CLT Woodworking Show

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Sorry, guys. I jumped the gun on this one. Google search pulled up the web page but a calendar check coincided with LAST YEAR's event. The nearest events on their FORMAL website area in Atlanta 1/29-31 and Fredericksburg, 3/12-14
Here's the official site:
http://cms.thewoodworkingshows.com/cms/
 
Last edited:

Mt. Gomer

New User
Travis
$10 Admission, $6 Parking, $35 Gas, 6 hours driving (roundtrip). I've never been to one of these either... Worth it?
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
View the edited post above. I found out that was an old page. There's actually an event closer to you in Fredericsburg in March.
 

NH2NC

New User
Eric
$10 Admission, $6 Parking, $35 Gas, 6 hours driving (roundtrip). I've never been to one of these either... Worth it?

They just selling stuff? I have never been to one of these, What are they like?


Remember, this is one man's opinion...

IMHO...No. I went to my first one last year in CLT and it was just ok (a new tool demo here and there, some sale items and some "eye candy"...(tools, not females). Maybe I wasn't looking in the right places, but I didn't see any "deals" or anything that I couldn't live without. I certainly wouldn't drive 3 hours one way to go to one.

FWIW, I'd rather drive to Woodcraft and browse the aisles.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Atl show has moved sites. It used to be across the street (I-85) from the airport. Fly in, hop rental car company shuttle, walk across the street from rental car lot, and go to the show. Reverse for return trip. Leave RDU around 7:00 AM, and be back around 8:30 PM. Fredricksburg is less than four hours from Raleigh. (UPS drivers make a round trip in an eight hour working day.) We probably will do some kind of car / van pool up.
 

NCGrimbo

NCGrimbo
Corporate Member
Remember, this is one man's opinion...

IMHO...No. I went to my first one last year in CLT and it was just ok (a new tool demo here and there, some sale items and some "eye candy"...(tools, not females). Maybe I wasn't looking in the right places, but I didn't see any "deals" or anything that I couldn't live without. I certainly wouldn't drive 3 hours one way to go to one.

FWIW, I'd rather drive to Woodcraft and browse the aisles.

I second this. I've been to two shows. The first one was when I was looking to upgrade to a cabinet saw. It was nice to see all the different saws there, but there weren't any that I couldn't find locally in Raleigh. But I wrapped that trip up with another task in the area, so I didn't feel so bad. The second time I went with the same plan. See the show and then do some other stuff in the area before heading home. I can't see going to it again. If they had one in Raleigh, I'd probably go and see if I could get some of the vendors to make a deal to get a better price. But there weren't any real "deals" as NH2NC said.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I'd probably go and see if I could get some of the vendors to make a deal to get a better price.

I'd imagine in today's economy, somebody's gonna get some deals if they go. Unfortunately, both venues are a bit of a stretch for a lot of us.
 

Travis Porter

Travis
Corporate Member
Remember, this is one man's opinion...

IMHO...No. I went to my first one last year in CLT and it was just ok (a new tool demo here and there, some sale items and some "eye candy"...(tools, not females). Maybe I wasn't looking in the right places, but I didn't see any "deals" or anything that I couldn't live without. I certainly wouldn't drive 3 hours one way to go to one.

FWIW, I'd rather drive to Woodcraft and browse the aisles.

I agree with you. If you just want to see stuff and are not really in the market, not bad, but it isn't what it used to be.:tinysmile_cry_t:

The first show I went to was when I lived in Kansas City back around 1999 and it was HUGE!!! I cringe to think about the amount of goodies I bought.:rolleyes:
 

Donna Wynne

New User
Donna
The woodworking shows are worth it -- but not for the reasons you might think.

I was fortunate last month to be in Sacramento for other matters at the same time CLT's Woodworking Show was on at the nearby Convention Center. I nearly made off with a 3-1/4 hp Triton router (with built-in table lift) and a bunch of Sommerfeld cabinet making router bits but the $100 luggage surcharge American Airlines now charges for checking 3 items made me decide the "Show Special" savings weren't worth it.

The shows used to be a lot bigger -- lots more vendors and many, many more in attendance. Last month's CLT Woodworking Show in Sacramento was a mere shadow of what I remembered in the early 90's. The crowd seemed a lot older, too (myself included), and there were few people thronging the vendors eagerly buying stuff. Peachtree was there in force, as were Lee Valley Veritas, Woodline, and the people from Kreg. I looked for Rockler but never found them. My heart soared when I saw some Klingspor stuff, but it was only by their Canadian distributor.


I know that a lot of first time attenders at the Woodworking Show may be disappointed. At its primary level, it's just a tool-and-other-stuff sale. There are some discounts but usually not enough to really get your adrenaline going. There are some bargains, and a lucky person in the drawing won a new model Unisaw. Alas, not me.

Just don't plan on "Show Special" savings to make up for the cost of attending, especially for the long distance trip. But if you're like me, it's great to see stuff up close and personal. Even so, now and again, I've been known succumb to temptation and cart off $300-$400 of purchases. But for me, that's the exception rather than the rule. The show savings are rarely worth it. Even late on the last day, don't count on super deals in the days of yore -- the vendors are ready with their trucks to cart their stuff on to the next venue with another cookie-cutter version of the same show with the same stuff and the same products.

What does make these things worth the time and price of admission is the classes and demos. Last month I sat through two different Sommerfeld cabinet making demos, two Popular Woodworking-hosted classes on getting the most out of your shop, and one on finishing (which I generally loathe). The purpose of these, of course, is to sell their respective products, too, but they do so more subtly than the hawkers in the booths. More important, they do impart a good measure of techniques and education at the same time.

One of the aspects I have particularly enjoyed in past shows is running into famous people in the industry. Sometimes you'll find "Meet the Author" booths and can get an autographed copy of some volume you've been lusting for. Years ago, I met and got converted to the joys of hand planing by writer, teacher, and master woodworker Ian Kirby himself. Recently, I spent an hour with Kevin Glen-Drake using his Tite-mark gauges and radical variable pitch 2-handed dovetail saw. I also got to play with a Tormek T-7 sharpener learning how to easily keep my chisels and planer blades honed to an incredibly polished edge and I learned the fine art of using a Japanese dozuki and Matsumura chisels. Now I have to make myself stop shouting "HAI!" every time I cut a great set of pins and tails when they fit perfectly.

I got my money's worth from woodworking shows and would go again in a heartbeat. And the vendors are winners, too. Even without buying a thing, I'm mentally sold on Sommerfeld cabinet making router bits and router accessories, the Tormek, and anything Glen-Drake Toolworks makes.

Go forth and enjoy the shows, observe and learn, but don't expect to reap a bag of savings.
 

Trog777

New User
Trog
My neighbor ran this trip for several years, before retiring from UPS.
Cool. Just wondering as I'm also a UPS retiree. Figured the only way you would know that was if you, or a family member, were UPSer's too.

Or neighbor. :gar-Bi
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Cool. Just wondering as I'm also a UPS retiree. Figured the only way you would know that was if you, or a family member, were UPSer's too.

Or neighbor. :gar-Bi
My brother's oldest son will graduate from University of Louisville in May, with not one cent of debt. He works at the UPS facility in Louisville, four hours or less each night. UPS has paid ALL of his college expenses, including providing "walking around funds" for those things not included in "books and tuition." Plus he picks up a pay check every two weeks. Sure it took him six years, but no debt. How many graduates can say that?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top