Santa Rosa Lie Nielsen Event

[Greg Jurrens]

Did any other creekers go to this event at David Marks shop.
Greg

[Andy Pedler]

Yes, we stopped by for a bit. I've gone to the show in Oakland a few times and like those shows, the people were great. It was quite small, since it was in Mark's shop. There was only one workbench with two vises for trying out tools, but LN had the entire lineup of tools ready to play with.

I was there with the family and my two older kids (8 and 5) came into the show at first. One of the LN guys immediately set up a really nifty demo for them, having them write their names on a piece of wood with a sharpie marker and then taking a long shaving off with a block plane. When the kids unraveled the curled up shaving they found their name. They both got a kick out of that. Then they got to try out using a spokeshave to pull little ribbons of wood. My son even tried out a block plane but the workbench was a bit high for him so I'm not sure he really got a good idea of what he was doing. But they had a good time trying out the tools.

After that my son went back to the car and my daughter and I continued on to the second room, where Kevin Glen-Drake and Ron Hock were showing their wares. I've talked to both of them at shows in previous years and as before, both are generous with their time and eager to teach a newbie like me. I had brought my 4-1/2 along and Ron fit it with a new blade and breaker and tuned it up a bit. Now it cuts really well. With a little more tweeking I think I'll have a whole new tool.

I'd like to make mention of and say thanks to Ron's wife who entertained my daughter with a little wooden airplane while Ron and I were setting up my plane. She was great and my daughter kept mentioning the experience for the rest of the weekend. She asked me to "remember that place so we can go back there again".

I had a brief conversation with Dave Marks and he seemed like a really nice guy. His shop is very nice and that part of the country is just beautiful. Northern California has a lot of beautiful places to live, but that coastal region north of San Francisco is just inspiring. I'd love to be able to live up there some time.

So it was a really nice event, though much smaller than the Oakland shows at The Crucible. My only regret is not having a little more time to try out a few of the LN tools. I intended to try (and possibly buy) one of their block planes and wanted to compare the low and standard angle blocks with the rabbeting block plane. Maybe next time.

About the only thing I would like to see improved at these events in the future is to have some sort of show specials. If you purchase a tool at the show you pay sales tax (~10% here in CA) but no shipping. With standard shipping from LN at $6, you save money if you order online. Generally I have no problem paying top dollar for tools of the quality that LN's are but when you're at the show and can try out a tool you want to be able to take it home. It would be nice to get something to offset the added expense of buying at the show. Maybe throw in a DVD or something for orders over $100 or something. Or a #7? :)

[Jim Koepke]

Generally I have no problem paying top dollar for tools of the quality that LN's are but when you're at the show and can try out a tool you want to be able to take it home. It would be nice to get something to offset the added expense of buying at the show. Maybe throw in a DVD or something for orders over $100 or something. Or a #7?

When I bought items from LN through the show that I knew in advance that I wanted, I was able to make arrangements with them for me to pick it up at the show. It was clear that they would bring it without me being obligated to purchase the item if it did not turn out to be what I wanted.

They also did throw in a free DVD of my choice.

I do not know if this is a standard policy or what. I was happy to have purchased the items.

Of course, I bought at a show in Portland, Oregon so there wasn't any sales tax.

jtk

[Ron Hock]

I'm glad you and your kids had a good time, Andy. Linda and I did, too. I've known David and Victoria for a long time but we'd never met face-to-face. Their hospitality and generosity was greatly appreciated and their fun-loving style made the weekend a blast. Of course, kudos to the LN gang. They, too, were gracious and helpful throughout (as usual.) Thanks to everyone who came by. We hope to see you all again soon.

[Ron Griffiths]

I went to the show and enjoyed it. I too wish they would offer a discount at the show but that didn't stop me from buying a plane. They didn't have it there so didn't pay sales ax and no shipping. Still waiting for it. I liked seeing Davids shop after seeing on TV.

[rick bear]

We made a special trip to attend. We like Santa Rosa and spent the night. My wife is fascinated by hand tools and kept urging me to splurge. Picked up a saw, burnisher and some scrapers. It was a very fun event.

- Rick