Replies

1. 
   mvflaim | Jan 12, 2008 06:59pm | #1

   I'm going up tomorrow but here's a link from sawmill about the same topic

   http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=73205

    

2. 
   saschafer | Jan 13, 2008 06:56am | #2

   I spent a couple of hours at the show this afternoon. It was about the same as last year, but I think it was a bit smaller--there seemed to be more space around the sides than before. My general impression is that while the big vendors were more or less the same as always, fewer of the small operations were in attendance.

   The Peachtree booth was humongous, as always (maybe "province" would be a better word than "booth"). I was going to buy a link belt from them, until I saw how many people were waiting in line at the cashiers.

   I watched a Carvewright create fuzzy, sort of out-of-focus-looking "carvings" (including one of a NASA logo--wake up, Mel). And I watched an Epilog laser system cut out and engrave tiny little wooden saws that they were handing out (not exactly woodworking, but it was wood...).

   You could buy drill bits that will drill through steel files (for those who need holes in their files). You could also buy old, rusty drill bits from a tool liquidator out of Brooklyn--their stuff looked like it would fit right in on Canal St in Manhattan.

   There were two vendors of gel insoles for your shoes. I found it interesting that the seminar with the largest audience was Get the Most out of your Miter Saw. I wasn't paying much attention, but I did walk by it a couple of times, and it looked like maybe it should have been called How to Cut Crown Molding. In any case, it seemed more of an FHB thing than an FWW thing.

   The guy at the DeWalt factory outlet booth was just as devoid of customer enthusiasm as he was last year.

   The main reason I go to the show is to get an up-close-and-personal look at stuff that I might be interested in buying. So I took a close look at a Triton TRA001 router, which Sommerfeld's is selling a bit cheaper than other places are. I also fondled some planes at the Lee Valley booth, and discovered what appears to be a design flaw in the new bevel-up jointer plane: The tool is somewhat front-heavy, as it needs to be, and what happens if you pick it up by the rear tote is that the front end tends to swing down. The problem is that there is no lip at the top front edge of the tote, so it's very easy to lose your grip, with potential catastrophic consequences to the plane, not to mention your toes. It's the same design as the tote on the smaller planes, but it's not really a problem with them since they're lighter and more evenly balanced.

   After the show, I went to WoodWerks. It was hot inside--too many warm bodies. Johannes Michelsen was turning wooden cowboy hats. I saw three SawStop corpses, although they didn't run a demo while I was there. (I didn't see any hot dogs.) Several vendor reps were there (Fein, Festool, JET/Powermatic, Kreg, Sawstop, and more that I can't remember off the top of my head). The Fein guys had a vacuum, but they didn't have it plugged in and running, which would have been a good advertisement, I would think. I bought a few small pieces of exotic wood, along with a couple of pairs of Brusso hinges and a couple of sheets of Baltic birch plywood.

   After WoodWerks, I went to Woodcraft (annoyingly, on the opposite side of town). It was busy there, too, though not quite as hectic as WoodWerks. They had their usual stuff, of course, along with some sale-priced wood and veneer out front. I bought a few more pieces of exotic wood, a DMT DuoSharp diamond lapping plate, and a piece of phenolic-coated plywood.

   Somewhere along the way, I got a wenge splinter.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   JerryPacMan | Jan 13, 2008 06:33pm | #3

   Thanks for the report.  It looks like I won't make it this year.  Have you ever been to Edward B. Mueller in Cincinnati?  If you have how would you compare it to WoodWerks?   

   Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans .

1. 
   saschafer | Jan 13, 2008 06:49pm | #4

   No, I haven't been to Mueller. I very rarely get to Cincinnati at all, actually.

   -Steve