I was just pondering the idea of "gurus" & I thought the following questions may hopefully make some interesting & entertaining discussion:)
Including people in this newsgroup & others in the field, whom do you consider to be the present-day "gurus" in woodworking? ...I mean the people who guide others, are inspirational & highly respected for their work & contributions in this field.
Who is your favourite guru & why?
Please take the question in a light-hearted way. Maybe this is just a chance to honour someone you respect. Maybe some readers will check out your "guru" and also enjoy them.
IMO, the only TV handyman who makes any sense at all is Red Green. I'm not sure those other guys know what they're doing at all.
I get my inspiration from Chippendales Director, Hepplewhites Guide, and Sheratons Design Book, especially Geo. Hepplewhites. Also books that are collections of photos of museum pieces. American Painted Furniture
1660-1880, Little Books About Old Furniture, Kaufmann Collection. And books that show how the old pieces were constructed
I've always appreciated John White from Fine Woodworking. He's the author of several books on how to fine tune woodworking machinery and has been a great source of information on the technical side. I appreciate the jigs he comes up with to fine tune powertools without going into fancy and expensive tuning (and rarely used) devices.
On the woodworker's side, I think Norm Abram is certainly an honest source of inspiration despite his carpenter tool belt and his horrible finishing abilities. I don't want to start a religious war and I don't think I'm a "Norm follower" either but there's one thing for sure: Norm is certainly the person who had (and still have) the most powerful impact on me on the weekend mornings after I watched his show. I get a sudden urge to head to my shop and build something (or complete an unfinished project). I've never built anything he's done and find most of his projects not very interesting but he's for sure THE one who gets me in my shop every weekends. Just seeing him milling, shaping, cutting, rabbetting, routing, gluing, assembling, fitting, and all that with a relative ease gives me the kick to do woodworking.
Nahmie!! I learned most of what I know from watching him on TV. I just saw a rerun of the "Mission Style Desk" and I have a real craving to try through tenons for the first time.
I also like David Marks. He introduced me to floating tenons and I never looked back. All his shows are reruns? Are they making Woodworks any more?
As an educator - Roy Underhill. Unmatched enthusiasm for sure. His emphasis on the wood itself, it what I appreciate the most - I guess you need to understand the wood if you don't have electric motors.
"Tony Burch" wrote in news:44d9c493$0$22364$ snipped-for-privacy@news.optusnet.com.au:
My step-father. There was nothing he couldn't do, and he taught me a lot of what I know (much of the teaching was "directed experimentation"). He knew how to make a mistake look like a feature. Even though he could do anything, he also knew when to call for an expert.
"Stoutman" wrote in news:fCvCg.33379$ snipped-for-privacy@southeast.rr.com:
I like both of these guys, but I don't watch the reruns much any more.
And David Marks is purely in reruns on DIY now. They pretty much ran out of material to cover that was new. You should see the normal run of artwork David does in his workshop.
Patriarch, who could use some good turning guru on the tellie...
He shows up on Houston TimeWarner channel 328. Pretty sure some of the episodes are dated 2006, but I don't often pay attention to that. Been saving the shows to HD since SWMBO bought the DVD recorder earlier this year. Somebody posted 3-4 DVD's on alt.binaries.dvd about a month ago. Time and date keep shifting around. Saturday is recording day - Norm, Roy and the router guys. Dave Marks usually in the evening along with Woodturning. I plan to watch all these when I retire and can no longer afford to buy wood.
My gurus are Norm and Roy. I like Norm's personal style. He's the guy that inspired me to take up woodworking again, and try to break out of the home improvement mould. He is a good teacher and does a good job explaining techniques. Norm's tastes run toward Colonial, Shaker and Craftsman styles which are also my favorites. A version of his clamp stand rolls around in my shop, and we have a version of one of his sheds in the back yard.
I like Roy for his cool name and his interest in old time methods. Just like him, I've made bows, arrows, a flute, kids stuff, candle lanterns, camp gear, stools, knapped flints and done some blacksmithing. I tell SWMBO it's his fault I have all these wooden hand planes (it's a slippery slope). I also cut myself a lot. We must be related.
I enjoy watching David Marks build. He is another good teacher. I don't care for most of his designs, but I seem to learn something new or understand something better after watching one of his shows.
My father and grandfather both inspired me at a young age. Currently, its my lovely bride. She sees something in a magazine or on TV and says, "I want that, now go and build it!". I tell her that I may need a new tool or two and she say's "Fine, just build it for me.".
Life is good!
Dave
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My favorite gurus are the guys who've patiently answered my questions in on line forums. Leon, for one, has helped me on a number of occasions, so he gets special mention. Others on line over the past few years have also earned my heartfelt appreciation. the TV guys? I can take 'em or leave 'em.
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