Shawn Pixley
11-11-2012, 12:29 PM
As I earlier stated, I stumbled upon the woodworking competition in the Zurich Train Station. In the train station as I waited for a colleague, an award ceremony for a woodworking competition sponsored by ETH dARCH Zurich (GTA program) was being conducted. While my fluency in Swiss German is limited (Bavarian dialect - yes, Swiss not so much), I listened as long as I could before boarding.
So when I returned today there was more competition going one. As near as I could tell, there were three elements to the competition.
1.) Entry of a woodworker's own work
2.) Competition where all the woodworkers build the same project
3.) Speed / skills challenge (the woodorker completes a complex joint in an hour)
I think I have got a few photos to illustrate the event. So these young men are working away while 500,000 people per day go through the station. You'll have to pardon the photo quality, I took photos with my I phone and my older travel camera. If I had known, I would have been better prepared.
The Key note speaker and venue:
245304245306245305
245307
There was a section for an audience. An ~50' x50' competition area was roped off. I never saw so much Festools used in a single area. Within the roped off area, there were about 10 benches for the competitors. Table saws, Bandsaws, Horizontal mortises, and other power tools were available for all. Each seem to bring the own, Kapex, MFT, Router etc... What did surprise me was the numbers of japanese hand tools.
So when I returned today there was more competition going one. As near as I could tell, there were three elements to the competition.
1.) Entry of a woodworker's own work
2.) Competition where all the woodworkers build the same project
3.) Speed / skills challenge (the woodorker completes a complex joint in an hour)
I think I have got a few photos to illustrate the event. So these young men are working away while 500,000 people per day go through the station. You'll have to pardon the photo quality, I took photos with my I phone and my older travel camera. If I had known, I would have been better prepared.
The Key note speaker and venue:
245304245306245305
245307
There was a section for an audience. An ~50' x50' competition area was roped off. I never saw so much Festools used in a single area. Within the roped off area, there were about 10 benches for the competitors. Table saws, Bandsaws, Horizontal mortises, and other power tools were available for all. Each seem to bring the own, Kapex, MFT, Router etc... What did surprise me was the numbers of japanese hand tools.