Ron, tell us all about the woodworking show. What's new, What's old? what did you get? What did I miss?

 

Come on, we want to know all about it.

Man, John talk about a setup!  This may be one of those cases where my mama's teaching may be appropriate.  She always said, "If you can't say anything nice then don't say anything."  However, I never did do everything my mama told me. 

 Ralph Jones and I have been emailing each other because he's involved with the Columbus Ohio show and I shared with him that I was a bit disappointed.  I skipped the show last year because I thought the show had degraded but unfortunately it has gotten smaller yet.  I didn't make any major purchase but did spend about $100 on smaller accessories.  I can tell yo that the testoserone level was sky high and it was well attended.  I can't judge the presentations because I didn't go to any.  It did have the atmosphere a a carnival midway with all the hucksters though.  You may get a better feel for the show from someone less negative.  I must have too many toys, huh?

No problem, I wanted to know what you thought about it.

 

I saw a lot of comments from Jim Heavey last year after the one here in Huntsville. He and others were saying they probably wouldn't be back because of poor attendance.

 

The weekend it was held here last year we had two tornado's which certainly kept a lot of people from attending. I know of quite a few folks that were going to attend just couldn't and wouldn't get out in the weather to attend a woodworking show.

 

I hate to hear they keep going down in size. I hope they evaluate what the real problem is and see if they can't get them going strong. I enjoy them and wish there was one close here this year.

 

Oh well, thanks for the report.

Hi Ron,

Though the size or lack of vendors only allows the ones who do come to expand their display and making for wider isles to walk in or through. I personally hate it when you have to twist and turn in order to get through the crowd. Heaven forbid a guy would get diarrhea. More floor space for the vendors and a more comfortable feeling.

The buildings they show in sometimes make for a lot to be desired due to their size. Then on the other hand one that is too large gives one the impression that it is a small show.

 

Ralph

Ralph, I think you hit on the key.  It opened at 10 AM and we got there at 10:20 but it was wall to wall because the aisles were so narrow.  There was no reason for it because there was room at the end of the building that could have been used.  I got to chatting with a woodworker in a wheelchair and kinda ran interference for him because it was so crowded.  Maybe later in the day it thinned out but it was so crowded that it wasn't enjoyable.  If someone was demonstrating an item at their cbooth the whole aisle would just plug up and noone moved. Hey Ralph, maybe you might want to mention it to the folks in Columbus to open up the aisles. 

  Back to the man in the wheelchair for a sec.  This month's Woodcraft was a one page lead article about woodworkers with disabilities and it is a really interesting article.  This gentleman said that a bandsaw for a non chaired person was $600 but the same bandsaw for him was $3000 and the only difference was the base unit.  He bought a $600 saw and had a friend do some sheet metal work to allow access and the cost was only $100.  Pretty interesting.

Ralph Allen Jones said:

Hi Ron,

Though the size or lack of vendors only allows the ones who do come to expand their display and making for wider isles to walk in or through. I personally hate it when you have to twist and turn in order to get through the crowd. Heaven forbid a guy would get diarrhea. More floor space for the vendors and a more comfortable feeling.

The buildings they show in sometimes make for a lot to be desired due to their size. Then on the other hand one that is too large gives one the impression that it is a small show.

 

Ralph

Ron,

My band saw is well over 100 years old and still running smoothly because I keep my PM on it pretty regularly. It is the same saw my dad used when he was 35 years of age. I had a fellow who came to me to learn some woodworking and wished he could use a band saw as well as a scroll saw. So to accommodated him I removed them both from their bases onto a temperary table out of plywood on two horses so he could just wheel right in and saw away. It made both of us happy for he then could use the tools and me for working out something for him to do so. Later on I found one saw of each kind for him that he bought and I built bases for them independent of each other and he spent the rest of his days sawing out different things and even made some money doing so. Unfortunately he went to bed one night and didn't wake up the next morning.

Even to day I miss him greatly. It makes me feel good when I can help someone.

 

Ralph