The Wood Working Shows - any good?

[Kris Bjarnason]

This show is in Seattle this weekend and I was wondering if it's worth going to. What can I expect there? I haven't been to a woodworking show of any type, so enlighten me!

[John Thompson]

If you have never been... probably you would like it? The main machine vendors don't show up any more as it is just not worth their while. You will see Delta.. Kreg.. etc.. etc.. but not the large machine companies most likely. The Show's just aren't what they used to be.

But again.. if you are new to the hobby and have never been it would be worth you while to make the trip. Sometimes there might be a good seminar or two. You will never know for sure about if you liked it until you go so......

Sarge..

[Bruce Wrenn]

Check the schedule and make sure to see the Wood Magazine demos by Jim Heavey. Especially the one on the jigs. It takes a couple of hours, but is well worth the time.

[Tony Bilello]

I had not been to a woodworking show in 25 years.
The Houston show was not as big as I would have liked it to be but it was very enjoyable. My wife and I had a great time.
For me, it was definitely worth the 2 hours round trip and price of admission and would go again.

[keith ouellette]

A few years ago when I went in orlando it was great. They had laguna (with a knap combo machine, very nice) jet, shop fox, delta, and a couple of others. There were many demos going on and almost all of them were educational. It was like being in a big wood working mall.

I wanted to go this year but they moved it to tampa which was twice as far for me than orlando so I didn't go.

My point is; its great but not if you have to drive more than 2 hours.

[glenn bradley]

Last year the Woodworking Shows had Agazzani, Laguna, MiniMax and most of the "American" brands, General, and such as well. Peachtree, Rockler, etc. Its nice to be able to get your hands on Lee Valley and Lie-Nielsen hand tools and the demos and such are worth a look see. I hear some people say the shows are small and lightly attended but the SoCal (last of the year) show has been great so far. I'll see in May if things have scaled back since the last few.

[Steve Hilberg]

I've been going to the Woodworking Shows for over 15 years. This year was the best of the last several years (I go to the one in Indianapolis). They had been on the decline until they were bought by a new owner two years ago. Last year was a little rough, but they were trying. I think this year was a big improvement with more vendors returning and quite a few "workshops". There are some deals to be had, and lots of stuff to look at.

[Tom Henderson2]

I don't belive that LN is participating in the larger shows any more -- they are doing their own handtool events nowadays.

I attended the LA show last year; I enjoyed it but I'm a newb. The Wood magazine demos were good, as others have mentioned. And I liked kicking tires and seeing the various wares.

But.. parking and admission were both expensive.

We have a very good Woodcraft in Ventura nowadays, so I doubt I'll be making the trek down to Ontario for the show this year.

-TH

[John Callahan]

I've been going to the Saint Paul, MN shows for a number of years though I did miss last fall's show after they moved to the fairgrounds. I plan on going this year. As John noted, there's been a huge decline in the number of machinery vendors and if that's your main reason for going you may be disappointed. At the first shows I attended most machinery brands were represented- Steel City, Delta. General, Laguna, MiniMax, PM ........ that's no longer the case. There's almost always some good seminars and some good deals to be had. If you've never been you owe it to yourself to go at least once. Sounds as if the new owners are trying to improve things ........ I'll find out this fall.

[Stan Urbas]

Kris, my wife and I have been going for a number of years and will go again this year. The past few years it's bee at the fairgrounds in Puyallup, but this year they moved it to downtown.

In addition to the seminars there will be lots of small tools and accessories for sale, usually at pretty good prices. So before going we always make an assessment of what we need and shop accordingly.

If you've never been, I'd say it's worth it to go at least once to see if it's right for you.

[Bruce Wrenn]

There just aren't enough sales at the show to justify moving the heavy iron in. Redmons didn't even bother to do the Atlanta show this year. I understand that they used to take up one hall. But Stone Mountian Tools did have a good set up of PC / DeWalt there. At Charlotte show, local Woodcraft set up a really nice display and had some REALLY GOOD DEALS on PC / DeWalt / Steel City tools. Did get to see the new Unisaw, but I had seen it at IWF last summer. LN was there with 10% off and free shipping. I always stock up on "trinkets" at the show. Knobs, tee track, pocket hole screws, blast gates, etc. Items that the freight is more than the cost of the item. Be sure and check out Jerry Cole and his Dubby miter sleds. He is located in the Peachtree area. It's one of the few items, over $100, that I was willling to part with my cash for. That in itself says a lot.

[Jesse Bushman]

I've been to several over the years, sometimes in Baltimore but more frequently in Chantilly Virginia. I go to see stuff in the "flesh" that I don't have an easy opportunity to see otherwise.

A month or so ago I went to Chantilly, intending to take a close look at some of the larger machines, and was surprised to see that all of the major machine manufacturers seemed to have sat this one out. Laguna, Minimax, Powermatic, Jet, even the Tormek guys were not in attendance, as they had been in past years. So if your goal is to see those machines/companies, check the list of participants before you go.

If you just want to see a lot of cool stuff and get a few good deals, it's worth going. Way I figure, it costs about as much as a movie and it was a lot more interesting, although, my nine year old opined that he was in imminent danger of death by boredom after about 45 minutes, so I cut it a bit shorter than I would have if I'd been there alone.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Bring money - cash. You can cut deals on things ranging from tools to machines to exotic wood. Cash always loosens the price point. Many dealers of machinery will sell you the show demo cheaper if you can take it off the floor at the end of the show. Saves 'em packing and shipping it back. Of course ya gotta be sure they unpacked all the various parts and accessories. Never know what got left in the truck.

Be careful about the discounters selling things at prices that are too good to be true. They usually are selling crap.