Melbourne Timber & Working With Wood Show 09 Day 1

Show Time!!

Had a great day one – still really enjoy wood shows.  The day absolutely flew past, so I have hardly scratched the surface of the displays that are there.  Good catching up with everyone who came along and said hi, and welcome to anyone who has now discovered Stu’s Shed because of the show.

I’m sure those who have taken the MagSwitch gear are already discovering why I like it so much 🙂

Vesper Tools, and the long expanse of Carrolls

Got to say hi briefly to Chris (Vesper) and see some of his latest creations.  What I like about his display, is even though the tools he makes are works of art (particularly those in the display cabinet), there is a wide selection of his products out on the bench where you can have the full tactile experience.  I will get more photos over the next couple of days of Chris’ tools, and the other stands around the place.  Today, I almost forgot that I had a camera with me!

A very busy Tormek Display

The Tormek guys are active as always, so a great opportunity to pick their brains about the finer points of show speed wetstone wheel sharpening methods, see the different jigs that are available (and pick up a T7, as quite a few appeared to do today – their stock levels where dropping noticeably quickly!)

SawStop

Gabbetts machinery were there with the full cabinet SawStop, as well as the more recently released contractor’s version.  When you hear an airhorn (approx every 2 hours), you better hightail it to their display because another hotdog is about to put its life on the line for your education (and entertainment).  No matter how many times I see it, I still enjoy seeing the SawStop mechanism render the saw safe in such an incredibly fast manner.

Carb-i-tool

Looking for a router bit? The the impressive range of Australian-made Carb-i-tool router bits is certainly worth a visit.

Impressive Burls

Some impressively large burls ready for finishing into unique furniture.

CNC Router from Carbatec

Looking a bit like a computer printer that carves, rather than prints on wood, this CNC router is running during the day, demonstrating how it created the Carbatec sign seen here.

That would certainly make routing rather easy!

Closeup of CNC-carved sign

SitCo Australia with Queen Ebony

I first came across SitCo in Brisbane, so it’s great to see them down here as well.  They have a really nice collection of Queen Ebony for sale, and you can get some really nice pieces without breaking the budget.  They also have some musical-grade timbers as well, but talk with Brian if you are after anything particular.  The end-grain of Queen Ebony is particularly impressive, and it is a very dense timber.  Lots of different shapes and sizes, so ideal for boxmakers and wood turners alike.

Turned Queen Ebony

A couple of beautifully turned bowls by Guilio Marcolongo, which are being silent-auctioned off for the Royal Childrens Hospital.  Doesn’t show up here, but the Queen Ebony has gone an incredibly deep black.  This is not ebonising, but is the natural colour this timber goes once it has time to oxidise.  To speed up the oxidisation process the timber is exposed to household ammonia.

So that’s all I have for day 1.  Sorry – was too distracted by the wood show!  Will try to get more detailed photos etc from the show tomorrow 🙂

SSYTC017 SawStop at Melbourne Woodworking Show