When I was a small custom furniture and millwork shop owner, I had to watch my expenses very closely. And when I received a notice in the mail about AWFS that year (it was a long time ago), I thought about airfare, hotel, food, and admission costs, as well as the time I would be away from my shop, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth the money. 

At the time, I was thinking about buying a sliding table saw and didn’t have a clue on which one to buy, so I took the plunge. To save on costs, I decided to stay one night and walk the show for two days.

Upon arriving at the convention center, I stopped at the first table saw booth, listened to the sales pitch, learned about the features, and I test-drove it with piece of scrap wood. Then I went to a competitor’s booth, compared features, test drove that one, and moved on to the next. It was great! I even found brands I wasn’t aware of that even had sliders. I soon narrowed it down to two manufactures and bounced back and forth until I was satisfied with my decision. Whew! This one-stop-shopping saved me the time and frustration of visiting multiple showrooms hundreds of miles apart. I had peace of mind as I knew I made an educated decision.  

After I achieved my objective, I wandered around the show floor. Besides established brand name companies, there were smaller ones showing their wares, too. I discovered new products and others that I’ve see only in trade publications. I talked to the knowledgeable reps. Besides my new slider, I saw HVLP finishing equipment that had advantages like increasing material transfer and eliminating air supply contamination. I bought one on the spot; that purchase paid for itself within the year. I stopped by my hardware suppliers’ booths to resolve a few issues and got new specs and model numbers I might try. And I now had direct technical service contact names and numbers. Bam!
There were cool kitchen gizmos and lighting applications that gave me ideas for a WOW! factor on my next projects. There were upstart manufacturers introducing new ideas and innovations that were amazing, like pocket screws and biscuit joinery. Yes, there was a time when these things were new, and I saw them first at AWFS. 

As I wandered outside the exhibit hall, I discovered endless rooms where classes were going on at The College of Woodworking Knowledge (CWWK), which offers a series of lectures and demonstrations on a wide variety of topics. Cutting edge technology, systems, processes, HR, and admin, from finishing to CNC, veneering to 32mm, and so much more, all shared by industry leaders. I could spend the entire show in these classes and gain a lifetime of knowledge that I knew would increase my bottom line. I started to regret having only two days.

Especially in the early days, I didn’t get out much, and rarely mingled with people like me, woodworking business owners who enjoy talking shop. At lunch I had discussions about various tools and techniques, problems we had, and how to solve them. Bitched about bookkeeping, employees, maintenance and more. Everyone was open, and honest; this was very refreshing, and they weren’t trying to sell me anything. We were simply talking shop, and it was great! 
Working my way through the show, I started to gather catalogs. My daypack felt like a 50-pound bag of rocks. Luckily someone mentioned the shipping service they had just outside the show floor entrance. I dropped off my prized bundle of directories to be shipped home not to forget a nice collection of swag, ah yes, the free swag. Whew! I had two young sons at the time and knew it would be Christmas in July when I opened that package.

By the end of my second day, I started to panic that I wasn’t going to see or experience everything I could, because I simply didn’t have the time. Although I achieved my main purpose (that sliding table saw), I didn’t maximize my investment. I also realized that, although I was there to buy a slider, I was so glad to see what else was in my world. The woodworking industry as a whole was represented all in one place. 

Since that initial visit I’ve become a big fan of the AWFS, and now I stay all four days. It’s a show packed with information and innovation; it keeps me up to speed on trends; gives me direct access to my suppliers; and my bottom line is always better for the products and knowledge I bring home with me.

I can’t afford not to go.