I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get enough woodworking content. You’d think I’d be sick of it after all these years of making my own, but there is just something about a well-produced woodworking show that puts a smile on my face. I was thrilled to see a new offering from retailer Highland Woodworking. The show is called “The Highland Woodworker” and is hosted by Charles Brock, a well-respected furniture-maker who recently produced some of the best sculpted rocker plans I have ever seen.

This is not a typical project-based show. The first episode includes an interview with Roy Underhill, a visit to Whiteside to see how they make router bits, a look at workbenches, a visit to a lumber supplier to learn about walnut, and a look at a new finishing system. The show will be released quarterly and is every bit as good, if not better, than anything you might see on television. Kudos to Highland Woodworking and Charles Brock for producing a great show!

I do have to mention that the show is heavily ad-supported with significant time given to commercial messages. After all, the show is provided by a retail store. There is also an unexpected religious proverb plopped right in the middle of the video that seemed out of place. All in all, a super high quality production from a well-respected source. I can’t wait for the next installment! By the way, if you look closely during the Workbenches segment, you might see my signature from when I taught a class at Highland Woodworking. Look ma! I’m famous!

To sign up for Highland’s email list, click here!
Visit The Highland Woodworker website!

Our first two days were spent at the Festool booth doing demos. Not surprisingly, this year was all about the Kapex. Nearly every demo ended with the big question, “So how much does it cost?”. Most times I would tell them the saw is north of $1000, and point them to a Festool employee for accurate pricing information (I honestly don’t know the exact price). The most interesting part was watching the reactions. A few folks looked at me like I was nuts, but the vast majority gave me an approving nod, or simply said, “Not that bad.”, or ” Looks like a good investment.” Considering that the IWF audience primarily consists of pros and semi-pros, this was not all that surprising.

Incidentally, Festool and I put together a DVD of all of my Festool tool demonstrations (some have never been seen before). They were free at the show, and I brought a bunch back with me and would be more than happy to send them to anyone who is interested. Just email me your name & address and I will hook you up.*** We brought 50 of these back with us and they are all spoken for already. We will try to see if we can get more from Festool.

Day 3 was spent with our friends at Powermatic. We hung out in the booth, looked at some of the new offerings from Powermatic and Jet, and had the opportunity to chat with fans of the show (like Justin and Susan in the photo). It was great putting faces with names as well as meeting some folks who are just fans of the show, but have never felt compelled to comment or email me. If you took any pictures with us at the show, feel free to upload them to Flickr and then add them to the Wood Whisperer Fan Photos Group.

Day 3 was capped with our Wood Whisperer meetup. Over 20 of us gathered together at a local sports bar for some good eats and woodworking talk. It was an absolute blast! A big thank you to everyone who showed up. And I can’t forget to thank Hendrik Varju who hung out with us all night!

And finally on Day 4, we slept in. After two conferences in a row, Nicole and I were due for a little extra rest. Even with a late start, we accomplished quite a bit. This was our day to film Wood Whisperer content and “talk business” with vendors. As you will see in the upcoming video, we tried to focus on the newest and most interesting things. With only one day to walk the floor and so much ground to cover, I am sure we missed a lot.

One of the best parts of these large woodworking shows is meeting some of the better known woodworkers, authors, and editors. I had a long talk with both Ellis Wallentine from WoodCentral.com and Tom Hintz from NewWoodworker.com. If you don’t know these guys, you should. Before we had dozens of blogs to read (back in the olden days), there were only websites containing articles and collections of links. Two of my favorite distractions from my lab work at the time were WoodCentral.com and NewWoodworker.com. So it was a real honor to meet these guys in person. I also had a chance to catch up with “The Schwarz” and Mr. Glen Huey from Popular Woodworking, Anatole Burkin from Fine Woodworking, Hendrik Varju, Lucas Peters from Wood Magazine, Ian Kirby and Ernie Conover. I also had a chance to hang out with my buddy Kaleo Kala for a while.

I want to thank everyone who introduced themselves at the show. It was truly awesome meeting all of you! I also want to thank our sponsors, Festool and Powermatic for believing in us and allowing us to be a part of the “family”. And the most important thank you has to be reserved for Nicole. Without her help, guidance, energy and encouragement, I can assure you none of this would have been possible. Now I need to muster the energy to edit the video. Wish me luck!

If you want to see the full collection of pictures taken at the show, check out my Flickr Page.

*note- I apologize ahead of time for the sound quality. We did the best we could under the conditions we were presented with. Nicole did a great job keeping my energy level up and encouraging me to get these interviews so we all have her to thank for it. Enjoy!