Comments on: Weekend Fun, Woodworking Style

By: Megan Fitzpatrick

Megan Fitzpatrick — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:27:30 +0000

It’s not an “official” event…but I’m pretty sure you can talk a bunch of people into a walk up and down the Mainstrasse!

By: thomaswhoyt

thomaswhoyt — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:39:08 +0000

Where/When is the pub crawl? Isn’t that an annual event?

By: chetkloss

chetkloss — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:51:40 +0000

Mike,

Thank you for the reply and you make some great points. As a person whose been to every WIA conference, the environment you describe is not the one I perceived. I get far much more the vibe of “…the hole you drilled was 1 degree off plumb so we need to add 5 seconds to your time…”. It seems all about the competition – which, in my opinion, is bad.
The parts you reference about helping children or inexperienced adults with hand tool use is very good. Perhaps it was all in the timing but all I ever saw were people trying to compete and others who judged their work. I go to WIA for education and comradery. I’ll leave the competition to the HTO folks.
,,,Chet

By: Guy

Guy — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:02:09 +0000

Regarding other bouts –

How about Matt Cianci and Mark Harrell in a saw-off, Steve Shanesy and Ernie Conover in a turning contest, or a spelling bee between Don Williams and Roy Underhill using 18th century French woodworking terminology?

By: msiemsen

msiemsen — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:53:05 +0000

Chet,
At the Hand Tool Olympics we teach anyone that wants help. Many people come through that have never cut a dovetail or a tenon and we show them how, the same for shooting an edge and sawing. Last year I had a fellow comment that he learned more in ten minutes while cutting a dovetail then he had in 2 years of reading about it! The HTO is also a place for kids to have a first go at woodworking and get a few pointers, Dean helped a boy cut his first dovetail, it took the boy twenty minutes and his dovetail was very respectable! Keep in mind that the marketplace is open to the public as well as to conferees. There are quite a few parents that come through and enjoy watching their kids do the events. We try to have fun and entertain, we want to liven up the Marketplace, sometimes we need a little entertainment! Many people are too shy to compete in the events so we become a bit like carnival barkers to encourage them past their fear. There are people who don’t want to compete but just want to try out the tools, many people have never used a properly sharpened plane or handsaw before and we put their hands on one. We give away two equal prizes for every event to those registered for the conference, one for the overall winner and one by raffle to anyone who does that event. We do this so everyone has a chance at winning. I believe we are the only booth in the Marketplace that is not selling anything, but giving it away. I encourage you to stop by and have some fun and maybe even learn something in the process. Entertainment and education are not mutually exclusive, ask Roy Underhill!
Mike

By: chetkloss

chetkloss — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:33:22 +0000

Are the Hand Tool Olympics really that popular? I’ve always felt that their purpose was a little too much entertainment and far too little education. They certainly do take up a lot of space.
I can understand if I’m in the minority here but it’s something I’ve always wondered about.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Chet