Was anybody else disappointed with the Big "E" Woodshow? Weren't nearly as many vendors and displays as I expected, but I did enjoy talking to the Lie-Nielson rep. Maybe the damn bitter cold kept some vendors away?
Kevin B.
Just got back.
Disappointment? Yes a bit. I'd have liked to see more displays from manufacturers or tool distributors. My next big purchase is going to be a jointer and only one (General International) was on display. Nothing to compare it to.
The good news: Got to meet Mike and Dana from American Sycamore. Very nice people to talk to and they had a display of the class projects that made you drool. This is a definite school to check out for the serious woodworker or anyone that wants to move up a step or two. My wife wants me to go to make a rocker or Dana's table.
Ridge Carbide was there. I looked at their 8" dado and the combination blade. Walked away for a while and was sitting taking a break with my wife. She said "you didn't bring me all this way and now you're not going to buy anything?" So I went back and bought the dado and the blade. I'll give it a try tomorrow. The owner was hawking his goods with much enthusiasm and a
90 day money back guarantee so I have nothing to lose and the cuts looked very good.Found a very good wood supplier for pine, including w i d e boards at a very good price. W. R. Robinson Lumber (413.477.6050)
Some other booths were too crowded to get near.
Will I go back next year? Probably not, but it was worth going one time.
Even with four hours of round-trip driving thrown in I'm scoring it as a nice day... I attended two of the free "At the workbench" presentations--one on smoother planes by the executive editor of Popular Woodworking .Christopher Swartz, and the second on scrapers by a fellow named Paul Anthony. I picked up some useful preparation process information at these presentations.
The "In the Spotlight" demonstrations were interesting too. For example, watching the handcut dovetail techniques of, I believe it was Geofrey Noden, and comparing them to my own techniques was kind of interesting. He is much more parsimonious in his chopping than I but then does some paring that my approach makes unnecessary. Is one technique better than the other? Both yield good looking tight joints so I don't think so...
I wasn't planning on purchasing anything but when I encountered the PS Wood Machines booth I did pick up four Timberwolf bandsaw blades for my 18" Jet. I hadn't heard of PS before, but I found out
I had some interesting conversations with vendors and visitors alike and learned new things today. I call that a nice day!
John
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