Somerset Woodworking show - what a disappointment!

[Fred Voorhees]

I hadn't gone out to this particular Woodworking show in a handful of years and todal reminded me just why. As many of us know, the show has been getting smaller and smaller in the amount of quality vendors over the years. This year was no exception.

However, as this years show rolled around, I had a number of small, common needs that I had to replenish in the shop that most certainly should have been available for sale at the show. How wrong I was?

PVA glue. Now how basic can you get than yellow glue? Nada! I couldn't buy glue! I could not fathom such a possibility. I wanted to pick up a gallon of yellow glue and possibly some dark glue. Nope, not a bottle to be had.

How about #20 bisquits? Again, nada. I did see some bags of bisquits, but they were, I think, #0. I saw that they were much smaller than the #20 that I was searching for and didn't even check out the actual size in disgust.

I also wanted to buy a box of 1000 1 1/4" course Kreg screws. They were either all out of them, or they never even had that size. This could have possibly been my fault for showing up on Sunday morning. I will say though, that the Kreg set up was rather small and not very well stocked. Again, a big disappointment.

I was hoping to pick up a 1/4" router collet adapter to replace one that I lost over the past year. You guessed it....nowhere to be found.

One good piece of news is that I was able to purchase a nice Gents saw that I have wanted for a little while. I also made a few small purchases since I couldn't actually make the ones I wanted.

I'm telling you, what a major letdown this show was. Peachtree wasn't even there and I am sure that had they been, I would have had my glue at least.

[Bill Orbine]

Peachtree was at the show....... at least on Friday when I went.

[Fred Voorhees]

Sorry, I didn't see them. How small was their set up? And if they were there, they sure as heck didn't have any glue. How could I have missed them. Are you sure your not thinking of Woodline? Still, the show was a major downer. Not worth the admission price, even with the discount.

[travis howe]

Peachtree was at the Denver show but they didn't have the newer things in their catalog I was looking for.

I was very disappointed in the show in Denver...smaller, same 'ol thing... hate to be negative on these things because it's about all we have when it comes to "shows" but it's not looking good.

[John Thompson]

The spring show in Atlanta used to be great... all the machine vendors attended. They (manufacturrers) started dropping off about 6 years ago to the point they are pretty non-existant at the local show anymore. A few local distributors bring machines but rarely a deal.

At this point there are only two shows I attend. International WW'ing Show in Atlanta every other year and the large show in Las Vegas the alternating year. Then again.. not that dis-appointing to me as there are few things I need at this point other than fresh glue.. sand-paper.. etc. I can buy any of that local in Atlanta as Highland.. Peachtree WW and Woodcraft are within 15-20 minutes of my door.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I went on Friday. There was a lot of folks, but the vendors seem to be a bit on the lean side.

I noticed that there were a lot of vendors involved with turning small objects like pens. A.W. Meyers (a NJ tool retailer) was the biggest vendor having all the portable tools and machinery.

The show was located fairly close to me and sort of on the way home from work. I don't think I would go out of my way any further to see it.

-Jeff :)

[Steve Wurster]

I was there on Saturday, and was disappointed as well. There were less vendors than last year, and what seemed like more groups related to turning. I don't turn, so I ignored those groups.

Peachtree was there, and had 4 booths (same as last year). There was a guy at one end of their setup demoing the Dubby sled. They only had one cashier, though, and the line for that was basically wrapped around the whole setup.

Kreg was only demoing and selling their entire kit (not sure which model), and I don't think they were selling anything else. I was disappointed in that as well, as I wanted to look at some of their router stuff.

Delta, PC, DeWalt, Bosch, Jet, etc. had their normal setup. For the PC, DeWalt, and Bosch stuff, they had everything placed really close together, so it was hard to get close to what they had to take a look. The aisle for the PC stuff was really tight (like 1.5 people wide), so getting in there was a nightmare.

I did see bottles of glue (TB and TBII, I think), but I don't remember at which vendor. I also did see those bags of biscuits, but I didn't look at those either.

I ended up leaving without buying anything. With the hour drive each way, I was pretty darn disappointed. I don't plan on going back next year.

[Prashun Patel]

I was there Fri.
PTree was there, but the guy told me there was another show the same weekend, so Somerset got the leftovers.

I was looking for a basic riffler, microplane, or curved rasp. Not a ONE in the entire place. There might have been one in the bargain bin at the back (where everyone was munching like vultures on a rotting carcass) but wading through the carion was not an appetizing prospect.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I was very dissapointed in the Milwaukee show that I went to as well... Nothing really caught my eye. The only demonstration I watched was the kreg jig and that one was good but no good deals, just catalog prices, etc...

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Some of the demos are getting old. Looking at the average age of the crowd, these folks have probably seen it all many times over. For instance, how many times does one need to see a pocket hole jig or tablesaw blade or a wet sharpening system? The bright side is that the guy that sells absorbent rags wasn't there.

What would be nice is to have the Woodworking Shows expand their agenda. They should add a section for folks to show their prize projects. Perhaps even have a section that shows off clever jigs and fixtures. Maybe even add a white elephant table (i.e., 10% consignment fee).

-Jeff :)

[Ed Boyland]

Like everyone that attended, I too drove a little over an hour on Friday to attend the Somerset show and I was very disappointed with the show and the vender’s displays alike. I did not find anything that interests me, nothing really new to talk about. The general feeling of everyone that attended and I got speak to felt the same, a big let down. The mayor plays of the show like A.W. Meyer, Peachtree, Woodline and a few others were selling their products at regular price. No real bargain to be found.
Woodpecker was there, pushing their new router lift and setup at not bargain price. Kreg had a medium size table pushing their pocket hole jig and had very little or hardly any supplies for sale.
Even though with all these issues going on people still made purchases, especially on the DC connects, hoses and other small items were selling. Some people needed to purchase something so for the heck of it. P.S for does interested there is another show coming up on March 5,6 and 7 at Reading, PA.

[Anthony Scott]

For what its worth you can check out what comapnies will be at these shows on the web... Doesn't really say what they have, but at least you know who will be there.
The Detroit show doesn't look to be worth the two hour drive....
http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com/cms/Home/DetroitMI226228/tabid/75/Default.aspx

[Ray Chalenski]

Was there on Friday and also was disappointed.Fewer vendors than last year. The coordinator of the show said the lack of vendors was due to the other show they had in K.C.He promised that next years show will not coincide with any other show and that this one will be bigger and better.We'll see:rolleyes:

[jason lambert]

Wow I was there Friday and Saturday. The venders where lacking a little in fact I was teaching pen turning for craft supply because they couldn't make it. I think between the economy, I know 2 venders this effected and the Denver show, allot of venders didn't have the stock or man power to be at both, but the show was still a good size.

My main complaint was that there was not enough venders but way over crowded, I tried to buy some stuff from peech tree but the check out line was over 20 min long every time I looked. It was simply mobbed I couldn't even see allot of the demos, sawstop, router joint, festool, etc. Those venders that did go I think sold allot. I know peechtree sold out of allot of stuff on Friday.

They do need to plan it better so they don't do it the same time as other shows though and yes it tends to be the same people year after year but also new people pooped up this year, Barry Gross, micro fence, that huge mill in the back, etc. They may have been there before but I didn't see them.

Over all I had a good experience.

[Wilbur Pan]

However, as this years show rolled around, I had a number of small, common needs that I had to replenish in the shop that most certainly should have been available for sale at the show. How wrong I was?

PVA glue. Now how basic can you get than yellow glue? Nada! I couldn't buy glue!

To be fair, I think that the days of expecting super bargains at such shows are long gone. Given that the vendor has to pay the show fees, transport stock to the show, pay for staff to run the booths at the show, and ship everything back out again, while competing against internet dealers, it seems silly to think that you'll find a bargain on glue, especially since you can get Titebond (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-Titebond-16-Ounces-5064/dp/B0002YXDZ8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-5), Titebond II (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-5005-Titebond-Ultimate/dp/B0002YWZSO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-3), and Titebond III (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-1415-Titebond-Ultimate/dp/B0002YQ3KU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-1) delivered straight to your door for free.

[Fred Voorhees]

To be fair, I think that the days of expecting super bargains at such shows are long gone. Given that the vendor has to pay the show fees, transport stock to the show, pay for staff to run the booths at the show, and ship everything back out again, while competing against internet dealers, it seems silly to think that you'll find a bargain on glue, especially since you can get Titebond (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-Titebond-16-Ounces-5064/dp/B0002YXDZ8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-5), Titebond II (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-5005-Titebond-Ultimate/dp/B0002YWZSO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-3), and Titebond III (http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-International-1415-Titebond-Ultimate/dp/B0002YQ3KU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1266869099&sr=1-1) delivered straight to your door for free.


Wilbur, I wasn't looking to make a killing as far as price. I was more interested in simply restocking my shop with what I needed, which was glue (and I was planning on buying at least a gallon) and I looked that show over from top to bottom and found absolutely none - trust me I looked! #20 bisquits, and I only found some smaller ones in one of the baskets where they are packaged in bags. I needed #20 and they were nowhere to be found. I was also hoping to find a 1/4" collet reducer, but I wasn't sure if I was going to find that there, and I was right, it wasn't. As I said earlier, the only real positive is that I did find a gents saw and did manage to purchase that. I ended up buying a set of those square angle deals that help in squaring up carcases and the like when assembling, a few router bits and a set if gimlets that I have wanted for a long time but just never got around to getting. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the Kreg screws. 1 1/4" screws are typically used for 3/4" stock, the most basic thickness of woodworking and they had none. Maybe they had them and were sold out, I don't know, but the Kreg people aren't novices at these shows, they should have a good idea about how much they need for a show. Again, I was extremely unhappy about not being able to pick up a box of a thousand. I would have had no problem paying what they wanted for them. I would have been happy just to not have to pay for shipping. Oh well, as someone else posted, they were told that next year will be better. I will let those that go on Friday night and Saturday let me know ahead of time before I fork over my hard earned cash. The show this year was pathetic.

[Rod Sheridan]

I didn't attend the show under discussion, however when I go to a show and am disapointed it's because of the following. Now I'll admit I'm spoiled, I live in a city with many good supliers, we even have 3 Lee Valley stores, so my outlook will be different from a person who lives in a less populated area.

So the following is what makes me dislike a show:

1) the place looks like a flea market. I'm sure I'm in the minority here, however I don't go to a show to purchase anything, I go to be able to compare several manufacturers at once.

I don't expect to carry anything out except for some catalogues.

2) The variety of displays is lacking, for example I go and the major higher end players aren't there, General, Felder, MiniMax, Laguna. Lee Valley, LN etc.

In addition if the show has a lot of stuff I could see at Home Depot, they're wasting my time at the show, I can see all that at Home Depot (or equivalent).

3) The seminars are poor. I like going to good seminars that are more instructional, less sales oriented. I understand that companies are trying to sell me something. however if someone puts on a router bit seminar, I want to hear the technical details, that apply to all router bits, not how whiz bang their new bit is.

4) Keep it woodworking related, if it's not woodworking related keep all the miracle mops, bed sheet, and beef jerky sales stalls in a separate area. (OK, I've reconsidered on the beef jerky, it's tasty, however that miracle mop vendor has to go:D)

Perhaps I have odd expectations of shows..........Regards, Rod.