Is this where a lot of Norm's finishes go wrong?

[Leon]

Yesterday I was watching uh.... I don't recall. I do not think it was the New Yankee Workshop, so it had to be an older version of TOH... I have not seen him on TOH lately.. Anyway Norm went to the Miniwax plant to observe the making and explanation of how Miniwax products and packaged. I did notice that there was no time spent showing the testing laboratories though. Maybe there are not tests of their products. Anyway, the man that showed Norm around and answered every question that could be asked about Miniwax products and wearing an official looking Miniwax logo shirt was none other than Bruce Johnson. For me personally that explained a lot about the TV show "Wood Working" which Bruce Johnson hosts, Miniwax products in general, and why some of the finishes that Norm uses detract form the beauty of the project. Norm taking advice from Bruce Johnson on finishing compares to a beginner telling an old seasoned woodworker how to work with Shellac.

[Mark]

[Leon]

I could be wrong but I bet WoodWorking is funded or produced mostly by Miniwax and they use an employee "Bruce Johnson" to host the show.

[Mo' Sawdust]

Choose your spin:

designer:

here is the contact info so you can ask him directly.

[James D Kountz]

Well I found out just the other day that ol Bruce has been around longer that I knew of. I was at the bookstore and actually found a woodworking how-to book by him and he looked like he was about 30. I had no idea he was an author too. Kind of interesting.

Jim

> >> From here is the contact info so you can ask him directly.

[Bob Brogan]

What makes you think Norm's finishes are bad?

[Leon]

"Bob Brogan" > >

They way they look. No all of them but quite a few.

[Scott Post]

As long as Minwax stain and polyurethane are what you aspire to, they're fine.

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:31:04 GMT, [e-mail] (Scott Post) brought forth from the murky depths:

That and the Smeared Glue finish under the stain. Wunnerful!

[CW]

Not badly done, just in poor taste. He even admitted on the show one time that the crew had told him to finish the one for the show differently than the first one because it looked so bad. He seems to have a thing for extremely dark stain and green or grey paint. BTW, Leon, did you get my email?

[CW]

[Leon]

Yes CW.. I got it .. And replied...Thanks. Did you not get my reply?

[CW]

I'll have to look at deleted items. I get so much spam lately that I am going to have to figure out some kind of filtering system. It probably got lost in the pile. That new antispam law works good doesn't it?

[Bob Brogan]

It seems some of Norm's finishing is dictated by what was done historically in terms of color choice, etc. As pointed out, I'm sure television has its demands as well as Norm's schedule. I think he gets an awful lot done with the two shows.

As far as Minwax goes, I've used that in my home and matched the 100 yr.old wood near perfectly using all Minwax stain and finish. I've used it also to do antiques and while you can't really see what I've done there, using Minwax stain and Natural Oil in a hand rubbed finish, I'd think it is comparible with a lot of good quality finishes.

I use Natural Oil and build up a finish. It takes 4-6 hand rubbed coats which I polish inbetween coats. It's a repariable finish too.

Now, while I also like David Marks work immensely, all he ever seems to use is Tung Oil. While that certainly has its place, he only does one thing. Norm does use a greater variety of finishes. I don't like water-based finishes either. I think they lack depth and subtleness.