New To WW - What Is With All The Norm Bashing?

[Dick Latshaw]

My son-in-law and I like to joke about 'Nailgun Norm'.

[FOW]

[David Babcock]

Having family that works at WGBH in Boston, I was privileged? to get some of the dirt when he decided to leave TOH. Did I say leave? Actually it was kind of mutual, WGBH wanted him gone, and he wanted more money, so he was allowed to leave. As you can probably tell, he wanted Sears to be the exclusive supplier to the show, because they would compensate him personally. This sort of danced around the no commercials format of PBS. The contractors revolted a little, they didn't want to be told what tools they had to use. First ripple in the water. He wanted to be more in control of the format, the show, and force his ideas. Russ Morash is said to have laughed for days. Second larger ripple. Most of the supplies are donations, lumber, plumbing, windows, and on and on. All of which the home owner is responsible for come Tax time. As a home owner you have to sign over lots of creative and repair rights to the producers, who do their best to contain budget. The problem WGBH had with Bob was he consistently made choices/changes that most times caused budgets to explode, hence causing many many lawsuits. Ripples became tidal waves on this one. Then he said the two magic words, "Sears" and "Money" WGBH said "Goodbye Bob".

Dave

[Andy Dingley]

So ignoring the tool pr0n for a moment, what does he make ? Does anyone ever look at that ?

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

[Bay Area Dave]

yes. AND a lathe. and 10,000 routers; I've only got 2. And a dedicated mortiser. and 5,000 clamps. and more knowledge & experience...

dave

FOW wrote:

[Unisaw A100]

I suppose maybe you should ask him that question.

Personally I seem him as more as a big prick in itty-bitty pants. Evil would be if he actually had some influence. He's fairly benign but hard to stomach.

UA100

[Brian Henderson]

There's nothing particularly bad about Norm, but let's face it, Norm is a wood-basher, not a wood-worker. He goes for fast construction and Tim Allen-esque "MORE POWER!". He shoots brads like they're going out of style. If the power went out, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

That's not to say I don't like Norm, but he appeals to the weekend woodworker who is making a few things around the house, not to the craftsman who wants to make fine furniture or something that's really going to last a lifetime and beyond.

[Brian Henderson]

Um... and Norm isn't? The New Yankee Workshop, brought to you by every tool Porter Cable could stuff into the shop? At least when you look at someone like David Marks, it's his shop, they're his tools, it's his wood and he isn't kissing any advertiser's ass.

[Mark]

And what do you hear about the departure of Steve Thomas?

[Silvan]

What, you mean you don't turn to Bob for help when you strip the nuts on your bicycle with ordinary pliers?

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 20:24:54 -0500, Silvan brought forth from the murky depths:

That was shown on TV commercials and the channel locks were used backwards. You could see metal being chewed off and the resultant gnarled nut. Absolutely amazing. I laughed myself into tears over that one the first time Searz showed it. It was obviously made by an _entire_cast_and_crew_ who had never used a single hand tool in their lives. (The cameraman should have known but his laughter didn't shake the camera so he may not have had a clue, either. Ditto the grips. No shaking lights.)

------------------------------------------------------- "i" before "e", except after "c", what a weird society. ----

Dynamic Website Applications

[Chris Merrill]

Given that he covers up the labels on the tools...I would certainly not say he is kissing the advertisers' asses.

[Dennis M. O'Connor]

With a nailgun, you can keep working, you don't need to wait for the glue to set. Not so with clamps, since they often clamp right where the next piece goes. That's a good reason for Norm to use a nailgun, and a good reason for weakend furniture makers too.

OTOH, there is a certain satisfaction making furniture that has no metal in it. Side note: In the 70's GE had an entire building made without any steel or iron in it, to do experiments with the big superconducting magnets they use in NMR imaging (now called MRI) machines.

[John Grossbohlin]

...

This past August I spent most of a day with Norm at Old Sturbridge Village. One of the day's events was a luncheon. At the luncheon Norm gave a presentation comparing and contrasting 19th century furniture making technologies with 21st century technologies. During this presentation Norm discussed his evolution from carpenter, to TOH, to NYW and how the rolls made significantly different demands of him. He also discussed how his skills have evolved over time and how tools have evolved with him.

Two quick examples:

-He seldom uses a lathe duplicator now as his turning skills have gotten much better and he can end up with a better product using gouges and skews.

-He doesn't use the molding head cutter in the table saw any longer. The router table with "new" bit styles work better--cutting beads was his specific example.

This change over time also applies to the finishing techniques and materials. He had a piece at OSV that will appear during the new season (starts early '04). The finishing techniques he discussed were much different than anything he did 10+ years ago and he felt that he needed more experience to get it right. There was a thread running through the entire presentation in that he is always moving forward... developing new skills and a greater understanding of what makes a fine piece of furniture.

Norm's point was that he isn't the same guy as he was when NYW started. We, however, are inundated with reruns that make the changes over time less salient than they should be. I think it was a tactful way of saying that much of the criticism is not thoughtful criticism as it ignores his skill development over time. Even Maloof and Marks didn't come out of the womb doing fine work! ;-)

It was a wonderful experience and I recommend it to anyone if Norm does it again.

John

[Henry Bibb]

It ain't Norm's shop. It's Russell Morash's (the producer's) shop. I saw a picture of Norms digs once, and it's nowhere near as elaborate. Much of what you see on the show is a persona created by Morash & Co.

Henry Bibb

[Michael Baglio]

Y'know, every time I see him I think: This guy must have been beaten horribly as a child.

He's mellowed some in the last few years, but he was downright painful to watch in the early nineties.

M

[Brian Henderson]

It isn't like you can't tell what every tool in the shop is, he only covers the labels because PBS requires it. And Porter Cable does an ad-shot before and after the show.

[Brian Henderson]

This is TV. You can stop the camera and wait for the glue to set.

[Glen]

"Gregg Germain" wrote >

I got to attend one of his classes on hand cut dovetails. The guy is awesome!

Glen

[Terry Sumner]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 03:45:56 GMT, "Henry Bibb"

That's true. Located in Burlington, Vermont. Same place that the Victory Gardenshow takes place.

Stll...I sure would love to have that shop! :o)

Terry