I have purchased from Timbercom a wood lathe $2,800, a scroll chuck and various hand tools. The total cost was $3,500. After 14 working days I had not received any information regarding the dispatch of said items. On the day of purchase I received a receipt and message stating that the item would be shipped to me within 3 to 4 working days plus an… Read more
email showing a shipping number for tracking purposes. After 14 working days and not having received any information. I contacted Timbercon only to be told that the lathe was not in stock and I wouldn't be receiving it until late June or July. On the Timbercon website it did not show the lathe being out of stock. These are underhanded tactics so they don't have to keep a lot of stock in their warehouse . I am currently creating a long letter of complaint to the department of fair trading. I will never purchase another item from Timbercon again.
I ordered a vernier caliper from Timbecon and received an email saying shipping was delayed because the item contained batteries and required appropriate labelling. The item only contained two CR2032 button batteries, which made the explanation seem questionable to me. I emailed Timbecon directly and asked to cancel the order. They never… Read more
replied.
Instead, they dispatched the order anyway.
The delay was frustrating, but the bigger issue was the lack of communication and the fact that my cancellation request was ignored. Based on this experience, I would not be ordering from Timbecon again.
I needed workbenches in a hurry. Timbecon's homepage promised "Fast Shipping - Reliable shipping, on time." Every item showed as "In stock." I had other options, but chose them specifically because of those promises. I spent over $2,500 and waited. Two weeks passed. Nothing shipped, no update. I followed up. The response: "Unfortunately, we… Read more
don't have an ETA at the moment." No apology. No explanation. Nine words and a sign-off.
When I pointed out their website still showed everything as in stock and asked for a refund, I got a geography lesson.
Their website combines stock across three stores, apparently, so availability "may vary by location."
There is a "Check store availability" link on each product page - but I'm in South Australia, ordering online for delivery. I'm not planning a road trip to Epping. I just want it shipped.
The solution offered? In future, I should "review stock levels at each store prior to purchase to ensure the items are available at my preferred dispatch location." I don't have a preferred dispatch location. I just want them to send it from wherever they actually have it - which, it turns out, may be nowhere.
Reviews with attachments
Before the negative rant, I gotta say that Timbecon is a godsend for remote Australia. I live close to a major city in North Queensland but a lot of woodworking gear is just not available up here. Timbecon fills most of that huge chasm, however... There's freight and big machinery is often uneconomical. The fiasco i had to endure to buy a… Read more
tablesaw beggers belief. The other negative thing to mention is that Chinese tools are getting better, but there are a lot of drawbacks.
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I purchased a woodworking bench from Timbecon as a gift for my partner and it arrived with damage to the corner of the bench top. Due to the bench's weight and high freight costs, he opted to keep it and attempt repairs rather than arrange a return. We contacted Timbecon to report the damage and request repair advice. After receiving no response,… Read more
I followed up a week later—again with no reply. This lack of customer service is disappointing, especially given the investment in both the product and shipping. While we understand these things happen during transit, having our emails completely ignored and being left to deal with the damage ourselves is frustrating. I wish we had initiated a return instead of trying to be reasonable.
Warranty claim – The gear belt on my Sherwood drill press ( less than a year old) delaminated. Strictly speaking not covered by warranty but Timbecon replied the same day to my request to have it covered and are sending out a new belt. Thanks Sam.
Latest follow-ups
- +2
I purchased a Sherwood 13-inch Thicknesser Deluxe Spiral Head Model MBSC -1936 from Timbercon in 2022. I have loved using it, great machine! However, earlier this year it stopped working consistently and appeared to have a severe problem with the… Read more
motor. As the Thicknesser was still within it warranty period, (A free 5‑Year Warranty covering manufacturing defects and major component failures for Sherwood products!) I returned it to Timbercon to see if they could identify the fault and hopefully repair it. Their return process was straight forward and their communication with me re: same was great. Despite Timbercon not being able to identify a fault, they decided to replace the motor as a precaution and promptly returned the thicknesser to me. While I found their service and response to my issue fantastic, I held of posting a review as I wanted to use my thicknesser for a while to ensure that it was now working as expected. I have since used it a lot and it is working perfectly. I couldn’t be more impressed by Timbercon’s professional response to my problem and the fact that they actually took my word for it! You don’t see that much anymore these days, good old fashion service. I would recommend Timbercon to anyone and will always use them as a primary source for my woodworking needs.
Alan
Follow-up · I provide the following response to some follow-up questions regarding the repair of my Sherwood 13-inch Deluxe Spiral Head Thicknesser: 1/ Any other tool issues? No, I have not had any other issues with any tools or supplies I have purchased from Timbecon in the past. 2/ How was the packaging? I live in Cairns, Queensland so I had to get my… Read more
I've been buying from Timbecon for about two years. Their delivery is usually prompt, although there was a slight initial delay on my last purchase. However, directly I flagged a potential problem they were straight onto it. The item arrived… Read more
within two working days. I had bought the last available Luban No 5 Jack Plane. This arrived this morning and I am impressed with the quality. I set the plane up and administered a quick sharpen and it worked like a dream. I now own about 5 Lubal planes. They have all been very good and are relatively inexpensive. I can recommend them. Thanks for the service Timbecon. Mike Fibbens.
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Follow-up · I've continued as a customer of Timbecon because of their ongoing solid service and their range of woodworking products. I'm very happy with the Luban planes I have bought, and intend to lodge an order for yet another plane (and some other items) tomorrow. Mike Fibbens
Great products, quick delivery but customer service not so great. You might need to be patient when trying to get support. EDIT: After a few weeks of long waiting times between emails got a resolution with my recent purchase and Timbecon fixed my… Read more
problem! so happy with that and I will shop with Timbecon again.
for context I recently bought a Sherwood Mini Dust Cyclone Kit for Shop Vac Extraction (through Timbecon) . I’m running it with a standard Ryobi 20 L wet/dry shop vacuum. Each time I switch the vacuum on, the cyclone’s hoses collapse inward and pull tight, lifting the tub and even pulling the hose off the woodworking tool. My basic research tends to think that I'm going to need to buy a stronger hose that the one provided, a PVC one which is going to add up at least $100. I've contacted Timbecon and supplier directly and so far no news. There could be an easy trick but since no one is answering to me... might have to find my own solution! Also the vacuum I attach it to is very standard and it's almost the same one they are using in the promotional video...
Follow-up · The cyclone is working fine now, the PVC tube fixed the problem. I was told by Timbecon that the provided tube usually works fine but they recognized the issue and sent me a free of charge pvc pipe.
Positive reviews
Outstanding customer service as always. Bob is extremely knowledgeable, very helpful and very good at guiding you to what you need rather than what you think you want.
First time in the store, have bought online before and been very happy with the online experience. Great place, good products and Bob was really helpful and friendly.
Very please with the service info and also there mail out speed 2 day across Australia till I receive it. I will be purchasing a lot more items from them. Thanks Timbercon
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Negative reviews
Regular customer of timbecon and was always happy until now. Picked up some items in store last Friday and they then start and eater sale on the Monday, all the times I purchased were now heavily discounted so I requested to get it back as store credit as was happy to spend with them again! I was told a blatant no as it was past 48 hours, which… Read more
is false as the fact is the sale kicked in within 2 business days.
Disappointing service especially from a regular who was wanting to keep purchasing.
Buyer beware at lack of service and care for us as customers, loyalty and repeat business doesnt mean much here.
Ordered 12 litre Luci Clear epoxy resin from the Balcatta store. I have in the past purchased from the Canningvale store but they did not have the availability at that time. Epoxy arrived Tuesday 3rd. I rang the Balcatta store to ask if pumps were available. I hadn't unpacked the resin by this time so said I would unpack the find out what size the… Read more
containers were. When I opened the carton there was epoxy on the wrapping and inside of the carton. I told the person I was talking to I would open cartoon fully to find out how much damage had been done and ring back. I rang about 10 minutes later (4.25pm) and got the answering machine. I left a message with name phone number requesting a return call. NO RETURN CALL ! I rang again twice on Wednesday and again got the answering machine and left message. STILL NO RETURN CALL ! Very poor service . I have never had a problem with the Canning Vale store.
Don't bother buying anything from this business unless it is on the floor and available for immediate delivery. Placed an order for the drum sander at the end of November 2025. Upfront I knew that it needed to be ordered in but found that communication with this business was less than poor. Continually had to chase them for an update. One time the… Read more
response was it had been delivered to the Albany Post Office in WA. I live in Qld and it was a large drum sander so it wasn't going to be sent through the post. Finally advised it would be delivered by end of February. Had to follow-up at the end of February as I had heard nothing only to be further advised that it was now not going to be delivered until mid April, 5 months after the original order. After being informed of this, I cancelled the order and the only response received was the refund would take 10 days to return to my account. No apologies for the delay or lack of communication. Pity that they are the only dealer for this brand in Australia otherwise would have gone elsewhere.
Recent reviews
I have purchased a number of items from Timbecon and found the quality and delivery generally ok. My last purchase (June 2025) was a Milescraft Drillmate Pro (not cheap @$270) which broke after using it around 10 times in a few weeks. (Mid August 2025) So problem #1 is they sell low quality tools. A quick rating search on Amazon found numerous… Read more
complaints of the same fault on this item. Ok buyer beware. Problem #2 is when I emailed their customer service with a full explanation and photos of the fault I got zero response. I guess I’ll have to try to call them to get a response? Funny they had no trouble taking my order and cash but ignore product complaints I certainly won’t buy from them again, which is a pity as I value having a decent local online tool retailer but not if they don’t respond to after sales issues.
Smooth as silk. Spoke to Bob on the phone, said I'd pick up in an hour. Was there in 20 mins. Bob had my order out of back and in to the car quick smart. Cheers Michael
Bob was great to deal with and helped me solve a problem.we are trying to reproduce some period correct fascia board Bob helped my source a router bit to suit.
Got a torquata 10inch combo saw blade a couple of months ago. using it extensively and it's perfect.the service was perfect as well.many thanks
Staff were extremely helpful in getting the correct part I required. Great store for tools and machinery. Thank you Bob & Dinny for all your assistance.
Drove from Drouin to Epping to buy a joinery Dowelling jig because I could not find a suitable one near me. Bob served me and was very helpful and knowledgeable to find the right jig to suit my needs. Thanks Bob for a job well done.
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Very helpful staff. Bob and Dinny were very patient with my questions.
Do yourself a favour and get your tools from here! I usually shop with Timbecon online, but was in the area so bought my items in their Melbourne store this time. The store is great, Rob was very helpful, knowledgeable and an all round champ.
Thanks Bob for your help this morning. Looking for the motor brushes for my DC50 dust extractor. Cheers Robert
Bob was really helpful in describing the differences between Sherwood machines and making recommendations relevant to my needs
Shayen helped me find exactly what I needed in store today! It was my first time coming here but won't be my last!
Bob was fantastic and knew exactly what I needed. Highly recommend.
Bob was a champ, he helped us out with a new bandsaw and extraction set up. Will definitely come back for any more machinery we need. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
Great place. Bob was very helpful helping me find all the stuff I needed for my project.
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