Sydney Wood Show Impressions

[graemet]

Looks like I'm the first home, does this mean I'll be removed from the forums for unwoody behaviour by leaving before being chucked out?:)

[AUSSIE]

Looks like I'm the first home, does this mean I'll be removed from the forums for unwoody behaviour by leaving before being chucked out?:)
Yeh Get out of here,Back to the Show for you,Go On back you go:roll:
Well!!! What did you think of it?

[graemet]

Firstly:
Liz, congratulations on the organisation and especially the Forums meeting area. The chance to sit down with a cup of coffee and have a yarn with other members was greatly appreciated. It probably cost you in lost rental space and the discounted tickets, so thanks!
I feel that there was a better layout this year, although I sensed that there were probably less people there than last year, or was it just that those school kids left earlier.

Second:
Great to catch up with the blokes that went to lunch and the others I met in the lounge area, putting faces to names.:o:C:;
Not much of a spend this year for me, some burls for turning, a few small tools and abrasives. Roger Gifkins had sold out of his new collets by the time I could get through the ruck to his counter.
Saw the glint from afar as the scurrilous cur was Shellawaxing everything in sight.
Bought some of the Solomons Ebony to play with.
BUT, enjoyed the day.:U:U:U
Cheers
Graeme

[BobR]

Was a great day. I felt that numbers were down on previous Fridays, although I think students were more than double previous years. This made the forum meeting area a real bonus as the other rest areas were dominated by students. Thanks Liz (tried to find you without any luck).

It was good to catch up with the usual misfits :rolleyes:. Had a good lunch and told a few lies.

As I am getting ready to move house I kept my powder dry when it came to purchasing anything. though I did buy a small piece of the ebony. Want to see how it will go for pulls.

The amount of equipment on display seemed ot be down. I would not be surprised to find that some only participated to see how the new management perform. So hope that next year is full on.

Having said that I still believe that it is worth the visit. Especially at the special forum price.

[Pheonix]

Rather disapointing I felt, if you are not into green and black wasn't much there for you, was talking to some blokes at the airport came up specifcally for gear ,but the distributor wasn't there mighty p....d off.Hare and Forbes only a token booth.
Good quantity of bits and pieces from mc jing.
Didnt think it was worth the air fare:(

[Christos]

This years show for me was great.

It did become a little quite after lunching time, which for me was 15:00. :D

I got a chance to look around with out having so many kids to walk around (over). I met up a few forum members in the members members area. That was great to put a face to a handle. I am not sure if the same can be said from their side. I missed the 12:00 lunch time meeting, BUT I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE..... :photo:

I was there before the start of the show and I am happy to say I managed to leave a few seconds before the close of the show.

I was planning to go on the Saturday but those plans have changed as I have to now work on the Saturday.

Lastly I wish to thank Liz for the support that she has has shown this forum.

Christos

[nz_carver]

well i got to go in at 8am as i walked around i felt like a fat kid that got left in the cake shop over nite it was grate!!!!!! so happy

but then:(( 9am and as the gates open next thing i know there was school kids
and along with kids

I had 3hrs of
what are you carving???
how much $ can you make ?
And your to young to carve carvers are all old people

around 12 i went to the door to meet up with you all
to find out i was on the inside of the main door and you were all on the out side:doh:

later on in the day i whent to the little room that the show stuck up for the wood work fourm mumbers and i meet 2 or 3 of you:U

i hope to see you all 2mro at 12 outside main door:2tsup:

if not im on site 222 i think:? just look for a big carving

and liz did a hell of a job!!!
and her husband is a nice bloke to:2tsup:

[Christos]

I had 3hrs of
what are you carving???
how much $ can you make ?
And your to young to carve carvers are all old people


And do not forget to ask the following questions.

What are you carving?
How much money can you make?
Are you to young to carve, when other carvers are all old people?


:U

[Christos]

After thinking about this for a few seconds I think this is way too cruel to put on to nz_carver

So here are some replies.

What are you carving?
Wood.

How much money can you make?
Not Much.

Are you to young to carve, when other carvers are all old people?
Nah I am older then I look.

Then with a smile on your face :hapy:

You have to tell them to come back next year. :bgth:

[finchy]

I managed 4 1/2 hours before I had to leave to pick up my son from school, and my impression pretty much meets with everyone else.... Too many school kids "hanging around" - some were into it, which is great, they are the future of sawdust creation, but some were just having a day off and they made it difficult at times for those of us who had time constraints to get around, though it picked up after about 1:30 when everything seemed to go quiet. (Note to self: If going on Friday next year, turn up at 12:00 not 10:00 if you want to to avoid the (c)rush)

I managed to not spend much - picked up a Chris Vesper marking knife that I'd been eyeing off on the web, and going to hit Carbatec at Auburn tomorrow or Sunday, as their sale applies there too - providing they left some stock in the store :oo:

Not so much of the "big machines" this year - Hare and Forbes only a small range of Scheppach tools, and didn't even have their full catalogue available. One big name missing this year is Timbecon apparently due to staffing shortages - though I understand they are doing Adelaide and Melbourne. Hopefully they will be back in the future, as with No Triton and No Timbecon, everything was green not orange :D

The other thing that I felt was the demos were lacking in basics that would benefit so many newbies - Yes, the Gifkins demo I watched included basic router table safety (don't feed with the rotation) - I learned a great way to sharpen from Les Miller at the show many years ago, and it was sad to see that those sorts of sessions just seemed to be missing - admittedly there are lots of video podcasts online these days showing these things, but nothing beats "being there"

But all that said.....having not gone for the last year or two, I'm glad I was able to make it this year, and I intend finding the time next year to go again.

[ian]

Spent the arvo there – deliberately timed it for after most of the school kids left.

Crowd wise, Friday arvo felt a little busier than last year.
What I like about Friday arvo is the exhibitors are still fresh and they usually have the time to chat and explain things.

Hello again to Linda Nathan from Australian Wood Review

There seems to be a lot more timber stands than last year. :U
But far too many Red Gum and Jarrah slabs for my taste :p

Gasweld have a much smaller stand than in previous years

The big tool guys – Makita, Festo, Metabo, Paslode, Hitachi, Fein – are there in force as are Milwalke but I must have missed the Makita girl and I don't recall any Bosch gear which is a pity as I'm thinking about a cordless Dremel
For those with the cash, there's one or two show specials on the Festo gear

Roger Gifkins and Chris Vesper seem to be the only small tool manufactures which is a shame as I'm in the market for a good pinned mortise gauge. Colin C are you reading this?

With Stan in the Hall of Industries, the Horden Pavilion doesn't seem as full but the displays are worth the detour.
Particularly enjoyed chatting to the young adults showing off their award winning HSC projects from last year.

Only spent a few $ today – a piece of Tassie Myrtle, 3 issues of Aust Woodworker and a box of driver bits

However, I got to play with more than a few of the LN planes. If you get the chance and the crowd is not to deep, ask David or Phil if you can try one of the planes on their bits of wood and report your impressions.
(It's know it's a blatent plug, but another a post started today (or was it yesterday?) is about sanding camphour laurel. Well David & Phil had a piece of cranky camphour in their vise and having had a go at it with a #5-1/2, #85 and the LA smoother, I can report that the "best" tool for finishing it was the LA smoother, with teh #5-1/2 not far behind, but that was probably because the #85 was blunt.)
Although it wasn't really sharp, LN's new T&G plane feels alright. And for the collectors among us, David has (had?) a #102 in white bronze

[bsrlee]

Most annoying thing at the Show: the woman banging two sticks together - absolutely NO pattern to it, just an annoying tink, tink ........... tink.. tink ....rattle rattle. It was actually a pleasure to hear one poor demonstrator having major feedback problems. It was bad enough that my friend with severe industrial deafness who was there was complaining about it.

It also cost a few stands some sales as I just had to move away - and get shoved & trodden on by small bunches of 'youffs' - the groups in uniforms and/or supervised by teachers were fine - but there were some small groups who just had to push in front of you when you were trying to look at something, or were walking backwards into people (like me). Maybe I should have bought one of those ebony mackerel stunners :U

I missed several of the smaller exhibitors from previous years, and they in turn missed out on my money :q

[Old farmer]

Yes, I second any vote of thanks to Liz and her team.

We arrived just before 10AM to ensure a spot in the Disabled parking but, from now on, shall arrive later on the Friday as the walking is painful on its own without all the school children. i understand, though, the reason Liz likes to see them there and I know I am sounding like a gumpy old man.

I went to buy from Carroll's, H and F and Gifkins but succeeded only with Carroll's, a very pleasant and helpful woman, was disappointed with H and F, could not get near Gifkins..

We left after an hour as it was too painful but shall try again next year.

[Hardenfast]

Well, I thought it was all good. Heaps of timber on display - plenty of Australian Cedar which was nice to see.

Good to see the Magic Mop girls were there, but I missed the Magic Cloth guy. I sheepishly admit to buying some of the allow "welding" rods after an impressive demonstration. I'm a bit ambivalent about the massage parlour, though. I know he's done it a million times before, but could the Aussie Jig guy appear any more bored or monotone when he's delivering his spiel? He doesn't demonstrate any actual fitting/drilling using the jig - which is otherwise a nice piece of Australian made gear. Get your act together, Aussie Jig man.

And yes, there were a million school kids, but I thought all were mostly well behaved, smartly dressed and genuinely interested in the displays. Encouraging to see them there, I think - even if it was just another day off school for most of them. I saw quite a few leaving the show with quite large slabs of Aust Cedar - probably for school projects etc. Leave 'em alone, guys - they're ok.

The various "show specials" were available and appreciated, although Jim Carroll seemed to syphon virtually all of my spending money out in one hit. Still, I did well I think. Bought a Vicmarc 120mm chuck and extra pin jaws plus a set of VM bowl jaws from Jim, as well as some potpourri lids and other small stuff. Around $500 all up, which came down nicely to around $450.

Also bought a few small pieces of timber - a bit of African Wenge and some of the Queen Ebony just to play with. Some trinkets from McJings as stocking fillers and I was done. A few less exhibitors in the other hall I noticed but still worthwhile. They'll come back.

Got to have a pleasant lunch with some of the guys, and a few (free) cups of coffee in our most relaxing, civilised meeting area chatting with fellow forumites. This was one of the best part of the show experience and I used it severeal times throughout the day. Many thanks Liz and Rick (I got to thank both personally)! Hope this facility is available again next year.

Have fun today and Sunday, guys. Hey NZ Carver - how many days to go?

Wayne

[zelk]

Were there any specials on Lie Nielsen gear?
Zelk

[jmk89]

Just back from a very short (3 hour) time at the show.

Why so short? Not because of the show, but because a condition of the leave pass was that I take the anklebiters. Not complaining - they were pretty good for a 4yo and a 6 yo, but there was not much opportunity for in depth stall snooping...

Even that amount of time and viewing would have been impossible without the Forum Room. What a great facility! Sorry to the guys who were there when we were that I was pre-occupied with the little'uns and couldn't join you for some high octane BSing.

I loved:

1. seeing a GIS (Goat Island Skiff) in the flesh (design by Mik) - what a beautiful boat she looks in the flesh and worth the price of admission alone.
2. the increased TAFE presence - great inspiration there
3. the less crowded layout, with more 'relaxation space'
4. the greater amount of wood available
5. bigger presence from Trend

Not so impressed by?
1. The weather - it was peeing down. It would be great if there was a covered walkway from the Hall of Industries to the Hordern Pavillion.
2. Carba-tec and Hare and Forbes - are they serious or not?

Bought:
1. 1kg citric acid and 3 Turner bradawls from TTTG stall
2. sanding belts from veneer inlay
3. Rustins Danish Oil from Trend

Next year can't come soon enough for me!!

Purchases

[steverc]

I arrived about 10am where the line up for tickets was really long, but they had a guy walking the line selling tickets to anyone with cash which was really good i thought.

Carba-tec was very squashy and i was hoping they would have a few demos. but i bought kregg pocket hole jig and some titebond.

Trend timbers was had a huge range of timbers. which i did purchase some veener and different timbers. staff were extreamly helpfull too.

school kids were a little bit annoying most were there just for the day off. some did have genuine interest though.

[robbygard]

i've just got back home ... was there on friday from opening to about lunchtime .... saw the forum area but no-one was there when i called in

di and i enjoyed ourselves, spent some money and will be off to canberra and melbourne later in the year

thought the shape of the space for trend and carrolls was odd but if they were happy with it that's the main thing .. i figure they would have needed and extra 6 to cope with the long thin areas but they both seemed to have a number of customers

thought the kids were well behaved but might think about a saturday or sunday visit, particularly for canberra where my travel is not as exteme

all in all i think it was good and congratulate all involved:)

regards david

[Rommel]

I just want to say that it was a great day on the show. Thank you Liz for the organization and setup. I was able to meet a few people at the show and that was great.

[ajw]

Just home from the Show. Spent pretty well the whole day there, and bought a new table saw, 8" jointer and 15" thicknesser from Carbatec, along with some Bessy clamps and some veneers and timber. Very successful day for me.

Special thanks to Liz for the forum meeting area. I got to meet some members, and then ended up having lunch with a bunch of them. Enjoyed myself - a bit like a kid at Christmas time!

ajw

[jaguarrh]

...and I was one of those members ajw.

It was a great day for me, got to meet a bunch of you guys in the flesh, had a good chat with Pat and Wongo over lunch, enjoyed the facilities at the forum area (thanks again Liz and Rick) and spent a little cash.

Thanks for talking me out of the cheap Makita table saw wongo, I think I would have regretted it in the long run.

Pat, I will pm you regarding the Illawarra woodworkers club when I get back from the pub.

My purchases included a Waterstone sharpening setup, a nice bit of Qld Walnut and of course some Ebony.

[roland]

Well I ended up dragging the wife all over the place for 5 hours. First show I've been to in 3 years and so far the most disappointing. Plenty of trady power tools everywhere but to me there was a distinct lack of wood enthusiast/home craftsman appeal.

The Hare and Forbes display was a joke and Carbotech's arrogance shone through strongly as they pushed past inqusitive would be customers at the flash of a credit card.

Frustration was obvious with the spukers demonstrating their wares as the audiences disappeared as soon as the price was mentioned at the end of the pitch.

The missing kaliedescope of multi vendor distributors was obvious and in my opinion led to a less interesting show. In fact most of these shows are not shows anymore but a displaced retail space for the vendors.

I did end up getting a couple of bits of wood from Trend and a few trinkets from McJing's

[Pat]

Report: Sydney Working with Wood & Timber Show June Twentieth 2009

Well what can I say, the organisation of this show was good, with plenty of space between stalls allowing people to move freely. The number of and size of some stalls were smaller as mentioned above, but as we discussed with Rick & Liz, mostly because the companies don't have the financial wherewithal as in previous years.

Definitely a Saturday person now as the crowd was not so rambunctious as Friday's (yes the little darlings are the future, but if the schools could be a bit more discriminant about whom they bring) :q

The forum area was a hit with all that used it, even those that do not partake in Tea & Coffee enjoyed a relax and chat with like minded Gentlemen. :; Lunch at the Yum Cha was it's usual riotous affair.

I didn't get time to see any demo's, but when passing thru they seemed to be well attended. I spoke to Chrome Dome and Jim, they were busy, Trend had their usual varied display of timber and tools . . . I'll keep them in mind as I got customer service from them, that was on par with Jim :2tsup:

Greg and Mal had a great display of timber and the rain showed off the figure in the boards to the best effect. A Queensland Maple board had spectacular quilting. There did seem to be a fair bit of Huon on display from various vendors, some with a bit of Birdseye.

Gasweld had a large presence, which showed confidence in the show. The displays in the Horden were up to the usual high standards, with the boats along the Eastern wall being a great feature, even if you are not a boatie.

All in all it is a well run show, granted some exhibitors have a smaller presence, at least they turned up.

So if you are humming and haring about going tomorrow, give it a go. Neil has arranged a cheaper ticket, there is a good area to rest and it's good to see so many different vendors under one/two roofs.

[Claw Hama]

I had a great day:U, I was realy impressed with Liz and Ricks handy work, got to have a chat with Rick a couple of times. The club lounge room was great:2tsup:. And like the others said it was great to put some faces to the names. Hi guys. The seats and space around the site was good too, even when the crouds were at there highest there was breathing space.

Hopefully next year Hare and Forbes, Carbatech etc will put a greater effort in, I went with money to spend but they just didn't have the goods there:no:.

But I did manage a few bits, some Bessy's, gear puller, abrasives, glues, a set of the ARTU drill bits, a couple of books on carving, dvd and a Lie Neilson progressive cut dovetail saw (oh yeh) but
still would have spent more on some good Ausie made tools, band saw blades etc etc.

The timber selection was great too, Mal had a nice big haul with a good assortment, I had some clients meet me there and they were able to pick out a few pieces they liked and they then got carried away and bought more for a coffee table they hadn't even considered before. More work, you beauty. Mals not going to want to cart that lot home so should be some good buys tomorrow.

Weather was a bugger but all in all I had a ball:2tsup:.

PS. Ment to mention VEK tools, I have been dealing with them getting a Flai Z saw blade and been very impressed with there level of customer care. Thanks Kiro.

[Scally]

Just home after two days at the show.

Arrived at 10 Friday to see a big line up waiting for tickets so decided to grab a coffee. The line was just as big when I came back but it was moving quickly. I flashed the Forum cap at a guy selling tickets along the line and was greeted with a smile, a cheap ticket and he advised me that we had our own meeting area.
Now I'm smiling.
Wandered out to make sure Mal and Greg had arrived. Mal tels me he has an even bigger slab of Red Mahogany. Thanks Mal.
Plenty of timber everywhere. More huon pine than I have seen at the show before and reasonable prices, I thought.
The Horden Pavillion had a good range of displays - nice range of projects and wooden boats and friendly demonstrators.
It was good to see all the school kids - asking questions, taking notes and buying bits of wood.
Back to the front room and had to ogle the LN tools(they are always special Zelk!!), new Bessey clamps, lots of pretty Festool gear and more.
I kept bumping into Forum guys and enjoyed the chats, lunch and coffees in our own room.

I gave into temptation at the big Trend display and picked up a special piece of Cherry. Adrian remembered me asking for a piece of Afro mosia and presented me with a nice sample.
I bumped into Liz in the ticket office and walking the floor. Friendly and interested. She said the Friday crowd was well up on last year. Mal said there was 8000 at the show last year and he thought there could have been 6000 this Friday. Nearly Mal. Liz told me it was over 5,500.

Good news and good signs for the future.
See you all again next year.

suggestion - can the Forum provide Ponchos for the Sydney Show!!!

[Ashore]

Not nice weather to drive from newcastle but the show was good
Thanks Liz and Steve for the coffee and woodies area to sit and put names to faces
Couple of shots of the woodies area , lunch, gettin a shot of chris is always hard with that chrome dome after he's just polished it with EEE , and wongo doing his John Wayne impression from True Grit :U

[wheelinround]

What a day an early start as I was to meet and be picked up at Eastern Creek at 8am by OTGA mates who I dare say are top fellows for their age ranging from 80+ down to 35.

Arrived and sitting down for a coffee when Pat lets me know he's close to arriving so met him in the car park for a quick pass over of a 8" Dawn vice bloody heavy box quick look inside under dark conditions revealed more then just a vice in there a couple of shifters a torch more about this later as I had to return to OTGA stand prior the doors opening.

Did some demo of the copy jig more talking than turning Pat came by and we headed off for a quick stroll round. Bumped into I_wanna_shed/Natahan and his lovely wife (great to see you both again)
Pat dragged me into the Forum meeting point :o wow a great spot a world away from the rat race outside Thanks heaps Liz & Neil :2tsup::2tsup:

Got back to more demo & lunch I didn't join the forumites for lunch my pea n ham soup was specially made :q as much as I like a good Luksa.

Got to see JChappo, Ross, Scally, Wongo, Rob1 and a few more oh yeh and Dave NZcarver.

Mal N Greg timber I agree with Pat about the QLD Maple it was very very very tempting even before being wet.

Spent a total of $30 on wire wheels for cleaning hex keys extra long the rest of my spending wil be done in individual supplies stores in Sydney.

Was there till closing time at the OTGA stand and got home to open the box Pat had put the vice into. I'll go shopping at his store any time :oo::~:D finding the vice, 4 clamps, a new Shaker torch, 3 Shiffters 300mm 200mm 150mm, a small micrometer, a Fat Max 8m tape a Tri fold ruler, 6"steel ruler, 300mm of tools steel, Bottle of Solvol hand cleaner, Bottle of Penetrine,
Pat many many thanks you freindship and time you spent with me today was fantastic :2tsup:.


Oh the show trade area as others have said plenty room to move, saldy tho no seating in the demo pavillion other than at the demo sites.

As for the rain between buildings get a grip stop being whimps if Greg & Mal and I can dash through it :roll:

Liz well done (nice to meet Rick) only way from here is up and bigger and better which means better venue.:U held not in the grip of winter :p

[Wongo]

Thanks for talking me out of the cheap Makita table saw wongo, I think I would have regretted it in the long run.


I am glad you didn't buy it. $599 for a Makita tablesaw was way too cheap. It just didn't look like a good machine.




The best part of the day was to catch up with some old friends and a few new ones. Apart from that it was OK :depressed:. What I would like to know is why it didn't rain yesterday instead of today. :~

Pat was under a lot pressure this year. I think it was because he didn't want to disappoint me. Instead of buying 1 bottle of sealer he bought 2. Instead of buy 1 turning blank he bought 3. You did well Pat. You don't have to thank me I was only doing my bit for a good mate.:;

For me, I got my LN fishtail chisel, 2 packs of ROS sandpaper, a bottle of Ubeaut sanding sealer, 5 packs of figured Blackwood veneer from Trend. Also got some Solomon Queen Ebony, Kauri, Blackwood and Red Cedar from Greg.

I left the show 7 hours older and $1,000 poorer. :D

[Scally]

A couple of pics of Mal's timber
and Mal trying to find a pocket for all the money.

Lovely Sunny day on Friday!

[Wongo]

Yes, sunny on Friday and sunny again on Sunday. :rolleyes:

[Claw Hama]

Wheelin, pretty sure I saw general seating in the other pavillion too, it was away from the demo area though.

[DuncanH]

I went Friday and Saturday and I thought the crowds were much better on Saturday (probably due to the lack of stampeding school kids). I came away with a nice chunk of jarrah, a few pen things from Jim and Brett (both very nicely laid out stands I thought), and a nice Sorby parting tool (supposedly second hand but looked brand new to me :D).

[Ashore]

Definately seating in both halls :2tsup:

[VEK TOOLS]

Day 3 & we have reached the home stretch:B....worst thing about today is the pack up:doh:

I would like to thank & congratulate Rick & Liz on ann amazing job this year:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

Displays from exhibitors were of a higher standard than last year & the halls looked alot more cleaner & fresher in layout with the new banners on from discussions with Liz & Rick this is only the start...

Thanks also to all of you that visited us on our stand it is great to put faces to the names.

I hope all of you didnt forget to register for the barrel of tools we are giving away, it would be good if a member of the forums won it....

[Scally]

I saw a group of guys with Foilies eyeing off the Festool chainsaw!!!!
I think the guy in the red shirt will buy one.

[wheelinround]

Ok just rang mate who's in there to pick up some of that Queen Ebony ??? 2"x2"x 12"$10 totally forgot yesterday:doh:

Anybody get some

[Gaza]

I saw a group of guys with Foilies eyeing off the Festool chainsaw!!!!
I think the guy in the red shirt will buy one.

i went to the show yesturday, in the pouring rain. the power tools did not do it for me the only thing that caught my eye was the protool chain saw that works on the festool rail. WOW i am trying to think of things that i can use it for.

vek had protool 160mm saw for $99 which was a bargin but i did not get one and i wish i had of now, So vek if you have any left let me know.

i brought an unsual small slab from greg which was full of holes which i will make into an interesting coffee table.

that makita table saw is a good buy at $599 for site work as it is small enough to carry unlike the bigger model it is better built unit than the hitachi of silmar size.

i walked out only spending $25 bucks on the slab i was a bit disapointed in being unable to spend more money but nothing took my fancy, the one tool that we were looking for a bargin on was the festool planex (drywall sander) with vacum and we did not even see one on display.

[Wongo]

I saw a group of guys with Foilies eyeing off the Festool chainsaw!!!!
I think the guy in the red shirt will buy one.

Definitely. I don't have a clue what it is for but I am going to buy one. It is a festool so its got to be good.

[Wongo]

CORDLESS DRILL GIVEAWAY EVERY 2 HRS: FESTOOL COMPETITION!


During the show, Festool will give away a cordless drill every 2 hours, as well as polo shirts and other great Festool gear. Check out their exhibit to be in the draw! But remember, you have to be at the expo to go into the draw, so book your tickets online now or by fax.

Has anyone won one?

[BobR]

I could not even see how you got your name in the hat. I spent a little time at their stand.

[Wongo]

I was there nice and early, thinking great no ones there so I will one for sure. Couldn't find a thing.

[wheelinround]

Pat and I found it the big barra of tools was down the back not far from Forum room :D:2tsup:

You would almost think it was a rubbish heap as there were Triton boxes in the barra

[Pat]

I have round two of the blanks I got from Mark (043Turning). Spalted Liquid Amber and a Spalted Eucalypt (????). I should have changed down from the 6mm to 3 mm blade for the Eucy, but my inherent laziness ran true:U

I'll wait till I can get a fine day to turn as it is alternating Rain and Sun and I'm not going to continuously put the dog's bed in and out of the shed.

And also for the boys that decided that after lunch they'd get the Corner Chisel from Carbitool and found that Carbitool had sold out :U

[jchappo]

Enjoyed meeting up in the Forum room, thanks for that Liz.
Thanks for the pics Ashore - What a fine bunch of blokes:D Good lunch too!
Had a good look around, but it didn't seem to have the buzz of previous years. There was a definite hole left by the absence of Timbecon who usually put on a good show, although Jim did his best to fill the void with three demonstrators.:)
Spent some time with Ray who was demonstrating on the Ornamental Turners stand.
Finally remembered to buy a tin of Silver Glide, bought a Woodies turning smock and one of those replacement heads for my Ryobi Line trimmer.
How do you get the %#$%^ original head off??:?
Got as far as the top cover for the spool but its held on by a retainer washer - don't know if its a press fit, or glued in. Don't want to destroy it in case I want to put the original back on.

[Pat]

How do you get the %#$%^ original head off??:?


John please remember the first rule of home repairs . . .
Hammer, bigger Hammer, Lump Hammer,
Sledge Hammer!:U

[bsrlee]

I managed to get back for a second bite Sunday with a friend who could only get there on the last day. The annoying stick banger had almost completely given up - maybe she got her fingers caught? - and I managed to leave money with McJing, Lie-Neilsen, the trolley man & Hitachi in the main hall, plus I remembered the Bote-Cote epoxy & some fake Vice grip welding pliers - not a cheap day but satisfying.

I resisted buying anything else from Festo today - yay me :B

[gimjam]

It was great to catch up with so many folks from the forum and put some more faces to names.

The forum meeting room was a fantastic idea - thanks Liz & everyone at EEE

Compared to previous years the range of suppliers and products on display was more limited and there seemed to be fewer woodworking skills demonstrations. I never though I'd say this but I reckon I've seen enough cordless power tools to last me for a while!

To help the economy along I picked up a nice variety of timbers from Trend and from Greg & Mal at Boutique timbers. I couldn't resit the new model Metabo SXE 450 TurboTec Duo sander which I'm looking forward to having a play with.

I'll go back next year if they promise to put the stick banger outside in the rain and bring all that nice timber inside:U

Cheers,
Geoff

[Tex B]

I happened to be in Canberra for the Canberra show, and the stick banging woman was there as well. Tapped for hours. Banging those sticks must be some kind of highlight for her. Definitely not for those in nearby booths.

Liz, thanks for the meeting point. I thought the show was great, but apparently I should have been there Friday as quite a lot of lovely timber was sold that day and even by Saturday morning the stock had noticeably thinned.

Did manage to convince Christopha to part with some white shellac, though.

Tex

[graemet]

Ok just rang mate who's in there to pick up some of that Queen Ebony ??? 2"x2"x 12"$10 totally forgot yesterday:doh:

Anybody get some
Yes, quite a few if the posts are to be believed. I only bought one bit to play with and stuck it on the lathe. So far only reduced it to a cylinder but was pleasantly surprised to find it worked with normal turning tools, despite its weight. The blurb that came with it says it's light inside, but it's still pretty dark! I'll leave it for a while to oxidise before I hit it with Shellawax Glow.
Cheers
Graeme

[Jethrow]

Hi All
Well it was the first Show ive attended. Found it to be very good, spent about 6 hours in total going round and round thinking about buying certain things then going back and buying some of them. Bought a couple of nice burls and a large piece of silky oak. Spent around a $1000 on small tools. (Micro blade setter for thicknesser etc, Woodcut sharpening unit left and right, multi vice unit looks a great thing hope it is in parctise once set up and a few other small pieces of equipment).
All in all very impressed and I will be attending next year for sure.
The only dissapointment for me was that I called into the room for forum members 2 or 3 times and on all occasions no one was there, would have liked to have met a few members, well maybe next year. (By the way I was there Saturday.)

[fletty]

I was only able to go on friday morning and then off to another commitment from which I have just returned ....
My show experience started through the week when I went to carbatec to have a look at their pre show sale. I bought a pedestal drill (which would have been a PITA to buy at the show!) and 4 kwikclamps on the 25%-off-if-you-buy-4 deal.
At the show I bought the large LN router plane, 3/8" fishtail chisel and a dowel plate .... and then accidently left my credit card in Phil's secure hands!
After retrieving the card I bought some bits from McJing, sandpaper from the King of Dungog .... and other stuff still in the backpack!
I guess my reaction to this years show can best be summed by the words in an earlier post that there didnt seem the be the same "buzz" as previous years, maybe it was just me.
I would hate to think the "buzz" has been replaced with those message sticks ... even the lady clicking the sticks looked bored with her efforts.
Oh well 362 days to go .........
Fletty

[Christos]

:depressed:. What I would like to know is why it didn't rain yesterday instead of today. :~


Thats because I was at the Show on Friday. Why would it rain on the day that I went on.

I was originally going to the Saturday but had to work. So it was ok to rain on that day. The Sunday was a clean up house day and so another rain day. See if I was at the show it would not have rained. So next year I will let you know the days that I attend so that you guys know when it is not going to rain. :cool:

[Pheonix]

I thought that woman was there for abit of local colour she was on Billynudgel woods' stand,is this some form of aborigine co- op?

[wheelinround]

Oh well 362 days to go .........
Fletty


Not so we now have another show (http://www.handsonexpo.com.au/sydney)in March a bit different

How was the concert :cool:

[Claw Hama]

Hmm not much info there yet, be interesting to see which exibitors they can get. Can't see that they would look after us as good as Liz and Rick. I will need more glue and sandpaper by then so may be worth a visit.

[Greg Ward]

Thanks for all the comments. Mal and I enjoyed meeting you all..... and the coffee from Liz was great.
There wasn't much time to talk, however I am sure you all understood that.
The wet weather wasn't really a dampner, it didn't stop serious purchasers.
It was a great show for us and we look forward to catching up with you again for some more of Mal's 'interesting' timber.
Greg

[nz_carver]

After thinking about this for a few seconds I think this is way too cruel to put on to nz_carver

So here are some replies.

What are you carving?
Wood.

How much money can you make?
Not Much.

Are you to young to carve, when other carvers are all old people?
Nah I am older then I look.

Then with a smile on your face :hapy:

You have to tell them to come back next year. :bgth:

well with all thhe kids that me off
(just dont like kids 15 to 18 thats all)

I had one little boy around 6 with his dad just standing next to me for about 1hr just watching me carve it was nice to see some one so young

And to top off a good weekend i had some one make a offer on my carving when its finished:2tsup:
BUYS
I got new carvers vice (and sold by other one)

got a new mallet

some glue

got some rose wood and
a bit of black but burl

a new gouge

a dust extractor

some carving dvds

a pencil kit (thanks ray:2tsup:)

it was nice to see you all and stick the name to the face:2tsup:

[Wongo]

Thats because I was at the Show on Friday. Why would it rain on the day that I went on.

I was originally going to the Saturday but had to work. So it was ok to rain on that day. The Sunday was a clean up house day and so another rain day. See if I was at the show it would not have rained. So next year I will let you know the days that I attend so that you guys know when it is not going to rain. :cool:


Sorry you got it all wrong. It was dry not because you were there, it was because I wasn't there.

Friday, dry and I wasn't there. Saturday, storm and I was there. Sunday, dry until 3.3pm and I wasn't there.

You want to come with me next year? Good luck with that.

[Wongo]

BTW I still want to know what happened to those Festool cordless drills they were going to give away every 2 hours. Pat, where did you get that idea from?

[Alastair]

Impressions of the Show:cool:

My first time on Fri, found it quite "abuzz". Didn't have a problem with the schools, (which is surprising as I'm turning into a grumpy old fart). When I came back on Sat, I found it a bit flat.

Liked the layouts, particularly in Hordern, much better, a bit of a gallery feel. Was also nice having demo's in both halls.

While I didn't really use the Forum area, it was a great idea, and thanks to Liz for that.

Was a bit disappointed with some of the absences (HNT/Clenton eg), and downscales. Hopefully under the new management they will be back, but I suppose $$$ and politics will have their say.

Enjoyed meeting the group for lunch and a natter, then went back and perved.
Ordered a Gifkins collet, to be posted.
Set up my timber order with Mal for kitchen doors, ~1/2 cube of Silky Oak.
Spoke to C/T and H&F about a table saw, and couldn't get either to budge from their advertised 10%
Watched some of the turning demo's, and Terry Gleeson's dovetails, and caught up with some of my woodturning club mates. Watched the prizegiving, then had to run.

Saturday started with a trip down to C/T, where I bit the bullet and bought a CJ650, with fine blade and mobile base kit. The next 3 decades of fathers' day gifts, I reckon. By the time I had it wrapped against the rain, and got it back home, it was too late to make the Sat lunch group, so came anyway, and did the "other" shopping:
Some bits of ebony, (pens, and fingerboard), my annual fix of pen kits from Jim, Couple of screw clampers from McJing to make some panel clamps, (Scott, I'll be asking you for your design:D:D:D), and a set of angle grinder wire brushes for the trailer derust I have to find time for.
Found Sat a bit "blah". Maybe it was just a reaction to watching people with lots of money buying expensive bits, that I couldn't afford, or justify. Sour grapes, really.

What I did find hard to understand, was the number of the "hobbyist" table saws I saw sitting in the parcel area. Considering some of them had price tags ~ $1000, and I bought my modest unit, (much more versatile) for $850??

Now a year of penance, and renovations, to "pay" for my purchases at home.

I will be back, so all in all, a good weekend.

regards

[VEK TOOLS]

Thanks everyone for your support at the show, you saved us from an extra 2 truck pick ups.

We went down with 11 pallets of stock & came back with 3.......thank god for that.

The only festool giveaway promo i heard of was the one if you spent over $500 on the VEK TOOLS & F&K TOOLS stands you went into the draw to win a Festool cordless. Im sure if you rang 1800 063 900 & spoke to Gezar(Festool show co-ordinator) he should be able to clear up what the competition was.

For anyone that wanted he Protool 160mm saw we had on special for $99 as Gaza was saying we have a few left in the shop & will honour the price for wood work forum members.....its funny as at one stage we had 15 of the saws at parcel pick up & the security was so shocked he bought one for himself.

We were so impressed from the support & the proffesionalism of Liz & team we are now looking like we might be going to the Canberra show this year

[gimjam]

As you came in the main door there was a Visitor Guide for everyone to take.

On the font page it says:

"Win a Drill
Visit the Festool stand to win
a cordless drill - competition
held every 2 hours throughout
the show."

I guess Geza didn't get a copy :no:

[ian]

The only festool giveaway promo i heard of was the one if you spent over $500 on the VEK TOOLS & F&K TOOLS stands you went into the draw to win a Festool cordless. so do you know who won this promo?
can you publish the name here?

[Wongo]

Yes, 4 winners per day for 3 days so it should be 12 winners in total.

[AUSSIE]

First in maths since 1970
It pays to be good at maths.You been telling us for a while--- now we believe it:D:D
Who Are The 12 Winners? Who Was Running This?:o

[Pheonix]

Out of hundreds of members we could only manage 30 replies surely more than that attended:o

[Sebastiaan56]

I got there Saturday morning in the p#ssing rain. I got the tools I was after; a wooden jointing plane - used, a reamer, a fine stone, etc and some Sollies blackwood. I thought a lot of the timber was overpriced, a guitar blank for $170 left me very cold and it wasnt moving from what I could see.

My favourite section is the competitions and this year was a ripper. Some of the segmented turnings were stunning. There were some cool instruments and the boats are always fabby.

[AUSSIE]

Out of hundreds of members we could only manage 30 replies surely more than that attended:o

I know what you mean pheonix. On the scale model sub forum , Over 700 views.And only 23 votes:o
People looked at the poll for scale models but didn't vote.
I know you voted Pheonix.Thanks for that.:2tsup:

[Sebastiaan56]

I know what you mean pheonix. On the scale model sub forum , Over 700 views.And only 23 votes:o
People looked at the poll for scale models but didn't vote.
I know you voted Pheonix.Thanks for that.:2tsup:

Maybe the mods can tell us but it might be search engines indexing. This forum comes high up on all the Google woodie type searches I do,

[VEK TOOLS]

so do you know who won this promo?
can you publish the name here?

just sent an email to festool to find out who was the winner

[gimjam]

just sent an email to festool to find out who was the winner

I don't think you should feel responsible for what was advertised as a Festool competition - the folks at VEK Tools should be congratulated for donating the "Wheel Barrow of Tools" prize which was a beauty.

I do however think it would be good to hear from the organisers why a competition was advertised that 12 Festool cordless drills would be given away - when this was clearly false.

Cheers,
Geoff

[Pulpo]

I have been to the show over the years in Adelaide, Canberra and a few times Sydney.

Just happen to be at those places.

However this Sydney show was average; went Sunday arvo, crowd was very low I thought.

The exhibitors seems to have been down in number and size.

The timber seems to really have increased in price over the years.

I remember once seeing chainsaw's for sale and milling machines not this year, except they had the lucas machine.

Only a few kids around.

Usually only go once every couple of years.

It was a sacrafice to get there and maybe too great for the show.

Cheers

Pulpo

[VEK TOOLS]

I have been to the show over the years in Adelaide, Canberra and a few times Sydney.

Just happen to be at those places.

However this Sydney show was average; went Sunday arvo, crowd was very low I thought.

The exhibitors seems to have been down in number and size.


Cheers

Pulpo

hi Puplo

what do you think of the canberra shows compared to the sydney shows, as after the result of sydney this year we are considering going to the Canberra show, some people say it is 1/5 of the size of sydney would you agree?

[robbygard]

hi Puplo

what do you think of the canberra shows compared to the sydney shows, as after the result of sydney this year we are considering going to the Canberra show, some people say it is 1/5 of the size of sydney would you agree?


i go to sydney, canberra and melbourne shows ... i think 1/5 is probably an exaggeration ... it is a significantly smaller show but not that much smaller i don't think

it is, obviously, your commercial call on whether you go to shows but i offer a few observations not intended to influence you one way or the other (i am also a visitor to canberra on, about, a monthly basis):


1. before i became a member of the forum and before seeing you at the sydney show, i had never heard of your business

2. there are only a few businesses in canberra who are in the same general market as yourselves and perhaps only one of them is specifically a competitor

3. of those four, only two went to the last canberra show (i think) ... one seems to me like it is on its last legs as a business and the other is an up and coming business but is probably in a different segment of the market to yourselves


regards david

[Pulpo]

It was about 3 or 4 years ago I was at the Canberra show.

Excluding the second hall at the Sydney show the size was about 1/3 less in Canberra but the number of exhibitors was smaller.

My memory of the Canberra show was better than this years Sydney.

Pulpo

[VEK TOOLS]

just got an email from Geza at festool for the winners at the Sydney show, hope this helps


Dear Kiro,

See the winners list below:

Phill Mathie
Cordless
Paul Bruce
Cooltainer
David Butler
Cooltainer
Street Build
Polo Shirt
James Emunds
Polo Shirt
Andrew Lane
Polo Shirt
Steve Harper
Polo Shirt
Manny Vataes
Polo Shirt
Jason Sim
Polo Shirt
Glenn Mitchell
Polo Shirt
Nick Zografakis
Polo Shirt
Howard Molvang
Polo Shirt
Ivan Flood
Polo Shirt

[Alastair]

Subtle misrepresentation here methinks!

My perception was: Draw each hour for a cordless
NOT: Draw every hour. 1 cordless, and the rest consolation.:((

It seems I was not the only one.

No skin off my nose, as I never got involved, but in the industry I work in, it might attract the attention of the ACCC:D

[wheelinround]

Which company was giving away the wheel barra full of goodies

If they pick my entry they'll have trouble reading it hands were playing up something chronic that day.

[VEK TOOLS]

It was us:doh: winner was drawn by eee live so everyone saw it on the sunday at around 3

We had put around $4k cost in tools but i think the kids would have got to about $700 worth of goods into there pockets.....i dont know how they got it past the security:no:

[wheelinround]

It was us:doh: winner was drawn by eee live so everyone saw it on the sunday at around 3

We had put around $4k cost in tools but i think the kids would have got to about $700 worth of goods into there pockets.....i dont know how they got it past the security:no:

So you had to be there for the draw :rolleyes:

I can understand how the attack was made as where the barra was it was out of view of anyone and everyone :roll:

Sorry to hear that someone felt it was their right to pilfer hope this does not deter a such as your prizes again in the future.

[Christos]

Now to here that some items were stolen is very disapointing. I saw the barrel of goods and thought that they were just empty boxes. I guess next time you put something up it would be best to just put up a picture of the items.

[I_wanna_Shed]

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit late with this, but anyway......

Organising events is hard - even if its your profession. So congrats to Liz and all at EEE for taking this one. For their first year in, I reckon they've done a fantastic job. After all, didn't they listen to people here and implement more seating, even a meeting place! :2tsup: Good an ya Liz and team - looking forward to future shows.

I caught two Bruce Bell demo's and was again in awe of some of the exhibited work on display.

Bumped into Ray and Pat at the Trend stand.

My purchases were only lots of pen kits from Brett @ Addictive, some Crushgrind mechanisms from Jim Carroll, a flush trim saw from Carbatec and some turning blanks.

I was hoping that the Camphor Laurel stand would be there, but I haven't seem them for a couple of years. I was after some Camphor boards (by the way, does anyoen know where I can get some?).

Although the amount of exhibitors was down, it was good to see others such as Trend and Carroll's with bigger space. Carbatec had a very small stand, and the lack of Timbecon was disappointing. But hopefully that's fixed for the future. VEK had a decent presence too!

As others have said, there were lots more timber outlets than previous years. And an extra large stash of Huon must have been found - it seemed like everyone was selling it.

And it wouldn't be the wood show without the rain!

Cheers,
Nathan.