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05/21/2014 |
 1 - Almost twice as many vendors as last time. Two barns full! It will be hard enough for a visitor to see everything but how the heck is an exhibitor like myself going to have the time to see anything at all? I gotta work after all.
2 - Amana has most excellent beer except the bars close really early - which is just not fair to exhibitors.
3 - Probably my turn to by the beer - that adds up.
4 - The butcher which is a few blocks away has those amazing German style sausages but they are only open when I'm at the show.
5 - You can get used to those thin pancakes at breakfast really fast - and you can't get them anywhere I have been to in the US.
6 - Do I really need to see, yet again, that my friends Raney and Konrad make far nicer stuff than I could ever hope for. Makes me depressed that I don't spend more time in the shop. And can you imagine - they don't offer show specials.
7 - Jameel and everyone at Benchcrafted work like dogs getting the show ready for us. They don't even get paid for it. They do it for free. It's tons of work and very stressful - that can't be good for their health.
8 - Larry Williams and Don McConnell of Old Street Tools will be there. This means that all those myths you have in your head about wooden planes will be exploded. You will also discover that they know a lot more about woodworking than anyone else in the room. Even Matt Bickford, who wrote a great book on the subject. Makes you humble. Except, at last report, they aren't taking orders for their tools - their backlog is too great. That means you need to find Matt Bickford to get your hands on some fabulous wooden planes. It's not easy - it means walking maybe 20 or 30 feet IN A CROWD.
9 - Unlike a proper exhibition hall there is no food in the barn. If you want a sandwich or some coffee you have to go all the way across the street. Not a big deal for me - but you car people - it's too short a distance to drive. Maybe 70 feet. If you want a fancy lunch there's some excellent places in town a few blocks all around but you might be forced to walk or lose you parking space at the barn.
10 - TFWW, LN, and LV will all have new tools to show off. While I can't speak for other manufacturers, sometimes we here at TFWW show off stuff we haven't started to manufacture. Don't you hate seeing stuff you can't have - YET!
11 - There isn't a lot to do in Amana except spend all day at the show, meet some nice people, buy some tools, walk around the village.
If you still aren't convinced - I guess I'll see you there! I'M looking forward to it!
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Happy to buy a couple of growlers for you and the rest of the TFWW crew to enjoy after the bar closes and the exhibit hours are over...... You can also get pancakes like that in Lindsborg, KS.
Happy to buy a couple of growlers for you and the rest of the TFWW crew to enjoy after the bar closes and the exhibit hours are over...... You can also get pancakes like that in Lindsborg, KS.
All I can say is, bring more tools! I lucked out last time and was paying for the last Gramercy vice you'd brought when someone else came up and asked about them. That was just after lunch on the first day, iirc!
I also picked up some much-needed rasps that got put to use making a backsaw tote less than a month later.
I'd be happy to run out and pick up some of those sausages for you. Or a beer, if you really need it. I'll be sure to stop by and ask. Just look for the guy in the... well, you know.
Cheers,
TKW
(Ethan)