Lee Valley Tool Event - coming to a town near you (hopefully)

[Derrell W Sloan]

Last weekend Lie Nielsen had a tool event here in Austin. I was able to go and it was fantastic. So I got to thinking that it would be really nice if we could get the good folks at Lee Valley to do something similar. How about it Mr. Lee? I would like to suggest Austin,TX. as a good place to host the very first event. Would anyone else like to see something like this?

[Andrew Gibson]

I don't know about Austin, but Lee valley made the trade show here in Tampa last year. I believe they are scheduled to be there again this year.
http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com/cms/Home/tabid/132/Default.aspx

Looks like there is one in Huston and Dallas.

I would love to see a LV event similar to the LN event.

[Chuck Tringo]

What would be spectacular would be if Lee Valley were invited to display at one of the Lie Nielsen events as LN tends to have manufacturers who make some items that they sell also, but I would suspect that LV's product line has too much in common with LNs....but alas, one could dream...

[john davey]

They were at the WW show in Baltimore last weekend. It was really great to see all of the planes in one place and get to put my grubby hands on them. Really nice stuff :)... John

[Chuck Tringo]

yeah, i was going to go but they were the only exhibitor i was interested in seeing, save perhaps Tommy Mac...

[glenn bradley]

I think that is a great idea but, everybody knows that "Cali-fornee is the place yuh outta be. So load up the truck and head to Beverly . . . Hills that is."

[Mark Baldwin III]

In mid February, they'll be 3 blocks from my house. If I miss that, there's something seriously wrong.

[Paul Saffold]

Both LV & LN will be at Saratoga, NY on March 25 & 26 for the NE Woodworkers Expo. IIRC the Swartz will be there too. It is a really good show. I used to live about 20 min away and saw some great demos and 1 hr. mini-classes.

[Jack Camillo]

They were at the WW show in Baltimore last weekend. It was really great to see all of the planes in one place and get to put my grubby hands on them. Really nice stuff :)... John

+1
I love seeing their display

[Kevin Fitzsimons]

Both were at the Woodworking in America Expo in Northern Kentucky this past fall and they're going to be there again in 2011. WIA is a spectacular expo. Many of the high-end plane makers and specialty tool makers. WIA also has two days of classes which I didn't get to attend but hopefully in 2011 I'll take in the whole enchilada. There were two or three custom saw makers whose saws were selling for $350+. That's a lot of dough for a saw, but trying them out was an eye-opening experience. Cut like butter. I think woodworking tools have an additional character compared to nuts & bolts mechanical tools. They have beautiful shapes, have comfortable handles, and are made of attractive materials - wood (cherry, maple saw and chisel / screwdriver handles), brass, bronze, and stainless steel. Sorry to get off topic, but when I think back to WIA, there were no Porter Cable, Dewalt, or other mass tool producers, only the finest hand tool vendors. And a couple of used hand tool dealers. It was a great show.

[Rob Lee]

How about it Mr. Lee? I would like to suggest Austin,TX. as a good place to host the very first event. Would anyone else like to see something like this?

Hi Derrell (and everyone else!) -

We were invited to participate in the LN handplane events (we both actually do better at a show when the other is there!) and checked it out, but could not handle the schedule, in addition to the 50+ shows we already do... for example - we have 10 trade shows in February alone, and thirty-four between now and April 15th!

We have 6 or 8 trade show booths on the road at any given time, and staff those shows with store staff, as well as people from head office. Logistically - it just didn't work for us. In addition to shows - we run a full slate of seminars in our stores, and that keeps more than a few people busy...

The LN shows are excellent though!

Cheers -

Rob

[Derrell W Sloan]

Hi Rob,

Since you fellas are so busy I would be more than happy to pitch in and do my part. Just send me one of every hand tool that wears the Veritas brand and I'll do the tool shows here in the central Texas area for you and won't charge you a dime. It's the least I can do since I'm the one pushing for it.

If for some reason you don't take me up on this offer (really you'd be crazy not to) then please put Austin on the calendar for next year when they do the next Lie Nielsen tool event here.

[Larry Feltner]

Just a quick question for those who have been to some of these events. Do LV or LN have special pricing of their planes, chisels, etc., at these events or are they the same price as you can get on-line. I guess really my question is if you have to drive 2 - 3 hours each way to attend one of these events, is it worth it just to buy something?

[Mark Baldwin III]

I just found out that the Woodworking Show in Milwaukee is the same weekend as World of Wheels. They're both at state fair park. How awesome of a weekend is that? Get to take my bike to the show, and then go and drool on awesome tools!
I can't wait to see the LV booth. I have to confess, that's the main reason I'm going.