An alternative to the Wood Show Weekend

On the weekend before the Melbourne Timber and Working with Wood Show, a number of companies have opted to have their own weekend instead of trucking their gear/displays etc to the showgrounds.  It is on Friday October 9 (10 to 4pm) and Saturday (10 to 3pm).

They are coining the move as

and so on the weekend before the Melbourne Show, an alternative one is running in Braeside, South East Melbourne.  (Is that something like the Fringe Festival, an alternate to the mainstream Comedy Festival, which became successful it is an institution in its own right?)

It is at the Woodworking Warehouse, 11 Citrus Street, and will be attended by Woodworking Warehouse (obviously), Professional Woodworkers Supplies and Ideal Tools. (I also heard a rumour of Australian Furniture Timbers being there)

Combining the product ranges of these companies and there will be a whole stack of Woodman Group tools, Incra, Festool, Trupro, Wixey, Bench Dog, Tormek, Linbide, Woodpeckers and on (and on!)  That will obviously include quite a few of the tools I have reviewed on this site (and a whole bunch I am hoping to get to review one day……. 😉 )

It has been a very successful occasion in the past (there was one earlier this year), although I also heard a possibility that the BBQ sausages might get replaced with a spit roast (and after the little BBQ fire last time……..) but I may be wrong, the BBQ might be back in working order!  One way or another there will be something to partake of to keep one’s energy up!

And after all, who feels tired or hungry when there are lots of tools to look at, play with, see demonstrated, and take home!

T & T Design – Spider Sander

I showed a glimpse of the Spider in a recent YouTube chronicle episode but haven’t spoken more about it.  The Spider is a product from an Australian company – T & T Design.

It has a glass re-enforced polypropylene body, which is both strong and light.  The central section (red) is spring-loaded, which makes loading and unloading abrasive material easier, and there is a central ‘bolt’ to tighten the unit down on the abrasive.

Spider

The unit can be loaded with an assortment of abrasives – it is supplied with cloth backed abrasive sleeves, green scouring strips and sheet abrasive.

Drum Abrasive

Loaded with abrasive sleeves is probably the most common, and with that in place it acts very much as a traditional disk sander, with a difference.  That difference is how padded the sander feels during operation – I got a real feeling of (cushioned) control.  When the abrasive is too clogged / used, rotate the sleeves to expose a new surface.

You can cut sheet paper to produce a form of flap sander, or use scoring strips for polishing, and after that, let your imagination run.

Abrasive Polishing

So a rather innovative approach to using inexpensive abrasives, and at $A25 (+GST) it is not a particularly expensive tool, and a useful addition to the arsenal.