I mean is I have paid more to ship simple resistors than to ship a Hemingway “set over center kit.”

 

[WobblyHand]

Unless those were expensive power resistors, I doubt it. I've purchased a few kits from Hemingway and the shipping was exhorbitant. I've frequently considered how odd it is that I can buy something form China ( a country we are not allied with), and then a part from Great Brittain somehow costs three times as much to buy and four times as much to ship...

The Hemingway / TEE stuff is excellent, but it's pretty premiumly priced for someone in the U.S;

GsT

China subsidizes export shipping... Great Britain and the US do not, to my knowledge. Not going to say it's fair, but shipping and everything else have gone way up.