woodworking shows

[Jerome Stanek]

There are a lot of venders that will sell discount tickets if you check around

[Justin Rapp]

I went a few years ago. It is a very big show. They have machines that are hundreds of thousand dollars down to stuff we by. It was a very good time. Wish it weren't a nine hour drive away.

I thought of going and it's about 13 hours drive, maybe a little longer. If not, it's a flight, rental car, hotel, and drives up the cost a lot.

[Stan Calow]

The woodworking show, https://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/, has gone through a lot of changes over the years, owners, venues, vendors, etc. but they haven't crossed the Mississippi in over 10 years. . .

I see Kansas City, west of the Mississippi, and St Louis, just west of the Mississippi, on the list. Last two times I went (within the last 10 years), 50% of the activity was at Peachtree tables. Anybody know if that's changed?

[Justin Rapp]

I see Kansas City, west of the Mississippi, and St Louis, just west of the Mississippi, on the list. Last two times I went (within the last 10 years), 50% of the activity was at Peachtree tables. Anybody know if that's changed?

I think the idea of west of the Mississippi is 100's or 1000's of miles, meaning out in the Great Planes states or further like the west coast.

Anyway, to answer your question, Peachtree stopped coming to the shows the year or two prior to Covid temporarily halting the shows. If you look on the show web site, each location has a list of vendors and clubs that are attending the show. Last time I looked at my local show, there wasn't so many vendors but it does look like a lot more are now attending based on the list.

[Tim Mailloux]

I went to the West Springfield MA show a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty sad. I did pick up a few woodpeckers tools at steep discounts, but other than that it was a bust.

[Ronald Blue]

I see Kansas City, west of the Mississippi, and St Louis, just west of the Mississippi, on the list. Last two times I went (within the last 10 years), 50% of the activity was at Peachtree tables. Anybody know if that's changed?

It's a pretty safe bet that St Louis isn't going to happen this year. It continues to say TBD and the icon for it isn't clickable for more info. If you haven't locked in a venue by now it isn't going to happen. At least in my opinion. That and $2 will get you a gas station coffee. Also in years past it was held on the Illinois side of the river at the Gateway Center in Collinsville.

[Justin Rapp]

I went to the West Springfield MA show a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty sad. I did pick up a few woodpeckers tools at steep discounts, but other than that it was a bust.

The entrance fee is shore cheaper than Woodpecker shipping. I have my eyes on some woodpecker tools - we'll see.

[Craig Shipman]

All very good points, especially the one about your son!

[Frank Necaise]

It draws a pretty good crowd. It has been a little slower the last 2 years coming out of COVID. Hope it gets better this year. It usually has Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley reps attending. They have had Chris Schwartz and others in the past doing lectures as well.

[Justin Rapp]

It draws a pretty good crowd. It has been a little slower the last 2 years coming out of COVID. Hope it gets better this year. It usually has Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley reps attending. They have had Chris Schwartz and others in the past doing lectures as well.

The one coming up this weekend in NJ doesn't show Lee Valley in attendance on their vendor list. The one I attended right before COVID, Lee Valley was there but didn't actually have stock to sell, only demos and all orders would be shipped. A bit of a bummer because usually that instant gratification you get bringing home your new tool and using it is the fun part. Waiting a week or more for it to show up was the downside. I actually didn't end up ordering the chisel set, but had they been able to hand it to me, I would have left the show with it.

[George Yetka]

The entrance fee is shore cheaper than Woodpecker shipping. I have my eyes on some woodpecker tools - we'll see.

Want a $3 pencil that will be $43. About twice a year I add stuff to a cart and then get to checkout and say "Nope". In the long run its better I have more than enough measuring and markout tools.

[Justin Rapp]

Want a $3 pencil that will be $43. About twice a year I add stuff to a cart and then get to checkout and say "Nope". In the long run its better I have more than enough measuring and markout tools.

I do the same thing on their web site. I usually end up nixing the order in the end also, especially when I see the shipping costs. However I was just curious and put the small parts holder in my cart and went to shipping and it came up with FedEx for 12 bucks. I've had my eye on this for a while and remember it being well over $20 to ship when they had UPS as the primary delivery company. Maybe they finally got the idea to get a contract rate with a shipping carrier. However, given the show is this week, if they have it there i'll grab it with no shipping and in the past, if they didn't have something at the show, they sent to to me with free shipping anyway. We'll see how many $$$$ come out of my pocket at the show this weekend!

[Thomas Pender]

My recollection of Wood Working shows is exactly that - recollection. I recall getting my wonderful Noden Adjustabench at one show and seeing the various demos (how I got into Ridge 10” blades). but I agree with most comments in the main - they are a bit disappointing and most things go over the internet. I would love to be able to buy Veritas stuff at the shows and it was fun to visit the Peachtree Booth, but things have changed. One function this site serves is that I can ask questions about stuff I see on the internet or in a Woodpeckers email and get opinions, e.g, Rubio Monocoat - my finish of choice now, and years ago being indoctrinated into Target Coatings. Saves gas money and time.

[George Yetka]

I do the same thing on their web site. I usually end up nixing the order in the end also, especially when I see the shipping costs. However I was just curious and put the small parts holder in my cart and went to shipping and it came up with FedEx for 12 bucks. I've had my eye on this for a while and remember it being well over $20 to ship when they had UPS as the primary delivery company. Maybe they finally got the idea to get a contract rate with a shipping carrier. However, given the show is this week, if they have it there i'll grab it with no shipping and in the past, if they didn't have something at the show, they sent to to me with free shipping anyway. We'll see how many $$$$ come out of my pocket at the show this weekend!

That is nice but I have the Jessem Mitrslide 2 so most of that action is taken care of already. I had a bunch of 3" styles to route the other day so I took 2 pieces of 2x3/4 stock and screwed them together so I can hold piece flat to table and fence. Worked very well

[Doug Colombo]

I just drove 3 hours to the Columbus show and it was a waste of time. The shows that used to be in Detroit were huge, at least 10 times larger (or so they seemed). The one in Columbus was at the Ohio Exhibition Center which is where the State Fair is held and is huge. The building listed on the web site was not the correct building. There were no clear markings or directions and it has hard to determine which building the show was in. I don't understand why there were so few venders. Has competition from the internet cut into the amount of business conducted at the shows? I hope/wish the one in Detroit comes back in its old glory.

We also drove to Columbus from Detroit area. Show was again small - in fact without Woodpeckers and Woodline, it might have been hard to find much to buy. Bring back the show to Detroit !

As we normally do, we also went to Woodwerks and although most everything was 15% off (I actually bought as much there as at the show), this year there were no factory reps there. In fact other than Sawstop, there was very little equipment on the floor. One of the new owners was there and said the internet has changed their business model and people can find what they need to know about equipment on the web vs seeing in person. They still sell all the equipment, but through their web site.

And as always, had to stop at Tony Paco’s in Toledo for a great dinner (Klinger from MASH knew what he was talking about). : )