Greetings and Salutations....
Just wondering if anyone ELSE went to the
Woodworking show at the Convention Center in Atlanta
this last weekend?
I was the guy in the black hat and long, black
leather coat wandering around on Friday....and if the
ice had not been 1/4" thick over everything on Saturday,
I probably would have gone back...
I enjoyed the display of projects from the
woodworking club this year. I thought they were all
well done, with so few construction flaws that it is
hardly worth noting them. I was impressed by the segmented
vessels, as that is a huge amount of work, and requires some
precision building to get started...then...to put that
blank on the lathe, start it spinning at 1000 RPM and
cram a sharp chisel into it???!!! We are nuts sometimes.
There were a couple of very nice bandsawn "boxes", one
in the form of a flowering plant, with each flower being a
separate storage drawer that were pleasing to look at.
There was a very nicely done dining table and
chair set. The table had a marquetry inlay, about 4"
wide, as a boarder, consisting of a background of birdseye
maple, with shaded "tree trunks" insert into it. Kind of
reminded me of looking through a light stand of poplar, or
birch, in the winter, with snow-covered ground all around.
The chairs seemed kind of "too upright" for me...rather like
some of the efforts produced by Frank Lloyd Wright. Well
made, but, kind of tall and did not look all that comfortable to
me.
I was pretty impressed, too, by the skeletal "Tall Clock",
entirely cut from wood that was ticking happily away in the center
of the display area. I have looked at the Fine Woodworking issues
that talk about that off and on for several years, but, just not
gotten up the courage to take on the project.
There were several "hall tables" there too, that were
pretty pleasing to the eye. One, alas, had a tiny artistic flaw
for me. It was a frame, of, I think, Maple, with "J" legs. The
top was set up slightly from the rails and stiles, which gave
it a look of "floating". That was good...the problem I had, though,
was that the legs were straight down, until they hit the curve
of the "J". They then tapered by about half to the feed. I think
that it would have been more pleasing to the eye if the legs had
a slight taper that started at the RAILS, and, went all the way
down to the feet.
Let's see...the other thing that I just had to shake
my head in admiration over was the patience it took to jigsaw out
that scrollwork Cookoo clock. The thing was huge - 10" square
and perhaps 18" or 20" tall, and, in the classical shape of a
Black Forest Cookoo Clock. However, it was, again, skeletal,
in that every square inch had been cut into a fine grillwork.
I shudder to think how many hours the maker spent, hunched over
their jigsaw, punching out those panels...
There were a number of other impressive bits there, too,
but, alas, I really have to move on. Still... a big thumbs
up to all the folks that put their work out there to be gawked
at by thousands of OTHER woodworkers. A great job by all.
Of course, there was pretty much the usual collection
of vendors there, although to tell you the truth, I thought
that there were fewer this year than in previous years. For
example, Highland Hardware either did not have a presence
there, or I just inhaled stupid gas and missed it. Kind of
a shame, too, as I always like picking up one of their Woodslicer
bandsaw blades at a slight discount... Way too many fun toys out
there to play with, including that massive collection of tool porn...
the hand plane table from "you know who". A lot of drooling guys
clustered around THAT table. It seemed like there were some
decent deals to be had too...for example, I picked up a 48" chunk
of "T" track from The Woodworker's Supply (show hosts), with four
clamps for $20. Considering that I paid $25 for the same blasted
thing last year...That was not bad. Actually, it seemed like
there was a whole lot more "obvious" discounting going on...with
a bit more stuff being discounted, and, some larger percentages
than in the past couple of years.
I don't recall (alas), who had brought it in but, I did
see one toy that was just mind-boggling. It was a combination
12" jointer and 1" (or perhaps 1 12") shaft shaper. It was fairly
huge, and, not only was it WAY too expensive for me, I would have
to do a bit of re-arranging in the shop get it floor space...
What re-arranging you ask? (thanks...) I would have to move
the bloody walls out about 10' or so in at least ONE direction!
Still, it was pretty fun to see, and, at least have a LITTLE
wet dream about *smile*.
Now...if the ice storm had only held off until SUNDAY....
Still, it was pleasant enough to hang out at my sister's house,
and spend the day visiting, poking around on the net, getting
wiped off the map at Grand Turismo, and, generally spending
quality time with them.
Sigh
Regards
Dave Mundt

(Dave Mundt) wrote:

Greetings and Salutations....
Just wondering if anyone ELSE went to the
Woodworking show at the Convention Center in Atlanta
this last weekend?
Yep. Few enough of us, though,

I was the guy in the black hat and long, black
leather coat wandering around on Friday
I was the one in jeans on Saturday.

....and if the
ice had not been 1/4" thick over everything on Saturday,
I probably would have gone back...
Wuss! g I was there Sat, and it was nice because there were NO
crowds. Kinda sad, though when I walked by a booth and the guy asked
if he could practice his spiel on me. Then I felt rude moving on,
since there was no one else at the booth, and not many more on the
aisle!

snip
There was a very nicely done dining table and
chair set. The table had a marquetry inlay, about 4"
wide, as a boarder, consisting of a background of birdseye
maple, with shaded "tree trunks" insert into it. Kind of
reminded me of looking through a light stand of poplar, or
birch, in the winter, with snow-covered ground all around.
The chairs seemed kind of "too upright" for me...rather like
some of the efforts produced by Frank Lloyd Wright. Well
made, but, kind of tall and did not look all that comfortable to
me.
The chairs were not my style, and your criticism may well be valid,
but the marquetry was beautiful on them as well, continuing what I
interpreted as a bamboo and leaf theme from the table. Did you notice
how the "pictures" on adjacent chairs were mirror images?


There were several "hall tables" there too, that were
pretty pleasing to the eye.
I liked the pair of triangular tables with the carving at each corner
that made the leg flow seamlessly to the top. Very fluid looking.

Of course, there was pretty much the usual collection
of vendors there, although to tell you the truth, I thought
that there were fewer this year than in previous years.
I missed last year, but it seemed much smaller than two years ago when
it was out in Gwinnett.
For
example, Highland Hardware either did not have a presence
there, or I just inhaled stupid gas and missed it.
No, you are right. I had to go down to Virginia Highlands to get my HH
fix this morning.

BTW, they closed the show early on Sat (4:00) which was a sensible
thing to do, since those of us with too little sense to stay home
might have stayed later, until the roads started refreezing.

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