Brisbane Show Thread 2014

[Christos]

I also want to thank everyone for helping out at the Brissy show. Without volunteers to help it would be very difficult to get things done. It is after all an Australian thing to volunteer. We have seen it time and time again.

[rhancock]

I'm very excited to have won an IanW cutting gauge! What a great prize. Thanks so much to Ian for donating, and to the rest of the team for organising.

As always a great chance to catch up and meet some new faces. Ian's bench and wood thread clamps and vice were by far the biggest draw card.

[ubeaut]

Firstly: Bummer... I missed my favourite girl. Good to see a pic of the Wendy Lady. Looking well and gorgeous as ever. I miss you girl. We all miss you.

Secondly: Thank you very much guys and gals for putting in the time and effort to man the stand. Well done folks. Take the rest of the weekend off on full pay.

Finally and most importantly: Great to see the Wendy Lady again. Who loves ya Ruffles? We all do.

Cheers and thanks again to all involved.

Neil

[dai sensei]

Firstly: Bummer... I missed my favourite girl. Good to see a pic of the Wendy Lady. Looking well and gorgeous as ever. I miss you girl. We all miss you.

And in uniform

[Old Croc]

Well what can I say, it was great. I am in one of the earlier photos in CROC Green.
Firstly, thanks to Neil for making it happen, and it was great to actually meet some of the guys we all talk to online in person and share some personal stories of our lives.
Luckily i found a very sympathetic checkin chick at Jetstar on Sunday morning, and my bag of goodies was let on. Could not quite fit the big Laguna Lathe on the plane, so have to get it road freighted home.
To all the Forumites that were on the stand on Friday and Saturday, and all the others that just stopped and said hello to us, a great big thank you.
Regards,
Old Croc.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

As a first-time volunteer - it was great. So good to meet other forumites and to chat to others about joining the forums. I will definitely put my hand up again next year.

And a special thanks to IanW for his help and ESPECIALLY for third prize. It was totally unexpected but will look great next to the other tools I have been lucky enough to purchase from him on the forum.

Thanks to all and to UBeaut for the space. Unfortunately the coffee wasn't ready for my shift so I could only smell the brew, not taste it

Regards and best wishes to all.

David

[wheelinround]

Well what can I say, it was great. I am in one of the earlier photos in CROC Green.
Firstly, thanks to Neil for making it happen, and it was great to actually meet some of the guys we all talk to online in person and share some personal stories of our lives.
Luckily i found a very sympathetic checkin chick at Jetstar on Sunday morning, and my bag of goodies was let on. Could not quite fit the big Laguna Lathe on the plane, so have to get it road freighted home.
To all the Forumites that were on the stand on Friday and Saturday, and all the others that just stopped and said hello to us, a great big thank you.
Regards,
Old Croc.

Hi Richard gee's you spruced up some for that visit LOL I honestly didn't recognise you.

Now no photos no proof of the new Laguna we await the first photos.

[Charleville]

I'm very excited to have won an IanW cutting gauge! What a great prize. Thanks so much to Ian for donating,

I did not get to go to the show this year but it was only a few days ago that I was using, and pausing to admire, one of IanW's gorgeous gauges that I won in a similar manner at the Working with Wood show a couple of years ago.

So beautifully crafted! Mine was made of a mangrove timber. Absolutely gorgeous!

So two years on, a multiplicity of thanks from me again, IanW, for this magnificent gift that resulted from my taking a turn at the stand that year.

[IanW]

I haven’t seen many gloats about what folks got at the show – whatsa matter? Didn’t anyone else buy anything??

Our stall was right near McJings, & I kept wandering past & seeing all sorts of things I didn’t really need. I resisted most, but couldn’t pass up on a couple of these HSS carving skew blanks at $10 ea. carving skews.jpg

I’ve been wanting to make a pair of small skews for my brother, and have been looking out for some decent old chisels to convert, but decided these would do just as well. They have been duly turned into a left & right skew as of today.

And Wendy & Kozi, you can sleep easier knowing the broken clamp has been repaired & is back on the job. What’s more, in the process, I found a new wood that threads very nicely indeed, so it’s an ill wind & all that.... While scratching around for something suitable, my eye fell on some bits of Privet that I had kept from one of the trees we removed from our yard. They were labelled “5/2008”, so I reckoned they should be ready to roll by now. Don’t know if the screws I made will stay as white as this, but time will tell. Clamp rep.jpg

Wish I’d kept more, now, but there’s no shortage of the damn things, they’ve become a major weed up around Maleny & alng the range.

Cheers,

[Old Croc]

Hi Richard gee's you spruced up some for that visit LOL I honestly didn't recognise you.

Now no photos no proof of the new Laguna we await the first photos.

Well Ray, i wish i could say i had lost a few kilos, but sadly no.
Sending the requests for quotes to the various suppliers tomorro. Went into the shed last night and had a look at how i will get the green monster out, luckily the Laguna will be in parts and can be assembled in place.

I haven’t seen many gloats about what folks got at the show – whatsa matter? Didn’t anyone else buy anything??

Cheers,

Well Ian, nothing to gloat about, but i did buy the big Kreg jig and a few thousand screws and spent a small fortune at McJings on bolts and knobs for my router table. Bought a lot of small specialist tools and jigs from a small stand near us. Bought quite a few digital marking gauges from Bench Standard to be adapted for my metal lathes.
Overall, i was disappointed with the number of stalls and what was on offer, but i guess that is a sign of the times. Only saw 3 wood lathes for sale. A small Jet, the Laguna and an outrageously priced Powermatic, has woodturning reached saturation point?
Rgds,
Crocy.

[Jim Carroll]

Well Ray, i wish i could say i had lost a few kilos, but sadly no.
Sending the requests for quotes to the various suppliers tomorro. Went into the shed last night and had a look at how i will get the green monster out, luckily the Laguna will be in parts and can be assembled in place.



Well Ian, nothing to gloat about, but i did buy the big Kreg jig and a few thousand screws and spent a small fortune at McJings on bolts and knobs for my router table. Bought a lot of small specialist tools and jigs from a small stand near us. Bought quite a few digital marking gauges from Bench Standard to be adapted for my metal lathes.
Overall, i was disappointed with the number of stalls and what was on offer, but i guess that is a sign of the times. Only saw 3 wood lathes for sale. A small Jet, the Laguna and an outrageously priced Powermatic, has woodturning reached saturation point?
Rgds,
Crocy.

You missed the Vicmarc VL240 we had there as well.

[IanW]

......Overall, i was disappointed with the number of stalls and what was on offer, but i guess that is a sign of the times. Only saw 3 wood lathes for sale. A small Jet, the Laguna and an outrageously priced Powermatic, has woodturning reached saturation point?

Don't know if turning has hit saturation point, OC, but whatever is wrong has infected a few other types of woodworking activities too! Lots of folks commented on the sparse number of stalls & general 'smallness' of the show. I've been watching the show decline for quite a few years, now & fear it's getting near the point where it won't be worthwhile attending by anybody, stall holders & public alike.

Everyone I spoke to has an answer, ranging from reducing the cost of the stalls to having more activities, but who really knows what's going on? I was starting to think that woodworking is an old-man's (& very occasional woman's) activity, & it's dying out with them, but there was a good sprinkling of coloured hair amongst the grey, on the days I attended. Judging by the activity on the Forum, there are plenty of people coming into woodworking, and plenty still buying gear. One of the good features of the old shows was having several retailers in the one spot & you could go & 'scratch & sniff' & compare the various machines to decide which one suited you best (or that you could afford!). This year, there was precious little you could compare...

Several people I spoke to said the Maleny show was a far better deal, with much more to see & do. P'raps the answer is to give the city show the flick, and all decamp to Maleny once a year, instead?

Cheers,

[Old Croc]

You missed the Vicmarc VL240 we had there as well.

Well just goes to show, even with the smallness of the show I did not see it when I came into your stall trying to match the small steb drive that I had brought down with me.

rgds,
Crocy

[Xanthorrhoeas]

.

Several people I spoke to said the Maleny show was a far better deal, with much more to see & do. P'raps the answer is to give the city show the flick, and all decamp to Maleny once a year, instead?

Cheers,

First, a disclaimer - I have no association, financial or otherwise, nor bones to pick, with either the Wood Expo at Maleny or the Timber and Working with Wood shows by Impressive Exhibitions. I am just a mug punter giving his views!

I agree that the Maleny Wood Expo is a great show, however, it is a very different kettle of fish to the RNA show. It is very family orientated, and the food is much better, as well as a great location with plenty of wood for sale. A great bookshop too. Coupled with the opportunity to visit the Maleny area and enjoy some of their superb restaurants, that makes it a big plus. But, the machinery component is very much less than at the RNA Timber and Working with Wood show - So Maleny is no competitor there. I would say that for a great day or weekend out, especially with the family, with a country flavour, spiced with native plants, conservation and some superb furniture on show, as well as the Wootha prize, that the Wood Expo is well worth visiting and I plan to be back there next year.

But, I don't see the Wood Expo as a replacement for the Timber and Working with Wood show at the RNA. I believe that they are complementary to each other. For example, I saw some gear at Maleny that I had time to think about - and then bought at the RNA. For some us who like to think over purchases before we jump in the two chances to touch and feel, spaced a couple of weeks apart, makes life easier.

I've been to the last five shows at the RNA and agree fully that each year it seems a bit smaller and less of a range. So, initially I was a bit surprised and disappointed, and I commented so at the Forums stand. But, I've been reflecting on the show since, and there were definite pluses as well as the minuses.

In the past I have bought some spiffy timber and veneers, and there seemed less on offer, with some things very expensive. But, there was again a very strong showing by Trevor Gaskell and adjacent stalls and an interesting range from Billinudgel, though there was a paucity of the wonderful slabs of Aus timbers that I have drooled over in the past (and bought some of too!). However, there was a pretty good range of machinery on show - what seemed to be good new showings of Laguna from Gregory's and the MiniMax from iWoodLike (Gabbett) that I do not remember from previous years. Carba-tec were strong again and had a different emphasis with lots of demos, including enticing Richard Vaughan to demonstrate his skill with Veritas planes - that's not something you get to see easily without the show. I am not going to list all the other interesting stalls that I visited (so please don't feel left out folks, it's just I don't want this too boring).
There were plenty of shops for the handheld gear like Lee Neilsen and Jim Davey as well as electrical goods like Bosch, Festool and Metabo - so easy to see at the one location if you are on the hunt to compare and buy.
And, with the opportunity to talk to both Colen Clenton and Chris Vesper who were there showing off their superb handmade tools as well as seeing the HNT Gordon planes we were well served for some of the best handmade tools that the world has to offer.
The club stalls were also obviously well attended by their followers and gave them an opportunity to show off their handiwork.
There was enough at the show that I still didn't see it all in one go - first time round I managed to miss some of the main things that I comment on above, and had to go back for a second look.
So, on reflection, I enjoyed the show and got good value. No, it is not quite the same, but as I learn more and more about woodwork and woodworking tools I get more and more from the show. I'll be there again next year too!

[Bushmiller]

I have only just returned home after what seemed like a whistle stop tour of SE QLD, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley.

I wondered what had happened to the thread, but it turned out I had not realised a new thread had been started. Thanks IanW for putting me straight on that one.

I think a huge thank you should be made to Dave TTC as not only did he travel 1352Km to the show, he also set up the stand single handed, attended the show for all three days, took pix and provided a running commentary as well as being excellent company for the day I attended.

Take a bow Dave .

Thanks to Superbunny for taking on the overall responsibility. It occurred to me that you might have to arrange a school excursion so you can justify attending on the Friday too.

IanW made, as usual, a great contribution by bringing in his workbench. Somehow it just set off the stand and was just what you would expect from a woodworking forum. I hope the winners of his prizes in the draw realise they are now part of an elite group of IanW owners .

Thank you Neil for the support and encouragement. The coffee wasn't working the day I was there, but it sounds as though they got it sorted for the second two days. Your support was appreciated and very sorry you couldn't be there. Have no doubt that you were missed.

I hope all the forum members who volunteered enjoyed their time. It truly is a great way to socialise.

Yes, the show was "compact," but for me that is all outweighed by getting to meet forum members whose names I only know by repute. It was great meeting you.

I have only a single regret and that is I didn't get to meet up with Ruffly Rustic again as she was a mover and shaker on the forum and a past organiser of the stand. Perhaps we will see her on the forum again one day as I know she is firmly entrenched in the woodworking genre. I hope to hear from you.

Again, a huge thank you for all the effort and wonderful to meet you all.

Regards
Paul