I knew that the plant existed and I believe the club may have visited it many years in the past, however this was my first trip so I wasn't sure what to expect. There's an interesting "Makita Workshop" room where all their current hand tool line is on display - I was especially impressed by their "beam saw" - basically a circular saw with a blade large enough to cut timbers for timber framing (wish I had gotten a good photo of it - I want one!).
Our hosts were very cordial and offered up donuts and coffee (you can see the empty box in the photo above). There was a separate table with many of their more common hand tools in "cut-away" form (love stuff like that):
The main demonstration and classroom is in an adjoining room - there were so many in attendance that we filled that room and over-flowed back into their Workshop (I took these snaps through the door):
The talks centered around some of Makita's award winning technology (batteries and their most recent brushless motors). In the next room we got to try out many of the tools (driving screws, etc into wood) - I think they gained many converts to battery tools from our group:
One of the things I really like about the GWA are these field trips as they allow us to view and experience woodworking related subjects that we would normally only see in photos (like these) or in video. I think everyone had a great time.
-- John
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