Handworks 2017

[Rob Young]

a 25-30 hour drive for me.

I suggest an early start then.

[Chris Watson]

Bruce,

Good to hear she enjoyed it. Hopefully mine will to. Fingers crossed.

[AHill]

Iowa is one of the 6 states I've not been too.  I'm seriously considering going to this one.  By then I'll have 2 good knees (had a total knee replacement on my right knee last year, and following up with the left knee in a bit over 2 weeks from now), so it won't be such a chore to walk around.

[Bibliophile 13]

Ooo, road trip opportunity! Let me see if I can talk the wife and kids into it.

[tablesawtom]

Amana is always an interesting place to go to. There are lots of places to go and see, and I was there last week in fact. I was at the last two handworks. The high lite last year was the tour of the Amana furniture factory. It lasted a couple of hours and worth every minute of it. I live 2 1/2 hours away and I am not planning on attending again. I guess I have been woodworking to long to get excited over a lot  high priced objects that I don't need. I went to the WIA in Kansas City last fall and after reading all the hype I was really looking forward to it. Drove 6 hours and was finished in the trade room in less than 1/2 hour.

I have been to 2 or 3 Lie Nielsen events besides handworks. And yes they make some fine tools. And I almost lust after their fishtail chisels. But I simply can not pay $78 for one, it is just not in the budget. I would really like to have their dovetail saw, but my $17 crown gents saw really dose do the trick. If you have never been to a LN show then one could spend an hour or two there but if you have seen it maybe ten minutes. And the list goes on. I started wood working seriously in 1973 And I guess I have been down that desire road to many times.

Jammial,  I am sure it is spelled wrong, has done a lot of great work, and I mean a lot of great work, just to put to put the show on.  Amana is a beautiful setting. And the wife will love spending the day looking through the shops. Basically one can walk every were. I love the fried pototoes at the Ronnenburg. But like the WIA shows it is not the holy grail. There is an old saying in the tool and die trade, which is, time in the chip. Skill is acquired by doing over and over and over and there is no short cutting the learning curve. And not to bad mouth a product but one can saw an angled line just as easily with a $17 Crown gents saw as he can with a $235 saw from Bad Axe. But if the Lord has blessed you financially, good for you, go for the LN.

If Frank Klausz was there I would go in a heart beat, But I wouldn't and haven't purchased a plane ticket and made hotel-motel reservations just to go see him. Handworks is a very good show if you are close by all means plan to attend but it is not the Holy Grail some would lead people to believe.

Tom

[Mike Brady]

Tom, I understand your feelings completely.  Your perspective reflects "your time in the chips".  This will be my third visit to the Amana event.  For me , anticipating it is half of the fun.  I'm not as pumped up about the tools as I am meeting up with some old friends I don't see very often.  The setting is unique as well.  The whole scene is something I know I would miss if I didn't go.  

Personally, I'm glad that the vendors do so well there.  They work long, hard days to achieve that success and it is breakthrough for them to be accepted as a vendor.  I have personally talked to one plane maker who deserves to be there but can't seem to crack the code for entry into list of the invited sellers.

This event is only once every two years, and has now fits into this venue very snugly.  They also could easily charge admission and get the nearly the same attendance.  I don't know how long it can remain in tiny Amana IA.  Hotels within 30 miles of that area will be sold out well before the date of the event (It's also U. of Iowa graduation).  Anyway it would not have anywhere near the atmosphere it now has if it was in some expo center somewhere (like the WIA you attended).

[Handplanesandmore]

For someone who has got himself involved with woodworking since 1973, that is a long long time and I am not surprised that no woodworking shows seem to hold any appeal to him. Unless you are in the business of showing off your tools (e.g. via the social media), publishing your work, promoting a line of goods (subtly or because you're sponsored), or supporting some hand tool makers, the need for buying expensive boutique tools isn't there. Of course, I didn't include those who can't stop buying new toys -- and there are many out there (I know of a local hobbyist who has owned 7 fancy dovetail saws, even though he doesn't cut many dovetails at all, not to mention many other boutique gears in his shop).

I attended the second Handworks and will skip it this time as I see no significant new vendors or products on the line. May be I will go back if they have it again in 2019 and that's about right with a four-year gap and hopefully, we will see new players in the field.

Simon

[tablesawtom]

I have to agree with what Mike Brady had to say. I believe it is Bench Crafted out of Ceder Rapids sponsors the show. Which means does all the work Etc, Etc. The area is rich in wood working history. The buildings and the settings are nostalgic. One can't go wrong eating anywhere there, But I hope I am allowed to like the Ronnerberg"s fried potatoes.

There is also several places to do wine tasting and it has a craft brewery. The meat shop, about a block or two from the show makes great beef jerky and beef sticks. And there are lots of shops for the wife, everyone, to visit. If the Furniture Factory has tours again it is almost a must.

If you wish to see old friends it is a s good a place as any. And if you can afford to go more power to you. 

But it is not the holy grail. It is just a lot of very high priced tool vendors at what is becoming a prestigious event. it is very easy to get caught up in the moment. Need and want are two intirely different animals. I probably shouldn't have responded to the post in the first place because I am a professionally trained in metal working. Wood is just a different medium. I am a trained builder and when I listen to a trained sale person ply his, her trade, I just wonder. I think of the New Concepts fret saw and him saying what is wrong with other inferior fret saws and why theirs is so much better at over $100 and my question is why do I need a fret saw in the first place. I do mostly cabinet work and I haven't needed one yet.  I recondition metal planes, aso some of you know and I doubt that the high dollar infill will produce anymore work than mine. And my work is a fraction of the cost. 

On a shorter trip, with the distance from point A to point B being the same being and if the speed limit is observed, A Ford and a BMW will get there at the same time and the comfort level will not be much of a issue either.  A to B is not a six months road trip and neither is wooding working  as a hobby. That is a little time for yourself after every thing else is done.

If God has blessed you and you can afford to go, no matter where you live then by all means see it at least once. You worked for the dollars you have and if that is how you wish to spend it then by all means go and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I have been there twice.  But it is just a high dollar show and that is all it is, even if it is in a nostalgic setting. High dollar tools don't equal skill. You get that the old fashion way you earn every penny of it. All I am trying to say is be careful out there.

If I have in some way come a crossed as trying to tarnish the show then please forgive me because I am sorry I am not. 

Tom

[RonB1957]

I can only speak for myself, but what I enjoyed the most about the one I attended was the Bed and Breakfast, and the casual conversations at same. Exchanging of ideas gets a more personal touch as it should and if one simply chooses to relax in the surrounding area its nice too. My spouse and I enjoyed the peacefulness of it all. The people of the area were very polite and helpful and I would think it is a small boom to the local economy as well.
If all else fails, you can just go to get away for a few days. :