Originally Posted by
Charles P. Wright
I went yesterday and paid for Chuck Bender's joinery fundamentals. A lot of it you can learn by reading the Internet, but there were a few tidbits that made it worth while. The technique he uses for dovetails is different than what I've seen on any of the internet, and definitely made it worth it (this year I'm on a mini-quest to be able to cut a set by hand). I got a selfie with Tommy Mac, but his seminars overlapped the others that I was doing.
The Woodpeckers/Blue Spruce booth was nice to see some of the stuff. The blue spruce 16 oz mallet feels very nice, though I couldn't justify the $109 to myself. It was nice to see the new router table lift and fence; but having the PRLV2 I can't justify an upgrade. I did buy a set of stainless steel squares and avoid shipping on them.
I also got to put my hands on a Shaper origin, which has been on my "wish list" for a while - but I don't have a project that entirely motivates it [they do have some kind of show discount with a QR code]. Felder was there with a jointer/planer and a slider (K3). I've never laid my ahnds on a slider before - though really that is just a curiosity. I have a Sawstop/MM16/FS41e, so really the only big machine that I think I am missing is a spindle shaper, but don't have room for it in my basement unless I reimagine the layout some more.
For me, it was worth the $50 and the 1.5 hour drive to spend the day. I'm not sure if the $14 admission is worth it for the vendors though, and I don' think the drive would have been without some really motivating case instead of just kicking the tires.