Ive just got back to my Aunt and Uncles after an excelent day out! All the exibitors in the hand tool barn were excelent, I had a really educational chat with most!
Both our own Philly and Konrad Sauer were very kind to let me fondle their wares, even though I let them know I wasnt after a hand made plane today - but having tried them I would very much like to own a Philly skew mitre and a Sauer & Steiner smoother! I had a great chat with Konrad about the band "Tool" (he was wearing one of their t-shirts) and Philly about guitar building. Top blokes both of them.
I had a go on the planes on David Charlesworths bench, and I think this alone was worth the entry fee. David watched me take one stroke on the plane and just told me exactly what Ive been doing wrong and how to improve it. I felt a bit silly, being such a novice and having handled that amazing Holtey!
I spoke to Con Rendell for a while about the differences between solid body and acoustic stringed instruments. He has really inspired me to try building some of the more strange instruments Ive been planning. All of the Luthiers I have ever met are characterised by their openness and willingness to share, and Con is no different.
Richard Maguire was very kind to answer my questions about his very chunky workbenches. I was most impressed with the Benchcrafted hardware!
I had a long chat with Mick Hudson and played with the 5 1/2 for a while. I was planning on buying one at the show anyway, and I am glad to say the demo plane was all I expected of it and I placed an order for my own 5 1/2.
I was also planning on buying an Aurou rasp, and Michel helped me pick out the correct one for me. I was planning on getting a 10" grit 10, but I ended up with a 10" grit 7 which will complement my Veritas spoke shave very nicely.
I wasnt expecting to like the power tool barn so much, but I was proven wrong - I learnt alot from taking with the Trend and Record Power guys. Ive been planning on upgrading my router for a while, I saw the discounts on the T10 at the Trend stand and the discount alone paid for my train fare down from the icy North. The router isnt my favourite tool, I would prefer to have bought more planes, but my Bosch really is rubbish so Im glad that I have finally replaced it.
Of course, the CHT crew were good as ever - my thanks to them for a brilliant event! I would definiately come down again for next year!
Also, the punters were a fine bunch - I had a few chats with some of the
regulars on here, really nice people!
