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  1. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christos View Post
    Wow.

    How about some of the forum members who volunteered give some feedback.
    I did two hours on Friday and an hour yesterday and it was good to catch up with some forum members who I had met or worked with before and also others for the first time.
    The forum stand was directly opposite Theo's demonstration area. This was good in that there were a lot of people in the area when he was demonstrating and it also allowed us to watch him while "working". At times, it was hard to catch the attention of passers-by as they were more interested in Theo than what we had to offer and of course when you mention "free" there is the suspicion of a catch.
    I believe that we were able to spread the message quite well with several promises of at least looking at the Forum and of course others said that they already knew of the Forum, lurked, or were members.
    As to the Show itself, I think it was better than last year. Certainly there seemed to be more punters than I remember last year.
    The only criticism I would make would be that most of the demos were much smaller and in some cases it was hard to see or hear what was happening.
    There was some great timber there as usual - a lot of Huon Pine and I noticed that Tassie Timbers had a sign up that 2015 would be the last time they would be at the Melbourne Show. Some of the recycled timber seemed to be a bit pricey.
    Of course, you needed to take out a mortgage to buy lunch.

    They are my thoughts but of course others will differ

    Thanks must go to Groggy for his usual excellent organisation of the stand and roster.
    Tom

    "It's good enough" is low aim

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  3. #92
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    Met up with Chesand, Tiger, Doug3030, and a couple of others during
    my stint on the Forum stand. It was relatively quiet on my shift,
    3pm to 5pm on Friday, but nevertheless got to introduce a few customers
    to the Forum activities.

    Many thanks to "Groggy" for his untiring efforts in ensuring the success of
    the stand. One customer asked for computer advice which was well
    handled by Groggy - it was way out of my capabilities.

    Spent a few sheckles so will now have to make a handle for the 12mm P & N
    bowl gouge which I think I need to improve my bowl making skills. I recently
    borrowed Ken Wraight's one and was surprised how well it performed. Now
    the secret will be how to sharpen it and keep the shape.

    Did not buy any wood but spent plenty of time looking at ideas in turned
    items. Did not see too many queues of customers wanting to buy pens.

    Thoroughly enjoyed the Show and will be happy to volunteer again.

    Allan
    Life is short ... smile while you still have teeth.

  4. #93
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
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    Melbourne
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    Default Day 3

    All good things come to an end. Sadly it is back to work for me tomorrow and a harsh dose of reality .

    Overall I think the show was pretty good for the vendors. No records set but also not an expensive waste of time. I thought Friday was flat out, Saturday was a bit less busy and Sunday the quiet day. As usual though, some vendors did better on Sunday than Friday so .

    The team of volunteers did a fantastic job, unfortunately my health suffered a bit this year and I was grateful for everyone doing a bit more than usual. Food poisoning on Saturday morning did not help much either! We had a great variety of volunteers, unfortunately Tiger succumbed to the evil LN stand that was in our 10 o'clock position. He could be seen in the back room with a shiny object and saying something that sounded like "my precious...". I think the dark side in him has surfaced. To all the volunteers (it would be unfair to single them out), thank you so much for your shifts, and especially those who did extra time without being asked - this is why the forums are a success, thank you all.

    Fewer pictures today as most areas have already been covered - the tool board was mentioned earlier so I went back for some more pictures. These tool boards are a student work piece made at the Sturt School for Wood. This particular one was made by Phoebe Everill and contains some tools made by her at the School, notably the dovetail saw in the top right panel and the small plane. She also has a tool board for sale - see the other pictures of the empty board.

    I discovered you can get magnets from Gregory Machinery to attach lamps to machines and I also had a first look at the Laguna lathe. CNC machines are becoming more prevalent each year and, while I personally like hand carved stuff, I note they do a much better job than I can.

    Another enjoyable show, for those who couldn't make it - try your best to make it next year.

    Advert: Forum volunteers get free entry, a place to sit and rest, coffee and a place to leave some bags while they go foraging. They also get to skate past the long queues at the start of the day.

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  5. #94
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    crowie is offline Life's Good, Enjoy each new day & try to encourage
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    Groggy, a HUGE THANK YOU for all the time, effort and especially the photos....makes it seem like we were there...

    A BIG WELL DONE to all the volunteers for manning the Forum stand....BUT PLEASE show us your bootie....

    Thank you Neil for the continued support of all us woodworkers across the country and the globe....I hope the Melbourne show was kind to you..

    Thank you to all the forum sponsors who were at the Melbourne show, I also hope you did well with your sales....

    Cheers, crowie

  6. #95
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    Well it was my first time on the forum stand.
    And thanks to groggy and Neil is was a pleasure and brezz.
    It was great putting names to faces.
    But I've forgotten most of them already with all the excitement of the show.
    The show compared to last year was great plenty to see plenty to buy.
    The timber selection. Seemed to be up on last year. Which this year was my mission statement and mission accomplished thank you.
    The two days I was at the show Saturday and Sunday seemed busy ,
    Saturday more so .
    The traders seemed busy which is a good thing because with out them I'm sure there would be no show .
    So all in all a great show till I arrived home carrying a burl I obtained for not much money($10)with which my wife bless her ,informed me in no uncertain terms that it was to be come a nut bowl immmm
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1414318848.068499.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1414318946.554168.jpg
    I had for the drive home envisioned stablished saw handles or something lol
    But luckily for me I have cunning plan Baldric I have two of them but don't tell any one .

  7. #96
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    I went to the show on Friday and Sunday and had a really good time both days - right up to the very last hour, more about that later.

    I caught up with some of the regular forum stand volunteers as well as other forumites I had met online but not in person before, not going to mane anyone for fear of omitting someone.

    I was not really looking for any new machinery or tools this year but I did buy a magnifier and some long drill bits.

    I saw some really nice timber and managed to bag some bargains. I was, however, a little disappointed t what had happened to some of this beautiful timber before it got to the show. Too much timber was cut too thin. I prefer to buy timber at least 25mm thick. That way I can resaw it myself which allows me to exercise options like book matching, grain matching on all four corners of a box and so on.

    So much very nice timber was cut to 10 to 19 mm thick. Tasmanian Timbers were the worst, but certainly not the only offenders. Every piece if nicely figured Black Heart Sassafras at Tasmanian Timbers was cut too thin for me, and every piece that was thick enough had very little if any black in it at all. They effectively "wallpapered" their stand with nice grained boards by cutting it so thin but it did look nice. Obviously people bought it, but I have to wonder how much was bought by "newbies" who have taken it home and will now spend the next five years wondering what to do with it.

    But having said that, I did bag some nice pieces, five larger ones which came home on the roof racks, as well as two burls and five smaller boards that fitted in the back of the ute. I mentioned in the first paragraph that I had really liked the show up to the very last hour. Getting out of the venue with my five larger timber purchases was an absolute nightmare.

    Rant mode ON

    2 x beefwood slabs 2000 x 700, 1 x Queensland walnut slab 3800 x 400, 1 x blackbean board 2300 x 200, 1 x snakewood board 2400 x 250, my several smaller timber items to get to the ute. I exited the Convention centre cart park at a cost of $18 plus 3% credit card surcharge and came in to the loading bay area. The burly security guard on the gate told me where to park (there weren't really that many options) and it was probably 80 metres from the parcel pick up area where my timber was.

    Now, I had carried all of the seven small timber items I bought to the parcel pickup area, but all of the 5 larger items had been carted there by the exhibitors who I bought them from. So there I am, walking stick in hand, having walked the 80 metres from the car to the parcel pickup area with an expectation of some assistance to get my purchases to the car.

    Well the young lady who was on duty at the pickup area was very helpful but rather small in stature. She found me a trolley that was obviously not meant for the purpose I was about to use it for. The trolley had a bed about 500 x 900 (see timber sizes above) and she did her best to help me load it. with my back problem, bending down to the ground to pick up heavy things is not something that I should do, but I had no choice. Anyway with all the small bits on the trolley and the two beefwood slabs I set off for the first trip to the car. None of the staff even offered to open the doors for me as I hobbled out in pain, trying to push the trolley from the side as I could not push from behind as the slabs had to go through the handle and protrude out the back of the trolley by at least a metre so as not to overbalance, walking stick on top of the load.

    Between Jools and I we somehow managed to get the slabs on the roofrack and the smaller items into the back of the ute and I headad back with the trolley for the second load. Back at the parcel pickup I could not bend to pick up the timber. The same girl who was helping me the first time was now looking at me like I was something that would not flush away. A male security person came out of nowhere and helped her put the timber on the trolley.

    When I tried to push the trolley the handle kept collapsing forward onto the load. A female security guard took the time to explain the mechanical workings of the handle release bar that my timber was resting on. I thanked her for her helpful input and asked her if she knew a way to load the trolley to overcome this or if there was another trolley that would be more suitable. Well at this point she also started looking at me as if I was something that would not flush away, before she rapidly distanced herself from the situation.

    When I asked for help in getting the trolley to the car the male security guard and the girl dragged it out through the doors and then bolted back inside, leaving me once again with no help. It took two of them to do this with me holding one of the doors yet it seemed that I was expected to be able to handle it from there even though they knew I used a walking stick to get around.

    The beefwood slabs had not pressed on the bar due to the uneven edges on the slabs and that they could not sit flat on the trolley as they were wider than the handle sides. So it was a case of pull the trolley all the way back to the car as the handle collapsed if I tried to push it - worst case scenario for my back.

    So, finally back at the car, I take a break before attempting to load the boards, the whole car park is full of woodies loading their timber. There I am staring at the three boards and contemplating lifting them onto the roof racks on to p of the beefwood, when a voice behind me says "excuse me". I turn around and it is the burly security guard from the gate. I think "great - some help at last!"

    He continued: "Where is your high visibility vest?" So much for the cavalry arriving. "Mate can you just help me put these boards on the roof racks and I will tie them down and be out of here." The reply was "I am working, I cant help you, where is you high visibility vest?"

    I replied: "Look at everyone else loading up here, none of us have high visibility vests," to which he replied "I will go and get you some vests, wait here." While I was waiting we managed to get the three boards on the roof racks and tied them down.

    He never came back with any vests for us but we drove past him on the way to the exit (the first time). We drove towards the EXIT sign and were confronted with a closed gate, so we did a u-turn and went back, assuming that we were supposed to get out the same way we came in.

    As we got back down just short of the loading bay we had just left, the female security guard from before jumped in front of the car, gave me another look like I was something that would not flush away and told me we had to exit through the gate at the other end, the closed one.

    We explained that it was closed and she told us it would open if we drove over a yellow line. I asked why there wasn't a sign on the gate which explained that and she said there was one. When we got there, there was indeed such a sign but it was so small I would not be able to read it unless I drove up to the gate expecting it to open, instead of doing what any normal person would do confronted with a closed gate, and look for another way out.

    Anyway, she told us to turn around and go back to the exit gate to get out. Where we were stopped it was too narrow to do a u-turn so I drove forward about 20 metres to an open space we could turn around without doing a 3-point turn. As we went forward she was screaming at us telling me we had to go back not forward. Some people in this world love to pull on a uniform and boss other people around and it seems that the rest of us just have to accept that. I pity the man, or woman, dog, cat, goldfish or whatever she goes home to after work.

    Back at home, I have equipment and procedures in place to handle the unloading of the timber. My back was throbbing, but I still managed to get the timber of the roof racks, onto a trolley and into the timber vault. When I am ready to cut it up I will be able to get it out an ddo that without hurting myself.

    I know I am not the only woodworker who attended the show who would have found difficulty loading the timber I bought without assistance. Anywhere else where i have bought heavy items I have always had assistance from the seller to load into the ute or onto the trailer and I can use my own systems to unload at home.

    At the show, the problem is that the vendors see their responsibility ending at the parcel pickup area, and i can understand that. They will help you get it there. From there, the organisers/event and venue staff just see you as an annoyance to their day if you cant do it yourself.

    Anyway, I did raise this point last year when the organisers decided to move the event to Jeff's shed from the showgrounds, before the event. I didn't buy any big items last year because i had concerns about pickup. Well this year I bought some bigger items and my worst fears came true.

    If you look back to my earlier posts, I have also not been completely happy with the pickup arrangements when the show was at the showgrounds, but I have never had to contend with anything like what happened to me today between 3:10 and 3:50 - yes that's right - 40 minutes to put 12 items in and on a vehicle and wrecked my back in the process. Now I will probably be on sick leave for at least 2 days and have to fork out for about three chiropractor's appointments over the next week to put my back back in.

    Rant mode OFF

    I might go next year and help out on the forum stand. Maybe if I do I just should not look at any of the bigger timber. Maybe that's why all the timber merchants are cutting their stock so thin! So it will be lighter for me to load into the car. who am I kidding. I know that it is so that it dries out faster and they can "wallpaper" their stand with pretty grain. Seriously, I would pay more than you are asking for it when you cut it thin if you cut it at least an inch thick

    Lets all take the blinkers off and admit that if you are and exhibitor selling anything bigger than what you can carry home on a number 96 tram, or a show attendee wanting to buy machinery or timber too big to take home on a number 96 tram, why the hell are you attending and supporting an event at a venue where access and cost is so restrictive that it is so inconvenient to pick up what you have bought.

    I did have a great time over the two days of the show that I attended but that is hard to put in perspective against the pain I am experiencing as I sit here and type this, in the knowledge that from past experience this will last a week at least.

    Anyway, that was my day, sorry if I have spoilt your day telling you about it

    Cheers

    Doug
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

  8. #97
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    Thanks Groggy for all your efforts over the last few days, i don't know where you get your energy but every year you saddle up and the stand always runs well. In regards to the plane I bought, why didn't you tell me you had shares in LN? How many others did you unwittingly take to the LN stand? Should have known something was up when you said will that be cash or credit? I've been into the dark side for a few years and I tested this plane when I got it home, at first it does take a little getting used to but after honing it I have to agree with your assessment of it, it's a terrific plane, thanks for all the help you gave me with it and I hope that LN increase your cut of the profits next year because you deserve it .

  9. #98
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    Maybe groggy had something to do with the forum stand being right next door to the shine tool stuff.
    I vaguely remember him going over there to look at something I was thinking about lol.

  10. #99
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    Quote Originally Posted by spokeshave View Post
    ...... But the thought of an 8 hour return journey brings me back to earth a bit.......
    Your location say Wodonga what's the extra 2 hours for?

  11. #100
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christos View Post
    Your location say Wodonga what's the extra 2 hours for?
    I had a car like that once too
    I got sick of sitting around doing nothing - so I took up meditation.

  12. #101
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    Quote Originally Posted by Christos View Post
    Your location say Wodonga what's the extra 2 hours for?
    Things always seem to take longer with kids in the back!!!

    Steven.

  13. #102
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    A big thank you to Groggy for organising the forum stand again this year. Great job Greg, well done. And a further big thank you to all who helped out on stand. Well done folks.

    Cheers - Neil

    PS
    Quote Originally Posted by doug3030
    Originally Posted by tea lady
    Wonder if there is any way for online pre purchase of tickets to happen next time.



    You mean, maybe set up something like this?

    http://www.e-ticket.com.au/ticketing...1-bee84001257d
    Yeah or there's the forum one which you can print out, save $4.00.

    Or people could have brought them when the organisers sent staff down the line offering them tickets instead of having to wait in line.

  14. #103
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    Well done everyone!

    Thanks to groggy and fubar for posting so many great photos – I wish I could have been there!

    It's now been over four years since Adelaide had a wood show and I miss them terribly!

  15. #104
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    Quote Originally Posted by ubeaut View Post
    A big thank you to Groggy for organising the forum stand again this year. Great job Greg, well done. And a further big thank you to all who helped out on stand. Well done folks.

    Cheers - Neil

    PS


    Yeah or there's the forum one which you can print out, save $4.00.

    Or people could have brought them when the organisers sent staff down the line offering them tickets instead of having to wait in line.
    Yes. it was just a suggestion.
    anne-maria.
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