Wood Working & D.I.Y. Shows Tour Stop Friday and Saturday

Devout do-it-yourselfers made pilgrimages to the Fredericksburg Expo Center for a Wood Working & D.I.Y. Shows tour stop Friday and Saturday. According to a tour spokesman, nearly 5,000 people, mostly Baby Boomers into home renovation as a hobby, passed through the Expo Center doors during those two days—some traveling for hours from elsewhere in Virginia and out of state. About 40 exhibitors are involved with the tour, which features woodworking seminars, products and demonstrations. Nineteen tour stops have been scheduled this season, the spokesman said. "For some, it’s almost like a religious thing,” tour spokesman Bryce Beermann said. “One man said on our Facebook page that he wanted to make it to every single Wood Working Show this year—the way some people set a goal of visiting every major league ballpark. People like to hit as many of them as possible.” In the previous two weeks, the show had made stops in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Somerset, N.J., which is between New York City and Philadelphia. Next up are Atlanta and Tampa. At each stop, the event draws between 5,000 and 10,000 people, Beermann said. Devout do-it-yourselfers made pilgrimages to the Fredericksburg Expo Center for a Wood Working & D.I.Y. Shows tour stop Friday and Saturday. According to a tour spokesman, nearly 5,000 people, mostly Baby Boomers into home renovation as a hobby, passed through the Expo Center doors during those two days—some traveling for hours from elsewhere in Virginia and out of state. About 40 exhibitors are involved with the tour, which features woodworking seminars, products and demonstrations. Nineteen tour stops have been scheduled this season, the spokesman said. "For some, it’s almost like a religious thing,” tour spokesman Bryce Beermann said. “One man said on our Facebook page that he wanted to make it to every single Wood Working Show this year—the way some people set a goal of visiting every major league ballpark. People like to hit as many of them as possible.” In the previous two weeks, the show had made stops in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Somerset, N.J., which is between New York City and Philadelphia. Next up are Atlanta and Tampa. At each stop, the event draws between 5,000 and 10,000 people, Beermann said. Couples in their 50s and 60s walked around the Expo Center as wide-eyed as children in a toy store. Thomas J. McDonald, fine-furniture maker and star of PBS’ “Rough Cut: Woodworking with Tommy Mac,” appeared at the show Saturday. The time for McDonald’s seminar wasn’t listed on the event program. But several female fans camped out in his area—in front of large panels bearing his male-model-like image—to make sure they had front-row seats. One might have drawn the conclusion that they think more than his furniture is fine. Asked when McDonald was to appear, a woman who had been sitting in front of his floor station for some time said, “I wish I knew.” While most who attend tour shows are hobbyists, some have become professionals recently, Beermann said. He said some boomers laid off from corporate jobs during the recession have bought CNC (computer numerically controlled) wood router machines available at the shows. The machines combine computer programming with hardware to mechanically turn designs into products for their small woodworking businesses. He said the tools and devices on display at the shows “aren’t available at Home Depot and Lowe’s.” A few, he said, are modern departures from the painstaking hand craftsmanship of traditional woodworking. While CNC machines allow woodworking to be done at the “push of a button,” Beermann said, most of the products are the latest incarnation of tools that have been around for generations. Brian Heggestad of Columbia, Md., said he made the drive to Fredericksburg for the show Saturday to look at a new plane he’s thinking about buying for his home remodeling hobby. Heggestad kept hefting the tool—eyeing it almost lovingly. He said that while the products are not available at chain stores, they can be ordered online, “but you really have to hold them in your hands and get the feel of them before you decide if you want to buy.” Source: fredericksburg.com