SEMA show

[enjenjo]

I am out here in Vegas, went to SEMA yesterday. Neat place. I saw a lot of the new stuff, some of it looks pretty good.

One trend I saw was using heat for a finish. A piece would be heated so it discolored in a controlled way, the clear coated in paint or powder to hold the color. I saw another one where the piece was discolored, then ground in a pattern before coating with clear.

Lots of new EFI stuff coming out, MSD has one that looks pretty good. And Holley has some new stuff out too.

I drooled over some of the new tools. I saw a nice Plasma cutting table, CNC, for under $5,000 without the plasma head. I looked at an electric DA that works as well as any air DA, with a built in vacuum, so there is no dust.

Lots of turbos and blowers for the LS Chevy, and new Ford engines. We are getting behind on the horsepower thing with our old V8s.

I am going back tomorrow, I never even got into at least two halls.

[kb426]

It's been almost twenty years since I've been there. I always had a great time. I'm sure you'll have many new ideas before you leave.

[jaybee]

Wow, that's great!  Glad to hear you reporting from one of the ultimate car guy destinations.

[Uncle Bob]

What struck me first about the show was, in comparison to the past two years, there were, for all intents, no empty booths!!  Maybe, just maybe, things are lookin' up finally.  Didn't ask around if booth rental had been dropped significantly as a draw, but even if it were, it's still a positive.

As Frank noted, there are plenty of new products popping up.........folks are still innovating.

[enjenjo]

The other thing that struck me was the amount of stuff the Chinese are making. Things you would never dream. Also it looks like India is an up and comer. I looked at several parts from India that looked to be good quality, and well made.

[Uncle Bob]

Your comment about quality should be a reminder for folks of our age of what happened in the '50s when everything marked "Made in Japan"  was automatically considered junk.

[enjenjo]

One of the things at SEMA that impressed me was this spot welder.  http://www.prospot.com/products/pr-2/    It will do several different weld modes, including a stitch weld mode that is really spectacular. Price is about $1200, but for sheet metal work, I don't think it can be beat.