Wood 06

[Freetochat]

Well Colin C, FreeToChat and Restorer were there ... where was everyone else eh?

Good to meet the lads!

Got to see the Festool Domino in action, nice bit of kit. If Father Christmas is listening it's top of my list.

A lot of machinery manufacturers were present which made for good viewing. I still like the Felder range, and their display showed how they have something for everyone from Hammer up to Format. I'd better keep doing the lottery to get into the top range.

 

[Colin C]

Did some one mention my name :roll:

It was nice to put some more faces to names and there was lots on my christmas list ( one day :roll: )

We have two more pic's for the rouges gallery :shock: :wink:

 

[SVB]

I got there but at 2pm so missed the meet - sorry folks!

It was the first 'big toys' trade show I had been to and i found it left me a bit cold.

I am not sure what I was expecting but my perception was 90% was aimed at dealing with flat (man made?) panels and their processing. I came away feeling like I had just done an afternoon factory tour at MFI

I am not sure whether the above was due to the fact that (a) I did not really appreciate what I was looking at or (b) my rose tinted view was that I was going to see equipment for professional craftsman producing quality items rather than a MDF factory?

I was expecting loads like Felder - ie top quality machines for use by professionals.

Am I alone in this view or was the majority what others expected?

Also, there was very little in the way of finished product to show what these pieces of kit turn out. The highlight for me (other than the laminate stand just down from Fiat's stand - those that went will know what I mean :wink: ) was a chair (upstairs of the sustainable timber house) that was loaned by a local furniture college to decorate the set!

Anyway, live and learn! I probably won't go back but it was interesting never the less.

 

[The Restorer]

Nice to meet you chaps.

I thought W6 was great. But then i was looking at it from a trade point of view.

You had machines there hooked up to dust extractors the size of houses churning out kitchen doors down to a couple of chaps selling gardening tools :shock: not sure what that was about.
The good thing was that you had time to meet and greet the people you talk to on the phone and put faces to names. That's really what it's all about for me.
It wasn't packed like APTC shows, you could stop and look and get individual tuition from people like Keith on the Brimarc stand (normally at least eight feet deep in people at other shows.

SVB - MDF is the product of choice for most commercials nowadays. And yes i know what you mean aboout the young lady on the veneer stand ( i had to stand there for a while because i'm sure i'd seen a rather fetching new type of veneer :shock: :shock: 8) :wink: :wink: )
Did you notice the complete lack of MDF dust anywhere in the air? extraction obviously worked.

No hand tools :shock: but then i didn't expect there to be.

Felder had taken 50% more space than previous show and the sales room was packed every time i looked so they were obviously churning it in.
Most of the kit is squarely aimed at trade use (with most of it being industrial scale, quality and price!)
But the likes of Festool were there although no discounts other than what you'd get through your supplier (policy!!! :twisted: )

Freetochat - I liked the domino, but i thought the Leigh FMT more usefull/easier and a Lamello would be better for flat panels (although i just use glue and clamp up in my Plano press).

I do wonder though why some of the bigger stands featured dolly birds and the same in their advertising, a bit like car shows (are we men really so shallow/obvious) on second thoughts don't answer that one!

At the end of the day i didn't spend anything :shock: although i have a few options open with various people to put in an order this week if i can get the items to fit :wink:

How do i access the rogues gallery????


See you guys again!

 

[Freetochat]

Freetochat - I liked the domino, but i thought the Leigh FMT more usefull/easier.

It's a difficult decision. I think you are right the FMT would have more uses, but for face frames and small M&T requirements I think the Domino would be quicker. Of course you have to build in the consumable costs as well. The domino's are not cheap at £44 a pack and replacement drill bits £20 against the FMT's router bits.

I do wonder though why some of the bigger stands featured dolly birds and the same in their advertising, a bit like car shows (are we men really so shallow/obvious) on second thoughts don't answer that one!

Most pleasing, even if I didn't need any laminate.

 

[orangetlh]

Was it laminate she was selling... didn't take much notice :wink: looks like she was wearing a few offcuts.

I enjoyed the show as a whole, i've never seen CNC machines running like that before, was mesmerizing. I had no intention of seeing any kind of hand tools, Axminster had a small stand but focused more on the Martin and rojec machinery. Was good to see faces of people from companies we deal with.

 

[Steve Maskery]

The domino's are not cheap at £44 a pack

True, but the shape of them is very simple. It's a piece of cake to run up a few metres with a tablesaw and router table, then you can cut them off to the length required very easily. You can't do that with biscuits. In half an hour I made more 6mm Doms than I shall use in a year.

 

[Freetochat]

The domino's are not cheap at £44 a pack

True, but the shape of them is very simple. It's a piece of cake to run up a few metres with a tablesaw and router table, then you can cut them off to the length required very easily. You can't do that with biscuits. In half an hour I made more 6mm Doms than I shall use in a year.

Steve - thanks for that. Just what I was thinking! I think Festool use beech for theirs!

 

[Nick W]

But aren't the Doms compressed and dried (so that in the presence of glue they expand) like biscuits?

 

[Freetochat]

But aren't the Doms compressed and dried (so that in the presence of glue they expand) like biscuits?

No they are just hardwood (I think beech)cut to shape! I did ask that question during the demo!

 

[Steve Maskery]

They are beech, but not compressed I don't think. They are quite snug already, so if they expand very much splitting is a risk. Also, for outside joinery, beech is less suitable than, say, iroko.

I've also made a waggleometer...

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.mask ... ometer.JPG

It has all twelve sizes of mortices in it, and helps me to decide which size is most appropriate for the job in hand.