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chook
3rd May 2015, 07:59 AM
Last year I offered a bit of my time to assist the Forum stand at the wood show. You will have noticed that the Forum is calling for volunteers again this year.

I am by nature a solitary creature and I get so little time to myself that the idea of joining a stand at a show was not very appealing to me. After all I go to the show every year so I can wander around aimlessly by myself and doing just as I please all day.

Well I was glad I did join the stand and I have done so again this year. If you are reading this and if you are going to the show I would encourage you to sign up. You will not regret it. Why?

Well firstly the chaps there share the same passion as you do. Probably you are surrounded in daily life by people who would not know the difference between a bench holdfast and skew chisel. Not so on the forum stand. The chat I had with the other men on the stand was one of the best parts of the day.

The stand had chairs, tea, coffee and a few biscuits! It was like a well equipped first aid station for tired old wood workers.

The forum has been an enormous help to me. I have not made a single purchase for many years without seeking feedback from the forum. I get technical advice of all types and it keeps me in contact with similar minded people. All for free. If I could do something to assist the forum then I thought I should.

And for me at least, it was something different. Something I had not done or tried before. That alone made it worthwhile.

So, I really encourage anybody who wants a good day at the show, to increase their pleasure and join the stand for an hour or so.

PS. You get in for free so you save a few dollars too.

crowie
4th May 2015, 06:03 PM
Last year I offered a bit of my time to assist the Forum stand at the wood show. You will have noticed that the Forum is calling for volunteers again this year.

I am by nature a solitary creature and I get so little time to myself that the idea of joining a stand at a show was not very appealing to me. After all I go to the show every year so I can wander around aimlessly by myself and doing just as I please all day.

Well I was glad I did join the stand and I have done so again this year. If you are reading this and if you are going to the show I would encourage you to sign up. You will not regret it. Why?

Well firstly the chaps there share the same passion as you do. Probably you are surrounded in daily life by people who would not know the difference between a bench holdfast and skew chisel. Not so on the forum stand. The chat I had with the other men on the stand was one of the best parts of the day.

The stand had chairs, tea, coffee and a few biscuits! It was like a well equipped first aid station for tired old wood workers.

The forum has been an enormous help to me. I have not made a single purchase for many years without seeking feedback from the forum. I get technical advice of all types and it keeps me in contact with similar minded people. All for free. If I could do something to assist the forum then I thought I should.

And for me at least, it was something different. Something I had not done or tried before. That alone made it worthwhile.

So, I really encourage anybody who wants a good day at the show, to increase their pleasure and join the stand for an hour or so.

PS. You get in for free so you save a few dollars too.

Well done "chook" :2tsup:

Handyjack
5th May 2015, 08:01 PM
...and you can put a face to some of the usernames.

tdrumnut
5th May 2015, 10:35 PM
Well said Chook, I look forward to spending a couple of hours each year on the forum and putting some names to faces.

Christos
6th May 2015, 12:31 PM
Looking at the thread for volunteers I see there are quite a few places still available. And Sunday seems to be a little quiet. I know some people like to stay at Church all day on Sunday and so it seems Queenslanders might be doing that as well? :rolleyes:

Cam.H
8th May 2015, 08:26 PM
Good on you for giving up your time & glad you enjoyed!

I have a very different view/experience from you however.

I'm a young furniture maker. Youngish in terms of years old and young in terms of overall experience.

I have recently started my furniture making business www.makimaki.com.au and went to the show last year. I went to be inspired. To learn. To experience what exciting potential lay ahead and what new tooling, technology, & technique was out there.

I was sorely disappointed.

What I found was a bunch of tired looking stands. The same ones that have always been there presumably and no new additions. Cheap tidbits in bargain bin style arrangements. No name brand sand paper, crappy hand tools and no 'show discount' for the bigger exhibitors - carbatec, festool, c&l (can't remember the rest).

I zipped though it and left in about 10mins.

Honestly if you were a young bloke looking to leap into the (what should be) exciting industry of woodworking/furniture making you'd run a mile. Or fall asleep.

I had contemplated writing to the relevant organisers but felt I couldn't dedicate enough of my own time and energy to it so felt it was hypocritical to criticise it.

But, seeing as I've gone this far I may as well give my 2c as to what would improve it in my opinion.

The 'maker movement' is growing - great! Let's embrace it. www.handkrafted.com has given a platform for many makers to get out there and make a career of it, they are doing it right. Creating excitement and a community of like minded folk eager to learn and share ideas.

I would love to see this same energy at the wood show.

Bring on the new exhibitors. Show us the demos of new tools, jigs, techniques.

Give us a show discount!

Get the new fangled toys from overseas.

Let's see a dust extraction demo clearvue.

It doesn't have to be big manufacturing like at AWISA, Where's the sawstop demo?

Get Wurth there just demoing their multifibre glue (unreal stuff btw)

Give people incentive to go and to buy something cause it's worth it, not cause they feel obliged seeing as they've made the effort to go and paid the entry fee.

Tea, bikkies and a chinwag are great and all :) but would love to a little more action.

I might be WAY off the mark here, and maybe it seems much easier than it sounds. Sorry if it offends, it shouldn't though. If there are organisers here reading this, it's not a criticism but a yearning for more!

chook
8th May 2015, 08:53 PM
Cam it is true that there is some even a lot of sameness. but I just like the smells and the sights and the sounds. I go alone because I like to roam about by myself, stop when I want and chat when I want. I like to sit at lunch time and talk to a stranger. I am odd I suppose but I feel surrounded by odd people there.

crowie
8th May 2015, 09:35 PM
Good on you for giving up your time & glad you enjoyed!

I have a very different view/experience from you however.

I'm a young furniture maker. Youngish in terms of years old and young in terms of overall experience.

I have recently started my furniture making business www.makimaki.com.au (http://www.makimaki.com.au) and went to the show last year. I went to be inspired. To learn. To experience what exciting potential lay ahead and what new tooling, technology, & technique was out there.

I was sorely disappointed.

What I found was a bunch of tired looking stands. The same ones that have always been there presumably and no new additions. Cheap tidbits in bargain bin style arrangements. No name brand sand paper, crappy hand tools and no 'show discount' for the bigger exhibitors - carbatec, festool, c&l (can't remember the rest).

I zipped though it and left in about 10mins.

Honestly if you were a young bloke looking to leap into the (what should be) exciting industry of woodworking/furniture making you'd run a mile. Or fall asleep.

I had contemplated writing to the relevant organisers but felt I couldn't dedicate enough of my own time and energy to it so felt it was hypocritical to criticise it.

But, seeing as I've gone this far I may as well give my 2c as to what would improve it in my opinion.

The 'maker movement' is growing - great! Let's embrace it. www.handkrafted.com (http://www.handkrafted.com) has given a platform for many makers to get out there and make a career of it, they are doing it right. Creating excitement and a community of like minded folk eager to learn and share ideas.

I would love to see this same energy at the wood show.

Bring on the new exhibitors. Show us the demos of new tools, jigs, techniques.

Give us a show discount!

Get the new fangled toys from overseas.

Let's see a dust extraction demo clearvue.

It doesn't have to be big manufacturing like at AWISA, Where's the sawstop demo?

Get Wurth there just demoing their multifibre glue (unreal stuff btw)

Give people incentive to go and to buy something cause it's worth it, not cause they feel obliged seeing as they've made the effort to go and paid the entry fee.

Tea, bikkies and a chinwag are great and all :) but would love to a little more action.

I might be WAY off the mark here, and maybe it seems much easier than it sounds. Sorry if it offends, it shouldn't though. If there are organisers here reading this, it's not a criticism but a yearning for more!


Cam it is true that there is some even a lot of sameness. but I just like the smells and the sights and the sounds. I go alone because I like to roam about by myself, stop when I want and chat when I want. I like to sit at lunch time and talk to a stranger. I am odd I suppose but I feel surrounded by odd people there.

The Sydney Show had some of the things you're talking about Cam, but all in all it's up to us as individual woodworkers to give specific feedback to the show participants by email after the show...I've tried this approach a few times and had a mixture of responses BUT if a whole lot more folk would actually take the time to write the message would come across loud and get some attention. This being said, as I used to work in engineering procurement I've noticed the "Trade Shows" of all sorts have dwindled over the years and I think we as users are partly to blame for our non-participation, just my humble opinion.

Cam.H
9th May 2015, 07:58 AM
Cam it is true that there is some even a lot of sameness. but I just like the smells and the sights and the sounds. I go alone because I like to roam about by myself, stop when I want and chat when I want. I like to sit at lunch time and talk to a stranger. I am odd I suppose but I feel surrounded by odd people there.


Yeah, maybe I haven't immersed myself enough in the community so miss that side of it. In any case, hope you enjoy it again this year!

Bob38S
11th May 2015, 10:44 AM
Have "worked" the stand for a number of years and had a great time and met some great people.

Unfortunately, I had to pull out last year and circumstances this year prevent my attendance, for me it is a round trip of 500+km but it was worth it.

Anyone thinking of of giving it a go - go for it, have a chat with fellow forumites, promote this great site, learn firsthand what is available and support the people who support us. I see it as putting something back, I have a little knowledge which I am happy to share and more often than not I always learn something new.

Hopefully, next year I'll be able to do the Arnie, I'll be back.