[CharleyL]

Is anybody else going to the Klingspore Extravaganza in the Hickory Convention Center in Hickory, NC tomorrow or Saturday? It's the only woodworking show in the Western half of North Carolina, and it's FREE. 9 - 6 on Friday and 9-4 on Saturday. www.woodworkingextravaganza.com

I'll be there on Saturday, but I'll just be walking around and enjoying the show this year. I won't be demonstrating or teaching anything, as I have in past shows. I'll be wearing a tan baseball type hat that says "I MAKE Things" on the front of it. If you find me, please walk up and introduce yourself. It would be great to be able to match a face with your name.

Charley

 

[hawkeye10]

I sure wish I could attend Charley but it's way too far. I would like to meet you and I haven't been to a woodworking show in 30 years. They quit having them in Nashville.

Enjoy your self.

 

[DesertRatTom]

My wife wants to reward me for nursing her through her broken leg recovery. Hadn't thought of it, but I'd love to go to one of the woodworking shows. Anyone suggest the best bet. She'll buy the ticket to get there so location isn't as important as the scope of the show. When her leg gets better, maybe we'll go together.

 

[CharleyL]

This show is a little different than the traveling roadshow woodworking shows. They don't come to Charlotte, NC any more either. All we have here now is this one show a year, near the end of October every year, and it has been repeated every year for 18 years now. This show is entirely put on by The Klingspore Workshops which is a small chain of 4 stores that are located in or very near some of the larger cities of central NC. They also have a catalog and online sales operation. Their headquarters and original store is in Hickory and this show is also held in Hickory every year.

The show has about 40 vendor displays and demonstrations, free classes including 1 on 1 training, discounts on most purchases, and the area woodworking clubs are all invited to set up booths where they do demonstrations and sales of members projects. About 25% of the show space is also set aside for craft displays that are judged with prizes. There are also door prizes, with the grand prize being a $1,500 Klingspore gift card this year.

Over the years I have won several items at these shows, but nothing big. For me it was several woodworking books that I have enjoyed very much. One of our woodworking club's members won the $1,000 Gift card that was given away last year, and if I remember right, he bought himself a new lathe with it.

I've only missed 3 of shows in the 18 years that it's been running. I was in the hospital for two of them, and my car broke down on the way to one of them. It takes something like this to keep me away. I usually like to be there on Friday, opening day, but this year I am missing being there today because I have tile contractors remaking one of my bathrooms. But I'm going to be there tomorrow if at all possible.

Go to www.woodworkingextravaganza.com to see information about the show, and go to www.woodworkingshop.com to see their online catalog or request a full color mailed catalog. They are great people to deal with, and this is the voice of my own personal experience with them.
@DesertRatTom, If you fly into Charlotte tonight, I'll pick you up and take you to the show tomorrow morning, then bring you back to the airport after the show for you to fly back home.

Charley

 

[Danman1957]

I hope you enjoy the show. I went to a local show with one of my students on Wednesday. Bois Oeuvrés De L'Est( Eastern Woodworking) about 1hr 15min. from home. Pre-registration was only $10. I am so happy I didn't pay $20 at the door ! It was terrible !!! only high end machinery that only companies can afford nad some displays for finishes, and compressors and professional associations.
This show was aimed at pro shops that are considering new equipment, not for the average hobbyist. There was not one club on display. The only 2 things that really interested me were the CNC machines that I looked at and the finishing display that showed their epoxy used with live edge slabs. The CNCs were a 24 x 24 for about $6000 or a different brand had a 48 x 48 with a huge dust collector and installation included for about $15000. The epoxy required to do a nice live edge slab configuration would cost about $300. I have all these Walnut slabs that I could use, but at $300 each for epoxy, now I know why they sell for over $1000. So if I ever win a lottery I know where I can buy some pretty fancy dohickeys, but I was still disappointed in the show.

 

[thomas1389]

I'm impressed. The format seems better than most I've been to recently. Unfortunately it's 1200 km. south and a long drive. Maybe another time when I'm a little younger. I'm sure you'll enjoy the show. I know I would. (wood?)

 

[CharleyL]

The owner of the Klingspore Woodshops likes the club that I belong to Search Results - North Carolina Woodworker and has joined our group. He also frequently makes donations to the club's outreach program - a trailer full of tools that we take to any group who would like to get started in woodworking. We supply everything including some of our members who usually do 1 on 1 training of the students. The trailer and support team also goes to community days where we help anyone interested, to make one of several simple projects that we bring the materials for.

One of the projects is a light saber. We provide a hardwood blank that's pre-drilled for the student to put in a lathe and turn the outside of to make the handle. Then an 18" length of red, blue, or white PEX plastic tubing is pressed into one end of the handle, and a Harbor Freight cylindrical flashlight is pressed into the hole at the other end. When the flashlight is lit, the PEX gets an even glow the full length of it. Klingspore recently donated a huge pallet size box of hardwood shorts to us for making the handle blanks. A new project is a turned wooden whistle and blanks are also pre-prepared for making these. We also have several easy scroll saw projects for them to cut.

At every one of these shows, the trailer and a group of our members are there to help anyone interested, and we are provided with a 15 X 40' indoor booth to set up in. There are several other woodworking clubs that are also invited and set up in different locations in the show.

NC Woodworker is a "Virtual Club". We exist everywhere because we are on the internet. We don't have meetings or dues and no special place to hang our hats other than the website. We raise money to support the club and website through a raffle held every Spring. You can join free, and be a member for life free. Although the name is NC Woodworker, all of the surrounding States and even Georgia and Florida are considered our prime territory. If you ever lived, or will live, or are military stationed here you can join and once a member you can be a member for life, no matter where you live. Also, if you live outside of this area and you really, really want to be a member, you can quite easily talk your way in. Go to Search Results - North Carolina Woodworker and look around. We are very friendly and love to post pictures of our work on the site. I think you will like it there.

Charley

 

[CharleyL]

Well, I went to the show, and took a friend woodworker wannabe with me. We went our separate ways in the show because his interests are quite a bit different than mine, but we got back together for lunch, and then went to the Klingspore store just 2 1/2 miles from the show. My friend seemed to enjoy the store more than he did the show.

I bought two band saw blades, one at the show, and one at the store that wasn't available at the show. I own a band saw that requires 111" blades, so they tend to be a little difficult to find as this length is not as common as other sizes, but I managed to buy both sizes that I was looking for. He didn't buy anything at the show, but managed to find several items in the store that he wanted.

The show itself was very interesting for him, a little less so for me, mostly because I have been almost every year. I was hoping to find some newly released tools being demonstrated because I like to keep up with the latest. I also have a desire to see, touch, and feel the more expensive woodworking tools before I buy them and going to shows is the best way that I've found to be able to do this. There were many tool demonstrations, but I had seen all that were there in prior shows. I did enjoy all of the projects that had been put on display by the area woodworking club members though, and I got to meet two people that I had only known through the internet woodworking forums that I frequent. At least now I can put a face with their names in my mind. There were 6 different clubs represented there and each also had booths where they were displaying and selling projects as well as offering to help others learn the craft with some one on one assistance.

Charley