Harrogate reviews

[Duncan A]

I used to go every year, but haven't bothered this last five years or so and Lockdown broke the habit. I never did find it a pleasurable experience. All the jostling, the noise of power equipment, most of which held little appeal, crowds round demonstrators, dodging mobility scooters, crowded refreshment area etc. The pictures at the website makes me empathise with sardines in a can:

Home | The North of England Woodworking & Power Tool Show

Quite why the likes of Axminster bother to attend now their internet business is so well established, I can't imagine. The huge costs of mounting their stand must be disproportionate to any marginal benefit they derive. Their store opening hours are 8am - 5pm Mon-Fri, and 9am - 5pm Sat.

It must take days if not weeks to prepare for the show, then for staff to travel up from Devon and other locations, stay overnight for maybe four nights, travel back, unload, and meanwhile, having to staff their shops, and deal with their online business, (which must be the bulk of their turnover). But that's a matter for them - not me.

It doesn't cost much for me to attend - two hours drive plus a ticket, plus a day lost from doing something maybe more pleasurable, productive or hassle free. If Axminster stayed away, they'd save all the hassle and expense and could offer discounts instead. I had an email from Turners Retreat, offering the same show discounts which I could avail myself of for the three days of the Harrogate Show with a couple of mouse clicks, as follows:

Quote:

Can't make it to Harrogate? Shop our HUGE savings online from the comfort of your own home. Hurry - Offers end Sunday!

Six Piece Turning Tool Set Was £324.06 This weekend £200.00

Sovereign Hollowing Starter Set Was £402.96 This weekend, £299.99

8" Bench Grinder with Universal Sharpening System
Was £440.36 This weekend only £200.00!

ProEdge Deluxe WPED01A Was £554.10 This weekend only £482.00!

Unquote.

I'm not in the market for any those.

Having said all that, it's great to see that after two plus dreadful years of Covid19 and lockdown, it's faded from our minds, this show and other such events have bounced back, and the term 'social distancing' has become an irrelevance.

I'm baffled by the bench grinder sharpening system "offer"
Usual price for grinder £110
Usual price for RS 447 jig £165
Usual Total for both £275
These prices are pretty much anywhere other than Turners Retreat where they are claiming that the grinder is usually £275 and the total is £440.
Turners Retreat asking £200 for both is actually a good deal but claiming to save £240 is really not on for a reputable company.
I'd like to think that this is a copy 'n paste error. If not - very disappointing!

 

[Doug71]

I went today, it wasn't very busy which I liked.

Because it was quiet I spent longer than I usually do there and got to have a good play with everything that I was interested in.

Came home with a little square from Woodworkers Workshop and some Mirka sanding discs that I needed, sounds like they are releasing a belt sander which could be interesting.

Good day out, I enjoyed it

 

[Lons]

I remember a few years ago one of the biggest complaints at this & other shows was lack of seating, Newark has additional seating to that of the cafe I just presumed Harrogate had followed suit

Might be Doug though I noticed there was also an area next to the gents as well so quite a lot of extra seating. I would have thought most people would want more stalls though as that's the main purpose of the show. You can't please everyone I guess.

 

[Doug B]

I went today, it wasn't very busy which I liked.

Because it was quiet I spent longer than I usually do there and got to have a good play with everything that I was interested in.

Came home with a little square from Woodworkers Workshop and some Mirka sanding discs that I needed, sounds like they are releasing a belt sander which could be interesting.

Good day out, I enjoyed it

No LO 55 Doug

 

[Doug71]

No LO 55 Doug

Not yet, I'm waiting until they release a cordless version............

 

[Doug B]

Not yet, I'm waiting until they release a cordless version............

Cordless jigsaw in the new year

 

[Nick Laguna UK]

I haven’t been for a couple of years so my perception may not be accurate but I also felt it was quieter and smaller.

I didn’t see any presence from Clifton/Thomas Flinn which is a shame as they are a genuine UK brand and not too far away from Harrogate.

Being in the market for a trim router there didn’t seem to be any bargains.

Shane Skelton is always interesting and good to meet @Nick Laguna UK. Also good to see Tom Thackray Windsor Chairs are still there - great traditional woodworking being taught in the face of the onslaught of the cnc machine!

Hi @Blackswanwood - big thanks for dropping by and saying hello - it was nice to meet you & put a face to the name.

My experience was it felt like a very different show this year from a sales/exhibitor point of view & from speaking to other exhibitors I know quite a few said the same.

Lots of volume sales on smaller items sub £50 - but higher priced machinery needed consideration, as to be expected considering the overall economy out there.

That said, we had a good show overall and sales were up on last year.

For me personally, Sunday was the best day by far (It always used to be Friday for high value - Friday was not the best for me this year), but Sunday was superb for sales - There were three Fusion 3 table saw sales within 40 minutes at one point in the day!

We certainly enjoyed our first cold beers back at the hotel late on Sunday night after we had finally loaded all the machines back up into the vans in that unique wet type of Yorkshire rain - It's a hard slog getting all the stands prepared and packed up

Cheers,
Nick

 

[bilboburgler]

My first visit, mainly to pick up material to help me to return some goods to one of the demonstrators (no names). I work with the Otley Maker Space (about 20 minutes south of Harrogate) and I thought the show was bigger than I expected. CNC machining seemed underrepresented. Armstrongs and Charnwoods seemed busy both with a complicated range that was not explained. The Wadkins area was heaving with international names that did nothing for me. The tatty cheap tools sections were just that. Turning was well represented. I liked the chance to chat to Mens Sheds and the local Yorkshire clubs. I also appreciated the chance to talk to other owners of equipment to see if we could swop solutions to design faults. The UK plastic chisel sharpner guy was interesting, though the product looked cheap and nasty, only afterwards did I find competitor products which were based on a similar principle but more robust, sad to see a British manufacturer making something like that, but I guess there is a price point for everything

 

[johnnyb]

No my understanding is he was a cabinetmaker who developed the entire concept. Very obviously when you saw his slick demos. ( all of the above is from him tbf but I took it in good faith) he partnered up with a company who then eventually sold the idea to trend( fastrack) actually it worked really well. At a traditional woodshow I felt cnc was overrepresented tbh. This was championing heritage skills but manufacturers are solely interested in selling more stuff I guess. But I suspect you just need to wait a year or 2 to see it flood in.