Safe arrival at Get Woodworking Live at Alexandra Palace

We made it in five hours, hit London and, as always for London, started running ahead of myself to try to catch the pace. We had a safe passage all the way from the beautiful Snowdonia mountains to the epicentre of woodworking commerce and had no problems with traffic hardly at all. Unloading at Alexandra Palace was a breeze too. Drove straight in to the event, parked the van inside the main event hall and had it unloaded in record time.

The booth slotted perfectly into the space (always good to rehearse before glue up) and we had everything in place within three hours. Tweaking everything takes another couple of hours, but I have to say it was an easy set up.

Here’s how the new booth looks and that’s John Winter fixing the New Legacy signs in place. It has been great working with John who is so meticulously detailed. I would like ten more Johns to work with. Imagine what I could do with ten people with a desire to be furniture makers!

Met up with my fellow Masterclass teachers one by one during the afternoon, which was of course fun, and shared philosophies and stories of woe in the woodworking scene.

Tony Murland (see earlier post) is two steps from my booth and he has tons of old and not so old user stuff with him. Never seen so many drawknives and inshaves in one place. Must get by there early tomorrow before the show opens and take a closer look. I don’t want to miss a good tool so close to me.

Mike Hancock from classic hand tools came by too. He also has tons of upper-class stuff there, all new of course, so I must stop by there too. I spent some time with Tony Iles of Ashley Iles fame and will be doing an article on how hand tools should really be made. After the show I will be visiting the factory to get the inside information from him and his family. I love to see family-run businesses succeed to the ensuing generations like this. We’ll see more of this type as I search Britain for its hidden masters. The Ashley Iles factory still uses a hammer forge and employs two fulltime blacksmiths. Let’s support those who work hard to conserve the art and craft of honest work.

Well, it’s about time for rest after a busy day. Tomorrow I will be interviewing people I know and will post again with some more up to date info from the Get Woodworking Live Show at Alexandra Palace.

Oh, by the way, my Masterclass tomorrow is at 3pm to 4.30pm  and on Saturday at 10.30am until 12-noon. If you get to the Get Woodworking Live Show please stop by and visit. We are in demonstrating in Booth B12 when not doing the Masterclass demonstrations. I look forward to seeing you here.