Heading North

[8iowa]

We're all packed and ready to head out early tomorrow AM. We plan to stay in Dayton Thursday night and take in Shopsmith's "annual grand clearance sale" starting Friday morning. It might also be a good Idea to stay Friday night and go to the Frank Miller Lumber Company's big sale Saturday morning - going to be a great trip for a woodworker!

We'll have to be careful driving our Gainesville Dodge "Gator Country" truck thru Ohio. Some people are still pretty bitter up there. I figure once we get to Ann Arbor the U. of Michigan folks will be much friendlier.

If things go well we will cross the "Mighty Mac" on Sunday. I'll be out of touch for awhile. I've got to open up our place and will be pretty busy for a week or so. In the meantime, keep safe and God bless.

[reible]

Have a good safe trip!

I will be in the UP within the next two weeks but on the western side... providing they don't get another 18" of snow like they did when had to cancel our last trip....... BTW they still have snow on the ground at some of the places.
This site has a camera pointed out the window at the Indianhead ski area only a few miles from where we go.
http://www.indianheadmtn.com/live_cam.php

Ed

[manvelar]

I hope you enjoyed the sale as much as I did. Worty of note was the ability to buy separate parts - enough of the right pieces to convert my 510 to a 520 - all for about $50.00. Sure the pieces weren't wrapped in styrofoam and were a little scratched up, but who cares! Next year, when SS announces this sale I'll make a post to let anyone interested know. I know that between the 520 upgrade parts and a bunch of other stuff at anywhere from 1/2 off to prices about 1/10th what I would normally pay, it is worth making a trip to Dayton. You'll easily save enough to pay for gas and a hotel room if needed. All this plus everything in the store was 15% off. I spent about $1000 for probably about $4,000 worth of stuff! (I fixed this post - I originally had the numbers reversed) For this reason I'll put up with living in Dayton for a while longer :)

[Bruce]

I spent about $4000 for probably about $1,000 worth of stuff!

Wow, what a deal! NOT! :)

[manvelar]

Oops - reverse the numbers. I was tired last night! Thanks for pointing it out. I also got a fairly nice antique rifle at the Hara Areana Gun Show and spent most of the evening shooting it so my sholder was tired and I couldn't type very well. Besides my dog ran away and my pickup truck broke down and my woman left me - I know, excuses, excuses, excuses. :)

[charlese]

Nice recovery, Andy!

[8iowa]

We arrived at our U.P. place Sunday afternoon and I've just finished de-winterizing the house and getting everything up and running again. The weather was wonderful during the entire trip - spring has arrived!

We were at Shopsmith at 8AM on Saturday and I bought quite a bit of stuff even though my truck was pretty full. My best deal was a new 240 Volt headstock which I had shipped to Gainesville. Another great deal was a Porter Cable 690 router, American made - not Mexico, for $90. They may still have some if any of you guys want to call Shopsmith's retail store.

I also enjoyed meeting and talking to Rober Folkerth, CEO, and Dave Folkerth, Sales Mgr., and Nick Engler, Nat'l Academy instructor. The Folkerth's were greeting and mingling with all the customers and are upbeat about Shopsmith's new business plan. Robert also told me that they have a new sales arrangement with Home Depot that is much better organized than the one with Lowes. In fact they were having the first Shopsmith Home Depot demo in Hamilton, OH on Saturday.

Let me tell you that Nick Engler is awsome! I attended one of his "sawdust sessions" on the Overarm Pin Router. This guy really knows woodworking and in Nick Engler Shopsmith now has a most valuable asset. I hated to leave. What a great day!

The next morning I was at the Frank Miller Lumber Company in Union City Indiana, where they were having their annual sale. For this yearly 8AM to Noon sale they bundle up lots of qtr. sawn hardwoods into 150 - 300 board feet packages at a steep discount. There were dozens of pick up trucks and trailers there. Obviously, serious woodworkers literly pounce on this annual opportunity. They also have exotic woods in their retail showroom which are also discounted 20% for this morning only. For those of you who are not familiar with the FM Lumber Co, this is a huge operation that specializes in quarter sawn woods and sells millions of board feet annually. They are a 100 year old company, located about 50 miles NW of Dayton. If you are ever in this area this is a must stop. Bring your trailer.