john
05-07-2007, 07:03 PM
Well not much done this past week.
The weather turned good again so during the early part it was back outside to finish spring clean-up, and repair the damage to my front lawn done by skunks digging for grubs. It looked like parts of my lawn were a garden turned over for planting.
Thursday we left to visit my son and family in London, Ontario. On the way, we stopped off in Toronto and I was able to pay a visit to the Canadian ShopSmith distributor. What a lucky move that was. Besides getting to see the 520 table upgrade, the lift assist, and other accessories up close, I was given an offer I couldn't refuse on a strip sander. Now I have to wait patiently for it to arrive in Toronto from Dayton and then from there to home.
I also had quite a chat with the owner on the status of SS in Canada and why he cannot afford to demonstrate at wood shows any longer. Essentially his profit margin is very low after paying for the product and shipping. That combined with the low price of offshore competition for stand alone equipment makes it difficult to market the SS in the quantity needed to support the expense of the show. Apparently in the heyday of SS he could sell about 50 units during a large weekend show. That is no longer the case. That's too bad as I always enjoyed watching those demos. That's what hooked me on SS in the first place.
Upon arrival in London, the first place I hit was the local Lee Valley store Ah that was like being a kid in a candy store. I only bought four items but later remember three others that I wanted but forgot to buy. The rest of the weekend was anticlimatic family visit.
Now with the return of good weather it will be back to repairing the lawn swing.
Happy woodworking!
John
The weather turned good again so during the early part it was back outside to finish spring clean-up, and repair the damage to my front lawn done by skunks digging for grubs. It looked like parts of my lawn were a garden turned over for planting.
Thursday we left to visit my son and family in London, Ontario. On the way, we stopped off in Toronto and I was able to pay a visit to the Canadian ShopSmith distributor. What a lucky move that was. Besides getting to see the 520 table upgrade, the lift assist, and other accessories up close, I was given an offer I couldn't refuse on a strip sander. Now I have to wait patiently for it to arrive in Toronto from Dayton and then from there to home.
I also had quite a chat with the owner on the status of SS in Canada and why he cannot afford to demonstrate at wood shows any longer. Essentially his profit margin is very low after paying for the product and shipping. That combined with the low price of offshore competition for stand alone equipment makes it difficult to market the SS in the quantity needed to support the expense of the show. Apparently in the heyday of SS he could sell about 50 units during a large weekend show. That is no longer the case. That's too bad as I always enjoyed watching those demos. That's what hooked me on SS in the first place.
Upon arrival in London, the first place I hit was the local Lee Valley store Ah that was like being a kid in a candy store. I only bought four items but later remember three others that I wanted but forgot to buy. The rest of the weekend was anticlimatic family visit.
Now with the return of good weather it will be back to repairing the lawn swing.
Happy woodworking!
John