" The Woodworking Shows"

[Andrew Joiner]

thewoodworkingshows.com is coming to Portland.
Any tips on bargains or things to see?

[Brian Kent]

Try out the Mujingfang ebony planes sold by Woodline USA. I have enjoyed all of my rosewood Mujingfangs except the shoulder plane that was lousy. I tried out the ebony shoulder plane with a different configuration and it is excellent. With tax under $30. They have the same thing in low angle also for $30.

I also tried out the saws at Lee Valley - their new ones. They were all good and I will buy the dovetail version someday soon.

I have the Low Angle Jack and tried out the Low Angle Smooth. Wow!

I also tried the new $30 mini-shoulder plane. Too small but cute.

Brian

[Nick Lazz]

The Woodworking Show in Portland has gotten smaller and smaller each year. Last year it took bout a half hour to walk through the place.

Kind of disappointing as it used to be a pretty good show.

[guy knight]

i looked at the floor layout it is about the same as last year nothing special peachtree takes up half the floor space and barbo has the jet and pm booths

[Bob Borzelleri]

The Sacramento show is next week. Two of the headliners are Sham-Waa and non surgical back therapy. The overall quality of woodworking shows has tanked rather seriously in Sacramento over the past several years.

I still go with a friend but we end up spending much less time and even less money. But that Sham-waa has been real handy and my back has never felt better.

[Roger Jensen]

The only question for me is whether it is worth driving over from San Francisco to see the Lee Valley tools and take advantage of the free shipping for items ordered from the show...

[Nathan Conner]

thewoodworkingshows.com is coming to Portland.
Any tips on bargains or things to see?

So, Andrew. I went to it two years ago, and it was the last time for me.

See the big thread here for my "experience" and others' reactions. Seems like most were in agreement, but YMMV.

Good luck if you go!

[Tom Walz]

If you have never been and it is close and you have nothing better to do then you might as well go.

[Harold Burrell]

If you have never been and it is close and you have nothing better to do then you might as well go.

*snicker*

That could be said about going with my wife to the fabric store, etc...etc...

[glenn bradley]

The SoCal shows have been getting smaller but are still enjoyable. I take a small cart in case I buy something heavy but I leave it in the car. I haven't made it through a show yet without going back for the cart though ;-)

I generally look at the Aggs, Minimax, Laguna and such as I do not get to see them in my area otherwise. It has become tradition to get a pic standing by the biggest bandsaw I can find.

Odd ball parts and small pieces that you would pay more for shipping than the part cost are a nice thing to pick up. Actual parts for some manufacturers products can also be gotten as well as being able to talk to the folks who design and build the stuff. I spoke to the designer of my router lift and mentioned something that I didn't even know was a problem. He showed me how to fix it and even gave me his email to use if I wanted assistance . . . lift is even better now, who knew?

There are some headset demos of Carter products and super-drills that do your laundry as well as drill holes. Some of the audio on the demos makes what the person is saying almost useless but others are well done. Free shipping on purchases at the show by Lee Valley is always a hazard.

[Frank Martin]

Lee Valley was nice, but I have pretty much everything I need from them already:-))

Eagle tools was great, because I have not been to their store. Spoke with the owner Jesse, wonderful person.

I would say, if you are not a beginner and you have been to these couple times before, you sure can do better by doing something else, such as actually working wood. On the other hand if you are just starting, you can see a lot of things first hand, which is useful.

[Greg Portland]

thewoodworkingshows.com is coming to Portland.
Any tips on bargains or things to see?

As mentioned above, the quality of these shows has gone downhill. A few things worth visiting:

1) Lee Valley has free shipping on any item ordered at the show & has a large display of their Veritas tools.
2) Lie Nielsen sells their tools at a discount at the shows (and also have great demos in the booth). They also have most of their tools at the show.
3) If Laguna is there they typically sell their tools at a discount
4) The companies showing the Jet, Powermatic & General stuff sell those floor models at a significant discount.
5) Some of the demos in the main demo area are worth attending if you are a beginner.
6) If you need a lot of 'small' stuff (acid brushes, sandpaper, clamps, etc.) you can find pretty good deals. The stuff is typically not the 'best' quality (i.e. generic spring clamps, etc.).

Certainly if you are looking for a particular tool & the dealer is there then it's worth going. For example, I was looking at spray equipment last year and was able to spend ~ 30min in both the Asturo and Fuji booths.

[Bob Borzelleri]

In years past, most of them appeared to be organized and run by people in the woodworking field. My impression is that nowadays, that might not be the case.

I still go because it's a chance to get together with a woodworking buddy who lives down the hill and watch him try to avoid buying another Festool.

Contrary to what used to be the case, I don't go for the seminars anymore. What used to be brand neutral presentations of tips and techniques seems to have devolved into product demos with most of the emphasis on the notion that "you can only do this with this tool". I expect to see that in the booths, but not in the halls of learning.

[Kirk Poore]

The current owners bought the show about 2 years ago. I don't know that they've gotten better in that time, but I don't think they've gotten any worse.

I don't know that this happens elsewhere, but at the Collinsville IL show (near St Louis) the local woodworking groups have display and demo booths outside the main hall. I'm part of the Edwardsville WW group, and we have a booth every year to show off stuff. It's a good way to pick up members and meet new folks. I think there's usually about a half a dozen local groups with booths at the show.

Kirk

[Ryan Baker]

The shows in my area have been getting pretty sad in recent years too. Hardly any vendors show up, even the local ones. They say it isn't worth their time. Too bad. Last year, thewoodworkingshows got pushed out of town by the WoodWorks show ... but I see they are now out of business. Looks like the Woodworkingshows is coming back next year in a new location, and the vendor list looks better. Maybe they have resolved some of the issues. I will probably go anyway, though I don't expect much any more.