The crates should be rolling in any day now for the April 17-18 Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event at the palatial shop and offices. Hours are Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
You can try almost every tool Lie-Nielsen has to offer, as well infill planes from Raney Neal of DAED Toolworks, and Juan Hovey, Juan Vergara, Planemaker. Mark Hicks from Plate 11 Bench Co. will present his solid traditional workbenches. Christopher Schwarz and John Hoffman have the latest and greatest products from Lost Art Press. Local members of SAPFM will also be there to demonstrate throughout the two-day period. I was told to save them the best benchesproblem is that I believe my Petite Roubo is the best bench here (of course, I do!). I am also shorter than the majority of the men who will be using it. They might settle for the second-best one. We will be there with demos, books, videos, and demos. Maybe Ill even use my bench! ).
For those of you from out-of-town, and those who have never been to our office before, here are some useful information.
How to Get HereWere located at 8469 Blue Ash Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. Google will direct you to the building’s front (where you can park but you must cross the railroad tracks to get to our entrance), but there is a parking lot at the back that you can access via a side street called Vorhees. You can reach it by turning on Sycamore Road (half block south) or Kugler Mill (half block north). Cross the railroad tracks to Vorhees. The tiny sign on the fence says F+W Media, but well also hang the PWM banner close to the gate. You will also find Lie-Nielsen signs directing to the various locations. (Its much easier than Im making it sound.) Watch out for Teslas when you enter the lot. They are always around and you won’t be able to hear them coming.
Where to Stay
The most conveniently located hotel is the Hannaford Inn, which is less than two miles and only one turn away. There are also many other options a little further away in Blue Ash. Click here to see a list of them and for contact information.
Family Fun
What can you and your family do while you’re at the show? The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal (an impressive Art Deco building just west of downtown Cincinnati) houses three museums (plus an Omnimax Theater): The Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Energy Childrens Museum and the Museum of Natural History and Science (Dont miss Tower A the original control tower for the train terminal, where you can get a birds eye view of the tracks its still in use today and explore artifacts from Union Terminals history.
And of course, the world-renowned Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is always fun to visit and in April, its a garden-lovers delight thanks to the annual Zoo Blooms flower displays.
Theres also the Cincinnati Art Museum in Eden Park, with more than 60,000 works of art spanning 6,000 years. Of note is the museums Cincinnati Wing, comprised of more than 400 objects from artists born in or trained in Cincinnati including a lovely collection of art-carved furniture (much of which was created by women around the turn of the 20th century) and furniture from the Shop of the Crafters.
Also in Eden Park is Krohn Conservatory, an Art Deco glass structure built in 1933 that houses 3,500 species of plants from around the world. The International Butterfly Show will open on April 16.
In the middle of downtown Cincinnati, youll find the Contemporary Arts Center housed in an impressive structure designed by Zaha Hadid.
Don’t miss the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center downtown. It celebrates freedom fighters from the Underground Railroad’s era to the present. It also houses the FamilySearch Center for anyone who is interested in their family history.
The Taft Museum of Art, on the east side of downtown Cincinnati, has masterpieces by Rembrandt and Whistler (among others), a delightful cafe and an impressive collection of furniture pieces. It’s also located in an elegant Palladian building from the early 1800s.
Just up the road in Mt. Auburn is the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, which commemorates the only person to serve as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and President of the United States.
Food
Im not too fond of chain restaurants, so here are some of my favorite local places.
A Tavola. This pizza restaurant is in the Gateway Quarter in the hot urban center (as are several of the others on my list), and one of the owners, Jared Wayne, is a woodworker (he built the bar and all the tables in the beautiful space). All the pizzas are made on-site, and they’re all delicious. There is also a new location a few miles from us in Madeira. However, I prefer the atmosphere of the downtown spot.
Senate. Located just a door away from A Tavola, this place specializes in homemade hot dogs/sausages (my favorite dog is the Croque Madame, with bechamel, black forest ham and a poached egg, served on a brioche bun). You could also eat their poutine every single day, but that would be a terrible idea. I am also prodigiously fond of one of their house cocktails, the Kitten Fizz.
Deweys. OK this excellent pizza joint is now a chain, with many locations in Cincinnati and beyond. But it started out as a local place, and Im glad its grown (theres one close to our office and one close to my house dangerous). All the crust is fresh, and tossed in front of a plate glass window (fun to watch while youre waiting for a table). My favourite? Pepperoni and goat cheese with red sauce.
5. Also in the Gateway Quarter is Abagail Street, a delightful wine bar with tasty Mediterranean food served tapas style. Try the chorizo-stuffed dates and lamb sliders.
6. And again, in the Gateway Quarter (are you sensing a theme here?) Tuckers is a traditional, family-friendly restaurant that serves great food and offers no frills. Get the goetta and have breakfast at Tuckers.
7. Melt, a hip cafe in Northside that serves delicious sandwiches (I love the Joan of Arc), and I hear the vegetarian/vegan fare is excellent (though I have not personally tried it).
8. And make time to visit Sotto, in downtown Cincinnati. I could eat every item on the menu. Delish.
And of course, theres Cincinnati-style chili (I prefer Skyline to Gold Starbut really, I prefer Texas-style chili which is darn hard to come by in these-here parts) and Graeters Ice Cream (though I also like Aglamesis Bros.)
Although I’m sure there are many more things I have forgotten, I believe this is a good place to start.
And I hope to see you on April 17-18 for the Lie-Nielsen Hand Tool Event.
If you can’t attend the event, but still want excellent instruction in hand-tool use, The Dovetail Collection includes my beloved DT layout, Hand Tool Essentials, Christopher Schwarzs 2-DVD Set Mastering Hand Tools, Hand Tool Essentials, Hand Tool Essentials, Hand Tool Essentials, Hand Tool Essentials, Hand Tool Essentials, Handplane Essentials, and Handsaw Essentials. The latter book is only available as a PDF.
Product Recommendations
These are the tools and supplies we use every day in our shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
