Thread: Melbourne show 2018

Originally Posted by barri

No Timbecon or Carbatec?

From memory they were not listed for previous shows either? I would be surprised if they didn’t attend. I thought I read on here somewhere when Phoenix took over the shows they were somehow related to carbatec? I haven’t called either to see if they are attending, so don’t know for sure.

Shame if carbatec doesn’t attend, there store is so far down the eastern suburbs I never go there and so the show is the only time I see their stuff.

I’ve bought my ticket already and I think all the worry about parking is overblown.

J G, do you walk everywhere? It's 20 minutes from town.

Hi John I started attending the show about 15 years ago when I first got into woodwork.

The first shows I attended were truly great with many small exhibitors attending like Woodwork Warehouse,
(assisted by Lignum), Carroll’s etc... with many big names including Felder for inspirational machinery, Festool and VicMarc lathes.

Specialty tools from Lie Nielsen, Colen Clenton and others were for me a big draw card and added colour to the show. Even Queensland businesses like a Gregory Machinery made the effort to travel to Melbourne for the Big Event.

These early shows were inspirational and always good to meet people from this forum over a coffee break....

But the exhorbitant cost for smaller exhibitors made the shows prohibitive and many have simply given up as they cannot afford the significant outlay - especially at the World Trade Centre.

I haven’t attended the Show for the last few years due to travel and was keen to go this year, but now having second thoughts due to the steady loss of my favourite exhibitors.

And yet if people like me don’t attend the show will continue to decline......

Maybe it’s time for this Forum to take control and re engineer the show to make the event what it deserves to be - an inclusive event that doesn’t cost a fortune to celebrate and promote all forms of woodworking?

Originally Posted by Pagie

J G, do you walk everywhere? It's 20 minutes from town.

On a Saturday morning it would take me over an hour to get there. 2 hour round trip is not worth it. Same reason I hardly go to Timbecon.
But getting off topic... I would be shocked if they are not there.

Originally Posted by warmtone

Hi John I started attending the show about 15 years ago when I first got into woodwork.

Yeah, those shows at Jeff’s Shed were my favourite, biggest and best they’d ever been (that I attended). Opinions for the reasons for their change (I don’t want to say “decline”) are many and varied and have been extensively discussed on these forums.
But I am still looking forward to next weekend.

Originally Posted by John G

But getting off topic... I would be shocked if they are not there.

Then brace yourself and consider bringing a support group.

I have to say that I was having serious doubts about attending despite the fact that it's only a 5 minute walk for me. But despite the apparent reduced number of exhibitors there are still a couple of specific interest to me. I lament the lack of exhibitors from years ago but at the same time appreciate that some are still prepared to commit such as Terry Gordon. So I will give it another try this year and the experience will probably determine my future attendance. As somebody has already mentioned if there is no support then there will be no show and I feel sure that we all really like the idea of such an event, we just want to see as many exhibitors as possible and obviously it has to make economic sense to them to enable a win/win situation.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

The Melbourne exhibitors list is now available from their website:



Interesting to note that the Woodwork Forum is represented in the list, I wonder if Neill knows ?

Peter.

Some additional information... In the below list of exhibitors it lists IDEAL TOOLS. We will be there but not with out Ideal Tools store products, we are primarily demonstrating our Logosol (Sweden) chainsaw and bandsaw sawmills, plus a couple of our machines like our four-sider planer/moulder. Hope to see some forum members there.

Cheers.

Surprise surprise, Carbatec are having a sale this weekend.

How far is the rail station from the venue?

Originally Posted by Pagie

How far is the rail station from the venue?

Just over 500 metres, which is not so bad on the way there but when you are carrying your purchases on the way back ...

Wont be much in the way of purchases as I don't need timber or anything big.

Originally Posted by Pagie

Wont be much in the way of purchases as I don't need timber or anything big.

There's a bus from Newport Station that has a stop about 100 metres from Seaworx

Thankyou.

If you don't find what you want at the show you can always call in and see these guys after you leave. They're not far away from Seaworks.