Ally Pally Reports

[wizer]

Just got back from the show. First reaction is that it seemed to be a little bit smaller than last year. Apart from that it was all the same stuff. Not much in the way of hand tools unless you where a turner. Watched some good demo's. A German lady turning a bowl, Ben Russell carving & Ron Fox on worktop routing. I then promptly purchased a Trend worktop jig! There were less modern furniture examples this year. Infact there where less examples altogether. Lots of turning going on, hard to resist getting a lathe. The worst part of the day was seeing the SIP Cordless Saw I bought last week for £35+del was on special for £20! :shock: Best part of the day was watching Ben Russell carving, which is something I want to get around to doing once this workshop is finished. Apart from the worktop jig, I managed to keep my hands in my pocket! :wink:

 

[RogerS]

..... hard to resist getting a lathe.....

Go on.....you know you want to :lol:

 

[DomValente]

Left the show early to watch Italy beat England, wasn't disappointed.

Ostensibly I went to the show to meet the faces behind the names, well this time I wasn't disappointed, what a nice bunch of blokes.
None of us is pretty but plainly that's because of the hard lives we've all led and nothing to do with a misspent youth, great to meet you all.

Oh, message for Mrs.Waka, I can confirm that he had not bought anything to the point when I left, so if he does turn up with the new Festool saw blame one of the others.

Dom

 

[Nick W]

Good to meet the guys (again as appropriate).

Severely ****** that BriMarc didn't bother to turn up. Think I might be importing my Veritas stuff directly in future. :evil:

 

[RobertMP]

I thought it was small too but I didn't expect much so wasn't disappointed. Wasn't expecting the 'market stall' type setups selling what was mostly junk tools. There were a lot of woodturners. Names don't stick with me but I liked the hollowing jig one guy had with an overhead laser offset by the wall thickness projecting on to the workpiece.

Having metalwork experience I've been thinking about insert tools for woodturning - carbide tips screw fixed to a holder, and it was interesting to see a lot of wood lathe tools of that style being demonstrated (most likely not carbide though )

The Record Power demo of the big planer/ thicknesser/ table saw/ spindle moulder combi was interesting too. Impressive machine. £3000 - which seems expensive for hobby use but cheap by metalworking kit standards.

At metalworking shows at the NEC (where I actually knew what I was looking at) they would always demo with 18g mild steel - one of the easiest materials to work there is. Couldn't help wondering if the woods used for demo were chosen on the same basis.

It was amusing as a newbie seeing the 'experienced visitors' with their backpacks and trolleys grabbing every brochure and freebie they could and shopping for bargains they probably didn't need

Learnt a lot just looking and have a few things I want to learn more about so it was worth while going.

 

[King Corragate]

I have also just got in from the show. As a regular for last few years I thought it was smaller,too many junk tool stands (there is normally only 2),
some bigger names missing and demo areas small. but I did find Helga Beckers masterclass very good .Its nice to see a different aproach,overall show was just about value for money.

 

[paulm]

Good to meet people again after the Big Bash, and a few new ones too.

Couldn't hang around as I had to get back to watch Scotland beat Wales

The show was pretty small, no Axminster or Brimarc which was pretty dissapointing. Managed to pick up a bargain Metabo 12v drill driver though, complete with 25min charger, two 3amp/hr NiMH batteries and torch for £59 :shock: Looked like it had had some use though but well chuffed with that, and of course the obligatory couple of Bessey clamps and a rather good bacon buttie :lol:

Bit of a long way to go though for the size of it and considering the £9 or so entrance fee as well. Might give it a miss next year, but then I always say that !

Would be more compelling if you could get some LN or Veritas gear there, needs Martin Brown and Mike Hancock to make it more worthwhile perhaps.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Vormulac]

I had finally decided to bite the bullet and start my serious plane collection ... I mean ... set of tools with a Veritas block plane (know my limits, crawl before I can walk etc etc) and so was rather peeved to see that Brimark hadn't bothered to turn up.
It was terrific to finally meet so many forum members as I missed Philly's big bash last year, what a cracking bunch of blokes. Mind you, you lot would give my mates a run for their money in the "buy it - you know you want to" stakes. I think there were 5 of you at one point trying to get me to empty my pockets at the Fein stand! :shock: :lol:

In the end, my fortitude did stumble, Waka, I came away with a Trend diamond bench kit and if they had taken amex I would have had a novelty Rali plane too :lol:

I didn't get around to seeing any masterclasses this year, but there's always next time. Very much enjoyed myself

 

[Anonymous]

Doesn't sound like I missed much, then.

I've never been to a woodworking show, despite having been in the trade for years. Which one(s) do people suggest I put in my diary for this year? Please bear in mind that I haven't been south of Stoke since about 1989!

Cheers
Brad

 

[Escudo]

What a great day out, wondering round the various stalls and seeing all those lovely tools in the flesh.

Impressed by the festool stall, and woodrat system. The various vicmarc lathes in operation here and there caught my eye.

Also enjoyed meeting all the forum gang. Enjoyed a nice pint with waka and vormulac. Nice to meet Philly, Nigel, Paul and Martin I think as well.

Managed to leave with out buying anything (well - apart from beer and a hot dog). Still it was very good recon.

I am glad I made the effort to go. Cheers all Esc.

 

[Mike.C]

DomValente,

Left the show early to watch Italy beat England, wasn't disappointed

England 20 Italy 7

Cheers

Mike

 

[Philly]

Hi Folks
Was great to meet up with so many of you! There are some pictures here to keep you going........
Cheers
Philly

 

[DomValente]

DomValente,

Left the show early to watch Italy beat England, wasn't disappointed

England 20 Italy 7

Cheers

Mike

Hmmm. Freudian slip ???

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Severely ****** that BriMarc didn't bother to turn up. Think I might be importing my Veritas stuff directly in future. :evil:

Their web site says, "Ally Pally in conjunction with Powertek Tools Ltd., Watford."

Cheers
Neil

 

[Alf]

DomValente,

Left the show early to watch Italy beat England, wasn't disappointed

England 20 Italy 7

Cheers

Mike

Hmmm. Freudian slip ???

Dunno about that; think Italy had the moral victory...

Cheers, Alf

 

[Nick W]

Severely ****** that BriMarc didn't bother to turn up. Think I might be importing my Veritas stuff directly in future. :evil:

Their web site says, "Ally Pally in conjunction with Powertek Tools Ltd., Watford."

Cheers
Neil

Sorry Neil, but I don't understand your point. This page seemed to me to say that BriMarc would be there, but there was no BriMarc stand, and no other stand with (more than a minimal amount of) Veritas kit on it.

Something I did pick up was that Bosch are bringing out an impact driver with a similar form to, and the same batteries as, their little 10.8v screwdriver, in Q2. No not the IXO (Brief Review: Pants) but the GSR 10,8V-Li (Brief Review: Scads better, bordering on the briliant, only missing that 'cos of the position of the light). So I shall be snapping one of those up as soon as they come out.

 

[RogerM]

As a regular for last few years I thought it was smaller,too many junk tool stands (there is normally only 2).

I agree with the "too many junk tools" thing. You can get those in any street market in the country without paying a £9 admission fee. But there was some really good stuff as well. Had a very informative 1:1 demo of the Wood Rat from Martin Godfrey which made the day worthwhile in itself. Also very good to meet a few forum members face-to-face after all this time (Colin, Vormulac, Philly & others) although sorry it was so brief as I had to get off to see a Ron Fox router demonstration.

There could have been more furniture and general WW projects on display, although there was lot's of woodturning and marquetry, which although not my thing, was still to be admired. My first Ally Pally show was in 1984 where I bought a very basic Consort table saw which was a pig to adjust but just kept going - I was quite glad when it finally packed up last year and I didn't bother with a repair - just glad to see the back of it! Prices much lower now in real terms. Overall, "a grand day out".

 

[Paul Chapman]

This page[/url] seemed to me to say that BriMarc would be there, but there was no BriMarc stand, and no other stand with (more than a minimal amount of) Veritas kit on it.

It was disappointing not to see Martin and the rest of the BriMarc team there. I'm sure they would have done well because hand-tools were a bit thin on the ground and people in general seemed keen to see hand tools. Mike Hudson of Clifton was kept very busy demonstrating his planes - he even gave the Clifton Multiplane a whirl. I tried it out and it is very nice. A bit smarter than my old #45 and #405.

The impression I always get is that a lot of those attending do want to see good quality hand tools and are very interested in things like honing techniques which Mike was also demonstrating (and giving the Veritas Mk2 jig some good plugs ).

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Martin Brown]

I am sorry that we do not have a solo stand this year however we have opted to attend with retailers.

We have found this show has declined in sales and influence for us to such an extent that we cannot afford to have a show that loses large amounts of money. We have decided it would be better to invest in other avenues such as retailer web listings, shows like Westonbirt and improved retail coverage.

I would hotly dispute that we could not be bothered, we have 3 members of staff there and precence on 2 retailer stands and have invested at least £4000 overall.

With sales down 70% against slow sales last year I believe we have made the right decision. This sort of decision is always up for review.

Anyone who was particularly looking for something is welcome to PM me for a special offer through our retailers.

Martin (seething at the "can't be bothered" comment)

 

[Vormulac]

Hi Martin,

One such comment was mine, it was a throw-away comment born of frustration and I apologise unreservedly for any offense I might have caused you. It's interesting to hear that Brimarc *was* represented, as I had a good old mooch around the show several times and saw no indication of this.
Nevermind, maybe next time.

All the best and here's to hoping for an improvement in sales!

V.