Funny you should find it in MEN. I read that magazine for years after its first issue. Musta given away a few hundred copies. Glad that stuff is online.
nb
I hope the DIY's come out on the Internet. I have already seen some pretty useful ones.
What I really want to see is something you have to bring home and assemble that comes with a link where you can watch the assembly of the exact product on the Internet.
That's almost been done (remember "Home Improvement?")
The problem with PBS is that it gets a lot of "donations" from the folks who make stuff they install. If they make it look too bad or hard the effective sponsors will not be happy.
It is pretty sad that part of the launch reporters feel the need to report that nothing is falling off the shuttle, though. :)
I haven't built one but I plan to. I think the key to success is making sure you have enough sand in the mix to control shrinkage. Otherwise when it dries it will crack and it will fall apart possibly into what you are cooking.
MEN has an archive CD available and it's only $60. It goes back to
1970...notbob wrote in news:eBjkm.79594$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe07.iad:
I chose that bit because a guy I worked with did roofing on the side and actually did it. Firemen brought him off the roof with a strap around his thigh and lower leg to keep it from unbending it and moving. It was pinned.
A 1-1/4 is a lot different than a 16 but then again, I never heard anyone actually make a choice between the two.
I don't like the idea of dumbing it down too much either. There's plenty of shows that do that already ~ shows that with a budget of .69 cents and some decorative flair, anyone can drastically improve their home.
But, I do watch for two things. The first is the new idea, technique or tool that I haven't seen before. And the second reason I watch is to get an idea for building something. I'm certainly not the greatest woodworker out there, but if I see some project I like, I'm advanced enough that I can usually run with it and build my own modified version.
Did anyone catch the quote from the TV Show "House" about Norm?
House's oncologist friend Wilson was staying with him between marriages. He noted surprise that House had New Yankee Workshop marked as a favorite on his on-screen menu.
He said "Gee House, I never figured you as the woodworking type."
House responded (paraphrase): "Oh yeah. A total moron in a building full of ultra-sharp woodworking machinery. As a physician, the suspense is unbearable!"
But I still like Norm.
RonB
Do you think that a Chinese instructional video is going to help much? LOL
You think you can order the plans for the pizza cutter they were using? LOL
Norm is a machinist that happens to work in wood rather than metal. For a few shows, they made of point of explaining how some steps could be done with normal tools versus the high-dollar specialty tools, but I haven't seen that lately. But him and his buddy Tom are definitely master carpenters, and if I was a (very) rich man, I'd happily hire them both to build or rebuild a house for me. You can't fake that easy familiarity with the tools, the materials, and the process. I grew up in the business, and saw and worked with enough real carpenters and idiots, to know the difference. Other than making me feel like an inadequate klutz, watching the pros work was always an educational pleasure. Most of them, unless they were on deadline, didn't mind me watching and asking questions. I learned a lot from them.
I liked TOH much better in the early days, in spite of that idiot BV. The projects had something to do with reality back then, and Norm was still a working contractor. (Not sure if Tommy still is- I never see him wearing the 'Silva Brothers' shirts any more.) They also had the owners actually doing work back then, unlike most of the current 'This Old Mansion' projects. The New Orleans arc a couple years ago had a little of that old flavor, with some things actually going wrong. On the out of town projects, they aren't involved as closely, and things still go wrong that can't be edited out.
I think people bitching about the yuppification of TOH is why they started the companion show, Ask TOH. Around here, that has basically driven NYW off the schedule- I only trip across that a few times a year any more, on the local PBS.
-- aem sends....
Or twists the wrench and every bad word the victim ever learned plus some made up on the spot comes out of his mouth as he tries to stop the bleeding and quell the pain ...
Well, in fairness, Berzerkely did give us BSD Unix ... sort of ... with the help of the best and brightest from the then Bell Labs crowd. This ultimately gave us TCP/IP and the internet. The irony is that this was funded by ARPA - the research arm of the Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil government military technocrats. I wonder how many of the smelly hippies stumbling against the cause of the day realized that their CS department was building a technology infrastructure designed to be survivable (by the military) in the face of nuclear exchange.
As to Norm - I rather like his show. I am smart enough to realize that you do not build an armoire' in 22 minutes plus commercials, even with every tool Porter Cable makes. I also don't much care for his aesthetic sensibility. BUT ... it's nice to watch a master craftsman doing his job. It's an good insight into how grown up WWing is done for us relative rookies.
Well said. As a matter of fact, I'll bet he never tried to scare either of them.
Norm's job is to inspire. What bonehead thinks you will learn the secrets of fine woodworking, plain woodworking, or anything else actually, buy watching him for 22 minutes a week?
I must say though, when he starts to finish something, I go get a more coffee. He is scary. I see those beautiful woods that are no less than precious down here in S. Texas being slathered with a "special blend of stains" and then covered with several coats of poly... it is painful.
But Norm, Tom and the boys do help me make money. I honestly cannot tell you how many jobs I have gotten where the homeowner started and couldn't finish. I have one waiting on me now where the homeowner was inspired to put Hardie on the back of his house. He put the board on wrong and it leaks. It is broken in places where he tried to pull the nail out that he bent. He didn't paint it, and now it has a bad case of efflorescence. WTF is that, right? It ruins the paint job if it isn't treated. Worse, he bought ALL the siding and stored it improperly. It might be ruined.
He started the project two years ago.
I just finished one where the homeowner tried to do his own roof repairs, fascia replacement, siding replacement and painting of the house. He got exactly one piece of siding out and replaced. Then it was either too hot, too cold, rainy, or not a weekend that was open. His wife signed the contract while he was trying to tell her that he "could get on" some of the remaining work right away. She told me he started 3 years ago!
My own BIL loves to watch those shows, and gets in deep so fast they pay me to fix his "projects". He is a great guy and means well, but he just can't grasp what goes into remodeling/repair. The very first time I worked on their house, my sister gave me a list of things that were in various stages of repair/disrepair that he had started. He likes to go buy a tool, one he saw on the shows, and thinks that will also give him the skills as well.
It is always funny to me how so many men, especially white collar guys, feel like their own job is sophisticated, difficult and takes years of hard work and dedication to master. Yet when they see a blue collar guy, they may respect the work he does but they feel like they can do the same work (or near to it), at just a bit slower pace. Just a bit of practice on the weekends, and they are good to go.
Yeah, right.
But they do indeed make me money. By the time they wave the white flag, they are so sick of having their backsides chewed off by their wives they will gladly pay a fair price if they are assured of actual completion.
So at the guy that "starts the job but can't finish" house, how many entry way doors have I repaired/reinstalled? How many interior doors have I hung/rehung? How much crown molding have I put up that was in the garage for a couple of years? How many cabinets have I installed/ reinstalled? How much refinishing have I redone on cabinets and tables?
Couldn't tell you. But there have been many times these guys have paid my bills! I say long live those guys, and shame on any of you folks that actually think you can get more than a quick snapshot of a good tradesman working in 22 minutes.
Robert
There were certainly quite a few brilliant minds to came from that area at the time, that is certain. Pioneering minds, embodying the spirit of the West, as it were.
The thing I got from watching Norm was the intricacies of his jigs. While the 30 seconds he showed using the jigs didn't illustrate the time spent in creating and aligning the jigs, it still sparked the concept in my brain that the prepwork was really the fundamental reason for success in making things.
Jon
I think you are right. My father in law was a machinist for years and then started doing wood. He and Norm have a lot in common in the way they work. While my father in law can turn out some really beautiful pieces often there seems to be something missing. Maybe its that the lines are too straight and the circles too machine perfectly round.
Jimmie
It's not a beginners show. Most people that watch have no problem and you can get the plans and info on the internet most of the time.
Yes and one that honestly says "If piece A does not fit easily into the slot of bracket B, use a piece of sandpaper and/or a small rasp/ file and rub down the rough edges of A so it will fit. DO NOT enlarge slot. I needing to tap A into place use something soft before 'Gently' tapping A into place with hammer or similar tool. Use enclosed Allen wrench to tighten patent fasteners nuts.
Definitions: a) Sandpaper (Heavy paper coated with glued abrasive such as sand). b) Hammer (Nailing tool with metal 'head' and wooden of fibreglass handle). c)Rasp/file. Household abrasive tool (See larger version of nail file etc.). d) Allen wrench (Hexagonal 'six sided' small tool to fit indentation in head of patent fasteners).
But number of times have been asked to assist people assemble some items, who don't even have a hammer or screwdriver in the house! So one ends up using a dinner knife to take out a screw or going home to get one's own tools!
One time, some 50+ years ago, though I was 'thrown for loop' when a senior gentleman kept asking me for a 'Turn screw' (Old Irish I think, i.e. Screwdriver.) Come to think of it that makes more sense than the word 'screwdriver'. Cos you turn a screw whether you are putting it in or taking it out!
Agree Norm Abrams time 30 minutes. Mine two weeks plus, plus, in between fixing the house, doing chores, visiting family, servicing motor vehicle etc. etc. Must go round and check trees for damage and if any water came through basement windows during last night's storm (Tropical storm/hurricane 'Bill') which quickly passed over here last night. Power, TV and phone survived but only thing had to reset this morning was the microwave!
"stan" wrote
But number of times have been asked to assist people assemble some items, who don't even have a hammer or screwdriver in the house! So one ends up using a dinner knife to take out a screw or going home to get one's own tools! ==================
Yep, I was part of a business startup once. A bunch of guys in newly rented offices. And I brought some tools in a crate in case they were needed. I suddenly became the local tool store and general fix it wizard. My qualifications?? I actually owned some tools and brought them to work! It was a constant battle to get the tools back. Everyone wanted to use the tools, but nobody wanted to give them back.
When I first left home and was working a a minimum wage job a a dishwasher, I saved my pennies and bought tools from the local hardware store. Later, when building rustic furniture with few tools, I would do jobs just to buy tools. I knew tools were important. It is amazing the number of folks who don't know this. I have helped a number of folks buy some basic tools for the house/apartment. They did not know what to buy or where to buy it.
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