SWAT 2026 vendor list expands ahead of Waco symposium

The Southwest Association of Woodturners updated its SWAT 2026 vendor page on May 5, and the list tells attendees exactly what kind of trade show is coming to Waco: a place to compare tools side by side before spending real money. The lineup already stretches across chucks, sharpening systems, finishing products, blanks, workholding and specialty accessories, which is the kind of spread that turns a symposium floor into a buying decision, not just a browsing stop.

Among the exhibitors named so far are Craft Supplies USA, Robust Tools, Cindy Drozda Woodturning Tools, Carter and Son Toolworks LLC, Trent Bosch Tools, TurnTex, Hunter Tool Company, Matador Turning Supply, Segmenting Sleds and Fixtures, Woodturners Workholding Solutions and Woodturning Tool Store. That mix signals a vendor hall built for practical comparison. A turner trying to decide between a new chuck, a different grinding setup or a lathe upgrade will have real options to handle in person, not just photos on a screen.

SWAT says the 2026 symposium will run August 28-30 at the Waco Convention Center in Waco, Texas, and it will be the group’s 34th symposium. The event is slated to feature about 70 woodturning demonstrations from lead and regional demonstrators, with the vendor area and art gallery open to attendees and visitors. That combination gives the show a clear draw: learn in the demo rooms, then walk straight into the vendor hall and look at the tools, blanks and systems that the demonstrators actually use.

The vendor-registration page also makes clear that many exhibitors have shown merchandise there annually and are being welcomed back for 2026. For a community event, that continuity matters. It is how SWAT keeps the floor stocked with familiar names while still adding fresh choices for turners who want to upgrade a lathe, improve sharpening, or chase a cleaner finish on the next bowl or box.

SWAT’s own history puts the scale of the symposium in context. The organization began in October 1992, when a small group of Texas turners gathered under large live oak trees near the Colorado River in Columbus, Texas. Today SWAT describes itself as the second-largest woodturning symposium in the world, and it said that by its 25th anniversary in 2016 it had more than 1,000 attendees and 78 vendors. The 2026 vendor list suggests Waco is being built with the same formula that made those numbers possible: strong demonstrations, a busy trade floor and enough gear to keep turners comparing notes long after the doors close.