Thread: Melbourne W.W.W. Show 15-17 October 2010

Originally Posted by Christos

Post pictures. Even if they are of just wood.

I am taking my camera.I just have to remember to take some photos

I'll be taking a bunch of photos and posting them, like I have in previous years.

Well that won't be any good with my ugly mug now will it?

Originally Posted by Waldo

Well that won't be any good with my ugly mug now will it?

Prolly not. I tried to get a photo of you last year and the face recognition software popped up a message that said "ask the subject to turn around"

Boom boom.

Big day today. Lots of people expected and the best of the timber is available. Some rain early on just brings out the grain

Hope to see a lot of forumites there, make sure you drop by and say g'day.

Just gotta do a quote, a bit of Photoshop work and I'll jump in the

Originally Posted by Groggy

Prolly not. I tried to get a photo of you last year and the face recognition software popped up a message that said "ask the subject to turn around"

You're lucky it didn't ask him to pull his pants up .

Ar-huh, this is where you are.

Slow start this morning due to the rain, not too many customers so far. The crowd keeps building though so who knows what it will be like after lunch when people take an early mark.

G'day Spooky, you haven't been around for a while.

Bit slow on the Friday thread too.

G'day Cliff, I usually only haunt the T&WWW Shows - but you knew that

Here are a few pictures of the day so far. Highlight of the day so far is a good long talk with Jim Davey about sharpening and fettling issues. He certainly is a great person to learn from and knows his craft. Pushing a few of his planes it was a pleasure to see wafer thin curlies spin out of the plane. For those who wonder how thin, I wrote my name on the timber and Jim managed to plane *most* of it off after about ten passes, taking a full shaving each time.

They made Christopha wear a hat.... kinda takes the shine off him a bit.

Let's put the bad things up front:

Parking - needs improving. Whoever runs the parking needs to believe that when they are told their planning is flawed - it really IS flawed. People being forced to park a distance from the venue in pouring rain is one thing, but to tritely announce they will provide shuttle buses (on Saturday) is just plain ignoring the needs of the organisers and the paying public.

Catering - needs more tables and the queues were long.

NOTE: I spoke to EEE management about this and they were frantically trying to get these things sorted out.

Please be aware that parking is the responsibility of the grounds management through a contractor. The organisers (EEE) have very little to no control over the parking OR catering. (Unfortunately they seem to wear the blame for it.)

Good things:

Spacious. Relaxed and lots of open space to move around. Because the place was not packed people were able to have a good talk to the vendors. I was very pleased to get some time with Terry Gordon, Colen Clenton, Jim Davey and Trent Powrie. A few minutes talking to some of these guys can save you a lot of time in the workshop. While chatting to Jim Davey I picked up a number of very useful ideas to put into use with my sharpening.

Lounge areas scattered around the stands were in use again by tired shoppers, these are a real asset to the public. I often wonder how many people left the shows early in previous years because they needed a rest. The public were able to sit and have a coffee while waiting for the gates to open in the morning. This is a great way to keep the frustration levels at bay.

Vendors. Lots of stands with most vendors there. I only really noticed Timbecon missing, otherwise the floorspace looked fully used. Displays look to be well stocked and there were plenty of staff on hand to answer questions. Carba-Tec have their usual large and well stocked stand, Jim Carroll's turning supplies seemed to 'own' an entire wall and Festool have their usual high standard display.

Public
The day was quieter than I have seen previously, mainly due to it being a work day and raining. I hope tomorrow sees a greater attendance as it really is a well prepared and delivered show. The quieter aisles meant easy movement and time to browse for those who did come along.

As usual EEE staff were buzzing around seeing if everything was going smoothly. Considering the forums are supported for free we get very good service from EEE, so a big thank you from everyone who stopped in the forum stand for lunch, a coffee or just a rest. Water, coffee, milk and some biscuits are provided and very much appreciated.

General:
The day started slowly due to heavy rain which continued for most of the day. Most early arrivals bolted to the back of the shed to get to the choice timbers. There was a huge selection of timber this year. I can't recall ever seeing so much Huon Pine or slabs of Blackwood. Very nice stuff

The forum area was very well attended and was a great place to relax and take a few minutes rest. John Saxton obviously thinks I talk to much as one chap wanted to know aout "chattering" so he quickly handed him over to me. I quickly advised John that he meant "chattering" tools on a lathe and would be better off talking to or the turning club guys. Nice one John

Finally thank you to all the volunteers for turning up today.

PS - the show is a good one folks, please don't let the weather put you off or next year we may see a lot of public but fewer vendors. If I were to summarise day one in one sentence, it would be:

"A very well prepared show that is so far under-attended"