IWF Atlanta (August 24-27)

[Dan Schmidt]

I haven't been to any of the big woodworking shows, but I moved to GA last year and am thinking about attending IWF in Atlanta in August. http://www.iwfatlanta.com/

I'm a serious hobbyist - not employed in this industry. I would appreciate some feedback from those of you who attended last year.

Is IWF truly one of the best / largest shows?
Would I see all of the major manufactures? Looking at the exhibitors, I don't even see Delta or Powermatic. Maybe they just haven't registered yet???
Demos / lessons available?
Would this be a 1/2 day event to see it all, a full day, or multiple days?


Thinking about flying my father in law down with intent of a fun event. Think we'd be disappointed? Any other comments you'd have would be welcome....
Let me know if there is a better show than this...


Dan

[Erik Loza]

Do you mean "IWF"?...

My responses, in blue....

Erik


I haven't been to any of the big woodworking shows, but I moved to GA last year and am thinking about attending IWS in Atlanta in August. http://www.iwfatlanta.com/

I'm a serious hobbyist - not employed in this industry. I would appreciate some feedback from those of you who attended last year.

Is IWS truly one of the best / largest shows? Yes
Would I see all of the major manufactures? Looking at the exhibitors, I don't even see Delta or Powermatic. Maybe they just haven't registered yet??? If not all, then 90%. The other 10% you could see at your local Woodcraft or Rockler and will be the mass-produced Chaiwanese stuff. The thing about IWF and AWFS is that you get to see the top of the food chain for each market, which you won't be able to to at your average regional hobby show.
Demos / lessons available? Possibly for non-motorized hand tools but all the seminars are geared toward the industry. The vast majority of actual demos you see will be on advanced machinery like CNC's, not on classical machinery.
Would this be a 1/2 day event to see it all, a full day, or multiple days? Multiple days. Best thing to do is make a list of vendors important to you and hit them first. The World Congress Center is VAST and it's easy to get distracted and spend all your day in only one hall.


Thinking about flying my father in law down with intent of a fun event. Think we'd be disappointed? Any other comments you'd have would be welcome....
Let me know if there is a better show than this... There isn't. At least not here in the States.


Dan

[Dan Schmidt]

oops - yes, I meant IWF not IWS. I corrected original post. Thanks Erik for the comments.

[Erik Loza]

oops - yes, I meant IWF not IWS. I corrected original post. Thanks Erik for the comments.

330310

Erik

[peter gagliardi]

I had heard it had shrunk a bit in past years- maybe due to the economic downturn we just went thru. However, i attended in '04 i think, and again in '06.
Back then at least, overwhelming would be a huge understatement!! At that time it was i think around 900,000 sf of machinery and all sorts of support associated businesses to the woodworking trades- hardware, wood, fabric suppliers, and on and on........
A lot of machines in person and under power that can be seen side by side to compare. That is where we decided and penned the deal on our Martin T26 shaper after evaluating what everybody was bringing to the table.
If things havent changed, i think it is THE best venue for real comparison.

[Erik Loza]

Peter, the shows are definitely on the up-swing. I've been at both IWF and AWFS continuously since 2003. Saw it at it's worst, when both Stiles and SCM Group pulled out diuring the depth of the recession and can definitely say that things are on the upswing again and have been for the last couple of years. I would say, probably 75% of it's pre-recession glory. Haven't see this year's lineup buit I can't imagine it would be less.

Erik

[Jim Becker]

So....I did this type of show twice. And thoroughly enjoyed it. The first time I nicked a press pass compliments of one of the woodworking magazines I was helping out with on their online stuff and got to carry a camera and document it. The second time was actually being a 'Booth babe" for Erik's employer. The IWF / AWF shows are amazing...you might not see a lot of things pertinent to a hobbyist, but you will see a lot of really, really kewel stuff! And plan for more than one day to see it all because they are truly huge shows when it comes to physical territory to cover in these really large convention centers. Since you are local, it's even better, provided you can take the time off from work, etc., to attend.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Go to IWF regularly. It's HUGE! Takes a couple days to see it. We fly in early in AM. Take MARTA to CNN center for breakfast. Walk across street to show, check bags for the day. Around 4:00 PM take Marta to hotel (Buckhead area), and next day back to show. Back to hotel, and then MARTA to airport next day and then fly back home. Usually we go on Wednesday, but this year will most likely go on Thursday. This allows us to go to Stone Mountain on Saturday night for laser light show. Also have to go to Highland Hardware while in Atlanta.

[Scott Brandstetter]

I am extremely lucky in that I will be at the show from start to finish. My "real" job is in the packaging industry and we will actually have a booth. We hope to gain business for those that ship their product....the larger manufacturers. I plan to work the our booth and take advantage of all free time to walk around and visit.