Anyone been to this yrs Woodworking Show

[tody Brock]

Has anyone been to the Woodworking Show this yr. It is coming to Atlanta in a couple of weeks and I usually go. Last yr it was kind of weak and am not sure I want to make the 2 hr drive if its not got some good deals happening. Let me know what you think of it.

[Rick Vincent]

I said last year it was my last.... But it will be in Norcross this year so I will be there on that friday...

[travis howe]

I went to the show in Denver for the second year in a row. I was really disappointed to say the least. Even the training that was offered was a let down for me... of course it's my opinion. It was the same 'ol stuff as last year. I think the only cool thing I seen was one of the lumber suppliers that had some cool stuff to look at.

Sort of reminded me of the state fair, same stuff, different year....

The other odd thing was a couple of the vendors had some things I had been wanting but waited for the show and they didn't even have them.... seems they really target the big groups of needs for these...

[James Waters]

I went to the Columbus show yesterday and for the first show I have ever been to I was dissapointed. There was not near the amount of stuff there that I expected and most all of the tools I saw for sale were regular retail prices. No "awesome" deals that I saw. I have seen alot of better deals other places. I would have figured with the economy what it is there would have been better deals at the show. I thought it was really funny that in order to register to win a free Unisaw you had to have a two day pass!!!!!!!

[Carroll Courtney]

I'm going this yr,haven been in the last 3yrs and it was going down hill I think since the last 5yrs.Here in the Houston area it was always held at the Astrohall where they would charge 8-10.00 for parking then add the price of a ticket for a total of 20.00 for 1-2hrs the most for entertainment.Was not worth it,should have been free.Well this yr,its being held at one of the little Convention Centers where the tickets are still 10.00 but "Free" parking.---Carroll

[Rick Alexander]

to the Atlanta show. Last year was a dissappointment compared to years past but I sure expected that with today's economy. I still see something new at every show and did get a great deal from woodpeckers on a router lift I had previously never seen before last year. I enjoy just walking through even if I don't buy anything. Plus - this year it's like 10 minutes from my house and free parking - no brainer for me.

It's like the hunting shows - yea I've seen most all that stuff before but heck it's like a tradition now. My hunting season starts with the Buckarama.

[Chad Easterling]

Is there a link or something I can look this show up with? I might want to go to the GA one...

Thanks!

[tody Brock]

here is the link to the show

http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/260087/979823b1ab/1313006061/30c234098e/

[Richard Gibson]

I'm coming 3 1/2 hrs away and this will be my first show. Even if it's not "great" it is better than anything around here. Plus on Saturday I'm going to go visit the local Rockler Store and Highlander Hardware.

[Steve Mellott]

Richard:

I think the local Woodcraft store is also having a sale that weekend.

Steve

[trevor adair]

I went to the Maryland one a couple of weeks ago. This is the first one I have been to and it was a disappointment. Part of my problem with it was the way it was setup, it was in a building that was plenty large enough but they set it up badly and it was difficult to navigate around, everyone was crammed in. The deals were certainly nothing to write home about either, I did not see anything that I could not have bought for the same or less online. I was tempted to buy a couple of things from Peachtree but the line to checkout was at least 30 people deep to the one cashier they had. The show happened to be a 5 min drive from me so I didn't waste much time but I would not do it again.

[Charles Bender]

I've been exhibiting at some of the shows mentioned by folks in this thread. I was in Baltimore and Columbus. The number of vendors seems to be down from years past but those that are there still have some good stuff. With the way the economy is these days it's tough for some folks to cover the expense of doing the shows.

I'll be heading off to Atlanta next week for the show. If you're coming, make sure you stop by my booth and say hello. I'll be the guy demonstrating how to cut dovetails by hand. For those who've been to the show in Atlanta before, my booth at least will be something new as I've never been to the show before. So, if you're interested in learning how to cut dovetails by hand, or if you just want some help polishing up your technique, make sure you stop by. I'll be happy to demonstrate and then let you cut some dovetails under my watchful eye. It's loads of fun and no where near as hard as most people think.

Chuck Bender

[Matt Meiser]

I didn't go to any show last year, the first time since I got into the hobby. The now-defunct show called "Woodworks" and The Woodworking Show both tried to hold shows the same weekend in Detroit, with the expected result of both being smaller than ever. With the demise of the show called "Woodworks" and new ownership of "The Woodworking Show" hopefully things have stabilized.

This year I went to the Columbus show. A group of people from my club made the trip down to there and to the store Woodwerks which had an in-store show. I thought The Woodworking Show was roughly the same as a few years ago. Not spectacular and not spectacularly bad either. No where near the level of the first few shows I attended around 2000. Peachtree was one of the major exhibitors as always and pricing was fair. I figured out that the Kreg stuff I bought was $20 cheaper than Amazon so that paid for my admission. And the presenter/salesperson for it actually knew about it and answered questions which I probably wouldn't have found elsewhere. Lee Valley had a booth and I got to see some of their stuff in person which would require a passport now. They were offering free shipping, so a slight savings. Woodpecker also had a booth and had a lot of their goodies on hand to see and touch, also rare (except that they were at Wooowerks too so I'd just seen them earlier in the day, and um...well I have a bunch of it now. :o) The Ridge Carbide saw blade I had just gotten early in the week would have cost me $5 more at the show which still would have been a decent price. I wish the shamwow/bath fitter/super-duper-magical-whatever cleaning product booths weren't there but I guess they help pay the bills.

[Roger Pozzi]

I went to the Columbus, Ohio show on Saturday.
The only thing that I learned from that show was that I most likely will not go back. The shop time that I lost was much more valuable to me since they had no real deals and the seminars were very redundant.
Just my opinion.

[Roy Wall]

IS LEE VALLEY giving 10% off and free shipping like last year?

[Bryan Morgan]

I went to the one in Costa Mesa, CA and was underwhelmed. Not much going on there... I'm used to the gun shows they have which take up almost the whole place. The woodworking show was only in a couple buildings and didn't even fill them.