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One thing I forgot:
While talking to Ron Hock about the different blades, he commented that people do not buy his blades. He pointed at the surface of the trial wood people were planing and said, "this is what they are buying."
jim
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Thanks for the info, unfortunately, there was to be no leaving Sac today, I guess I'll wait until next year, maybe I'll start a savings fund for the demo day...
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Terrific Experience
I drove up to Oakland this afternoon to check out the hand tool show. I had no idea what to expect but didn't have anything better to do on a rainy afternoon. In short, I left really happy and learned a lot in just a few hours spent at The Crucible.
About the only thing lacking at the show was light. It was held in an industrial workshop warehouse. While it looked like the woodshop and metal working shops contained in the warehouse were well lit, the exhibition area was fairly dark. Most everyone had clamp lights on stands to illuminate their benches.
I wandered around first to get the lay of the land, and wound up talking to Kevin Drake at the Glenn-Drake Toolworks table for quite a while. No one was there when I walked up, and I told Mr. Drake that I was a hobbyist who had never successfully cut a dovetail joint and didn't have much of any experience, but I like the hobby. He immediately asked if I'd like to learn how to cut one with their new Wild West Saw, and then launched into what amounted to a private lesson for what must have been 30-40 minutes! A couple of other people wandered by while he was showing me how to use the saw, and he answered their questions as well. I was floored that he gave me such one-on-one attention, and I was greatly appreciative. He went through the whole process of cutting the pin, then using their feeler gauge and the proper method of marking the tail. It was an education. I felt really bad that I wasn't in a financial position to buy some of his products on the spot, but I will certainly remember his generosity and when the time comes I'll be placing an order.
After that I watched a demo at the LN stand of how to flatten a bench top. Frankly, I'd love to have a bench that was as flat as what they started with, but by the time they were done it looked incredible. Another great learning experience. I spent a little time then watching one of the LN guys (I'm terrible with names...) do the inlay demo. That was interesting. Not necessarily something I'd venture to try, but it is always fun watching really talented people do their thing.
I noticed that nobody was at the Hock blades table, so I went over and started to talking to Ron Hock. Again I explained that I had no real experience with hand tools, and once again he invited me to try out some of this planes and showed me some proper methods of using a hand plane, how to adjust the blade setting, etc. Once again, it was remarkable to get one-on-one instruction and I learned a lot. I know these guys are selling their stuff so they want to be pleasant, but in both this case and with Mr. Drake it was genuine and they both seemed to really enjoy helping me out. It never felt like a sales pitch, but instead just a couple of guys sharing their knowledge of the craft.
Finally I talked to one of the LN sales people and he let me try out a few of their planes and gave me an overview of their plane families. Someday...... Once again, very friendly, helpful, and never any sales pressure.
So I left a very satisfied attendee! It was a great afternoon. Thanks to the vendors who spent so much time with those of us who attended. I'll be putting a wishlist together and express my appreciation by placing orders in the future.
Andy - Newark, CA
Last edited by Andy Pedler; 02-24-2008 at 11:17 PM.
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Lie Nielsen Hand Tool event
I got there early Saturday and access was easy, right off the freeway. Even lucked out and parked next door. The weather was crummy but, hey, it's the rainy season here and after the last 2 years of below normal precipitation the rain is welcome. I'd never been to The Crucible before and was surprised to find a large industrial arts training facility with an extensive range of hands-on classes offered. One room had 5 Oneway lathes along with other woodworking equipment, another had a blacksmith forge setup, another had a machine shop, another had a ceramic kiln while another had a forge where they were demonstrating sand casting. If I didn't live 90 miles away I'd sure consider taking some classes there.
Lie-Nielsen sponsored the event and seemed to have every item in their catalog there, more than I've seen them bring to the ww'ing shows. The event was free as was the lunch. Tom L-N seems to be a friendly, laidback sort greeting folks. Deneb Puchalski did his usual excellent presentation on selecting and using handplanes. He really knows his stuff.
Chris Schwarz, editor of Popular Woodworking and Woodworking magazines was there talking about planes and just about anything hand tool ww'ing related. He brought a bunch of his new book on workbenches which rapidly got snapped up. He also gave an excellent presentation on the citical aspects to consider when planning to build a workbench and emphasized thinking through how you intend to use it and design accordingly. The guy's a real wealth of knowledge.
John Economaki of Bridge City Tools brought his newest tools to demonstrate
and the engineering and build-quality were impressive. Besides being well made they're just darned attractive with an outstanding fit and finish. When I heard he was offering offering a special 20% event discount it took a supreme effort to keep my wallet in my pocket. I knew I'd be dead meat if the little plastic card ever found it's way out.
In all, it was an enjoyable day and I'd highly recommend checking the L-N website for their travel show schedule and attend one of these events if possible.
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