Before the internet, finding things in a book could be challenging. A library with a good librarian could be essential for success if your topic was obscure. But even with the book in hand, a table of contents only got you to the general neighborhood and you might need an index for the actual item. Library indexes date from ancient Greece and Egypt but the indices at the end of the books are a thirteenth century innovation. Tool catalogs really are a late 18th century invention (not entirely). In the picture at the top, we have an 1777 edition of "Mr. Hoppus's Measurer," a book mostly of tables and formulas for computing the value of timber and other items. But the back has a more narrative look at some useful items likes saws and their prices. Hoppus also has a table of contents at the beginning of the book - but no index.
Why am I thinking about the quest for knowledge? It's because I think all time how hard it is for people to find us, and how hard it may be for them to find the things they want from us. My favorite job at Tools for Working Wood is interacting with customers in person. Unfortunately I don't spend most of my time doing that. My main jobs are as follows: paying bills, doing all the bookkeeping, figuring out how to make tools, designing tools based on what I figured out, writing a blog, and caring for and maintaining our website.
I realize I am no damn good at some of these tasks - as many of you know, when you are a small business owner, you still have to do a task even if you are no damn good at it - but I’ve actually developed competence at some of them. Competent enough? It’s hard to know. We occasionally hear from customers when something really really good happens, but we always hear from some customers when something bad happens.
“Bad” can mean a lot of things, both to our customer and to us. The nature of complaining is that most complaints are aired to people who can’t do much about them - typically whoever is there at the time. As a merchant, I know we are probably not going to hear complaints from people who are new to our site or casual browsers. They will just leave if they can’t find what they want.
So the thing I am concerned about and we don't really hear from you enough about is, can you find the things you want to get on our website? We are particularly attuned to this topic because we just changed the website’s search engine. (This is why the words “enhanced by Google” now appear in the search box in the upper right hand corner.) The search engine covers products for sale as well as information in the blogs. So I have a question for you: when you look at our website, can you find what you're looking for? I mean either by typing in a product in the search box, or by drilling down in the list of departments or links from products to products? When you get there, do you find what you're looking for? Between tariffs and high fuel costs, we are out of certain items, and Ashley Iles and Ray Iles products have always been a challenge to have in full stock. But we do have a lot of items that you nevertheless can’t find and you may just think we don't stock it. It is those items that concern us the most. We are also interested in products you wished we carried but don’t. (Customer requests are literally why we carry Odie’s Oil, Pica pencils and Fastcap; we look into all customer suggestions but sometimes the wholesale terms are too unfavorable to a little guy like us to consider.)
So we welcome your thoughts about how to make search better. Please add your comments below. And we - and many strangers - thank you.
The picture below is from the index at the end of Randle Holme's 1688 “The Academy of Armory” (York, England). Not a catalog but full of useful information. The index is invaluable. 19th and 20th century tool catalogs moved the index to the front so you could easily find what you were looking for. Randle Holme, "The Academy of Armory," York, England, 1688
Join the conversation
03/25/2026 Garret
I actually have had some difficulty for a while with the website's search capabilities, not so much with finding a specific item I knew you had but not being able to find and browse other items that might also be useful and related to the projects on which I'm working or will work. It'd also be (as I've said before) very helpful to have some sort of way to archive/store desired items in a kind of wish list on the website, for later purchase (or for gift ideas). You really are a very special business, offering excellent products no one else offers, and educationally essential articles (and customer reviews) that help me know why I should buy a certain product (or not). For hand tool woodworkers, your business, to my mind, is truly irreplaceable. The integrity you show in the products you offer and the reasons for their being offered is exceptional. With a more interconnected website, I'd like to think the number of products you could sell would hopefully grow.
03/25/2026 Robert Sheipe
Your new/upgraded website is not an improvement. The photos are too small and there are too many layers to get to what one is looking for. There are a lot of good website examples out there. You should pick the best attributes of them and use them at TFWW.
03/25/2026 Wink
Joel! Tried looking for the Ashley Iles Gonzalez short-stemmed in the block cutters but couldn’t find it. Backed up to specialty tools and found it there. Glad you have them in stock, as I’ll pick up one when I’m in town (I have in mind a slight modification that I’ll tell you about). Speaking of which, I’m not going to make it to the Big Apple until the second week of April. I’m plotting putting a treadle lathe in the bed of my pick- up. Can it be broken down so that no part is higher than 17”? That’s the clearance on my tonneau cover…
See you soon,
Wink
Wink,
When I put "Ashley Iles Gonzalez short-stemmed" or even just "Gonzalez" in the search box and hit enter it cam up first thing so I am not sure why you are having issues. As for the lathe, folded with the tailstock and toolrest removed (they get packed for travel in a separate box anyway, height will be 17" (or a little less if we remove the levelers. ) So you might not be able to pack it in a box (24" tall without pallet feet) but you will be fine.
03/25/2026 beth l rogers
I searched for "gouge" and got 2,030 hits, some of which just brought up pages that had gouges mentioned in the frequently purchased section below. I believe you need to index your data by category so the searcher can limit what is returned. Also, limit the search engine from searching the whole page, just the item for sale on that page. Again, that's a data management thing. I'm glad you are doing this though. The old search was better than this but not great.
03/25/2026 Jim B
I don't like searches that take me to blog posts or other supporting info when what I want is to find the item for purchase on the website. Maybe there could be a "radio button" to select.
Thanks for your comments and please keep them coming.
Jim and Beth - these are both very valid criticisms and while I don't know if I can make the ultimate fix, I just added structured data to the page and it seems that search is definitely favoring direct products now over misc. I know know if I can set a feature for focusing or not on just products. But try the current version as of 11:30 EST today and please let me know if it's giving you better results.
Garret - good point. I think one feature that we don't have but should is breadcrumbs where you can see where you have been and easily retrace your steps. This is worth doing - I have thought about it ages ago but dropped the ball. I think it gets moved up in the queue. Thanks for the suggestion - Joel
03/25/2026 Tom Finn
There’s a difference between locating something on a website you specifically know of, and finding what may work best for you. Listings of related items you carry, along with detailed descriptions of the items and their strengths and weaknesses are appreciated. For example, lots of websites carry Festoool dust collectors, but you offer more advice on particular models. You started carrying Dubuque clamps long before other online retailers, and your description of their virtues is quite helpful, and goes beyond just listing the model numbers and accessories. Keep up the good work. However, in terms of finding what you offer, that kind of depends on how you search. If you search for “clamps” you get a different list than if you go to Shop>Hand Tools> Vices, Holdfasts, Work Holding. Both methods bring up useful information, but a person might have to use both approaches to make sure they are aware of all the items and advice you offer.
Joel's Blog
Built-It Blog
Video Roundup
Classes & Events
Work Magazine
See you soon,
Wink
When I put "Ashley Iles Gonzalez short-stemmed" or even just "Gonzalez" in the search box and hit enter it cam up first thing so I am not sure why you are having issues. As for the lathe, folded with the tailstock and toolrest removed (they get packed for travel in a separate box anyway, height will be 17" (or a little less if we remove the levelers. ) So you might not be able to pack it in a box (24" tall without pallet feet) but you will be fine.
Jim and Beth - these are both very valid criticisms and while I don't know if I can make the ultimate fix, I just added structured data to the page and it seems that search is definitely favoring direct products now over misc. I know know if I can set a feature for focusing or not on just products. But try the current version as of 11:30 EST today and please let me know if it's giving you better results.
Garret - good point. I think one feature that we don't have but should is breadcrumbs where you can see where you have been and easily retrace your steps. This is worth doing - I have thought about it ages ago but dropped the ball. I think it gets moved up in the queue. Thanks for the suggestion - Joel