Haven't watched the NYWS in a while and had some free time and tuned in - now I'm irritated again. :)
I just get fed up when he starts a project and then " now I'll just take this to my dedicated molding machine" followed by " now I'll just take this to my dedicated mortising machine", etc. If I had a dedicated molding machine, etc I certainly wouldn't need Nahm to help me.
IMHO, if the show is aimed at home woodworkers in general, then stay with basic tools and teach how to make things with them.
Keep in mind that Morash supplies the funding of all those cool dedicated machines. No wonder it takes me 2 weeks to build the same project Norm makes in two days. At least my project is not filled with brad nails.
Yes, getting annoyed but not so much as with your bug-a-boo rather, PBS fund raising campaigns: "So we can continue bringing you New Yankee ..." . I think I have seen every episode of "NEW" Yankee... atleast 5 times.
I like it when he says that he needed to smooth something. So he runs it through that enormous belt sander he has. Ya know, the one big enough to run a table top through it.
I mean, it would be an incredible luxury to just have the space that monster occupies, let alone the enormous sander.
No kidding, have you seen that cordless drill that he uses on his show every time? One day maybe I'll be able to get rid of this hand crank drill I have been using. ;~)
Different strokes for different folks. Personally I would want to graduate to the next level after a period of time.
Simple solution for that ... hit the "next" button. ;)
For me, as one whose interest in furniture design has developed and advanced beyond simply copying a plan, it is the _project_ itself, followed by Norm's take on the joinery/method of construction of each, that has become the focus of my interest in his shows ... not the tools he chooses for each step.
IOW, the more complicated the projects that I've designed and built _without benefit of plans_, the more I have begun to appreciate Norm's take on the methodology of constructing the project, whether it reaffirms, or differs from, what I have already figured out on my own as the best way to do something.
Then there was Bruce Johnson ... proving there are some you just can't learn a damn thing from ... unless it's how not to. :)
Actually, having worked for an underwriter, I believe it is they who supply all those nice machines. And since they are restricted in the manner in which they can hawk same, the agreement is usually that they will be used on the show for appropriate operations.
I don't mind that. If it were not for the underwriters, there would be no show. There is often an alternative operation if you don't happen to have the dedicated whatever, and more often and not I don't
Yabbut, blotting out the trademark will only fool the absolute novice. Most people can recognize the brand of tool. Besides, isn't there a commercial for the primary brand of tool on there anyway?
Sooo....., there may be some restrictions. But the the company (Delta) gets pretty good exposure anyway, even with the restrictions.
Again, I am not complaining or implying anything improper. I just thinks it smacks of the elitist, arrogant PBS culture. It just seems a little hypocritical to me.
I was thinking the same thing. I don't watch Oprah, I don't watch Maury, nor any of the judge shows. I rarely watch anything with my free time that irritates me.
I think few truly understand and actually appreciate the breadth of Norm's experience and projects. Or his experience with tools and his knowledge of how to creatively apply their uses. Or his huge variance in project selections.
In all the years I have been on this group as well as a few others, there have been Norm bashers. I don't know why as I have never heard him set himself out as an ancient zen master of woodworking as say, Krenov. He has never, ever, put himself on a pedestal. He has never held himself up and anything more than a simple woodworker, which is simply not true. He shows doable projects that can challenge the neophyte as well as the experienced wood worker.
When I started, the best advice I ever received about woodworking came from my boss. I didn't have the tool in the truck to do a specific job that I was assigned to do. So, I went back and complained to him that we didn't have the right tools to do the job, so we couldn't do the work.
He blew up. "WTF do you think is going on here? Where do you think you are, in a tool store? Do you think where ever you go to work you will always have the perfect tool for the work? Either go over there and get it done or you can go home because I don't need you".
It didn't sound like advice and guidance at the time, but it certainly was. For those that think they cannot do some of the projects because they don't have the tools Norm does, they need to rethink their procedures. They need to rethink their methods.
Norm builds by procedure, each project step by step. He shows how to use the tools he has. But I have seen enough of him to bet any money that without many of the tools he uses in the show, he could still get the job done without many of them.
Allow me to expand on that a bit. I think there is a curve of appreciation on watching Norm's show.
When many are beginning woodworking, some folks lay the fact that he can do all the neat things on the idea that he has all the tools to do what he does. So the tools make things so easy, he has a huge advantage.
Then skills pick up, you find yourself able to do more with the tools you have, and you start to think you are "getting it". You understand more of what you read about woodworking, and more of the concepts involved.
You knock out a couple of book cases, maybe a project for the wife, and of course a couple of heritage pieces for the kids.
Now you are a craftsman. You have tools, a few projects behind you, and your family and friends love your work. You must be good at this stuff, right? Everyone says so.
People ask you for advice from time to time on their projects. You try to help, but sometimes working with a noob can be frustrating. You do what you can.
You decide that you like doing something differently than the examples of work you have seen on TV. Great! The more you participate in ANY craft, the more you realize how many paths there are to reach the same goal, so you should get that fact.
Then, the dreaded day comes; you think you are better than you are.
Yup; definitely a better craft person than your neighbor, your wife tells you that the vanity you built for he bathroom is much better than the ones she has seen in the store, and the kids pounding on their toy boxes and step ups haven't broken them yet. And that storage shed you built out back to look like a little barn is holding up quite well.
(Note: Norm STILL hasn't hit this point. He talks with a great amount of respect of people that are in all manner of trades, and seems to get a real sense of appreciation of his fellow craftsmen.)
Back to the curve, you are now dismissive of Norm and his baseball bat project, his shadow boxes, or his coffee tables. You toss in the heap his blanket chests, his Federalist style furniture, etc., and let your buddies know you aren't impressed. Hell ya, you could build any of that stuff if you just had the time, right?
You quit watching Norm.
If you keep working on developing your skills, or start to work professionally, you change your idea of where you are in the big picture of woodworking skill sets. Probably not as far along as you thought if you are around the right people.
Then one day it rains on Saturday and you are inside. Nothing on TV, nothing to do outside, so between the cooking shows you decide to see what Norm's up to.
You now have different eyes to see this work. Eyes that understand that one little detail in design and execution can save hours of work. These details don't have anything to do with the tools he uses. But you missed the details the first time because he didn't sound a horn when he is executing them, and since they didn't look that important you missed them. But now you see.
Then you start to appreciate Norm. My style of building in my business is different from Norm's. There was no Norm when I started, and we didn't have a lot of tools. We were on site carpenters, and we learned to use the tools we had. My old habits are sometimes hard to break, and I don't.
But on the other hand (see, here comes the end of the curve, right there at your post) I really appreciate a good look at alternatives to all kinds of carpentry work. I like Norm's pragmatic organization/ detailing/procedures in building his work as that is the way my mind works.
So in the end, I think you have to learn more to appreciate old Norm for what he really is; a good teacher and a fearless woodworker. Pretty damn good craftsman, too.
Of course it is recognizable, there is nothing wrong with that. Trade marks are not even covered. But the product can only be shown in actual use in the context of the particular show and Norm cannot mention the brand name. I believe that is honest at least compared to commercials where all kinds of outlandish claims can be made with no verification.
Yes the "underwriter" rules give you so many seconds to identify the company, their primary business, and you can show as many shots of products in use during that time.
Yes, and they pay dearly for that exposure just as they would on a non PBS ad. The difference is that they are not paying for ads by the minutes they are paying a contract price to underwrite the show for the season.
Mixed feelings about PBS in general. But several of my favorite local shows are there. Local being shows like Mississippi Outdoors and others that I really enjoy. I don't like the begathons, strongly believe the underwriting funding and limited public funding is best. Underwriting brings quality, if no one watches, no underwriting.
At the first Woodcraft Parking Lot Show I went to in Madison, they had Scott Phillips from American woodshop doing some demos. That was fun. Especially the part where he talks about Norm's Belt Sander. "It's a great machine except it takes up more space than a car and when he turns it on he browns out Boston!"
But I still watch the show. He's like family. He exasperates me at times but his heart's in the right place.
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