Thread: Norm Is Back - New Yankee coming to How To Channel

Originally Posted by Mini

I would rather watch David Free (The great British Woodshop). Its just a personal thing but he appeals more than the Yanks. I watched it for a while and thought he sounded Ozzie then read his bio saying he spent a large part of his earlier life here. For my money he is clever as he never had any formal training and somehow his approach is more down to earth. But they all have that air of ease about doing things that never seems to happen in real life, or not to me anyway.

Thanks Mini that's the bloke I was trying to remember in my previous post

HH.

Did anyone see the latest 'woodworking' prog on the "How to Channel" tonight. I thought that it might be a bit of a distraction while I wait for the council grant me the permission for the new shed. I was rather disappointed, he spent ages showing how to use a dowell jig to join the timber for the top but a closer inspection showed that the pieces were not jointed and had chamfered edges. Not to worry 3 or 4 strokes with a small block plane seemed to do the trick. Then to use the 'decorative' coach bolts or whatever it was to simply butt join the timber and finally coat the whole lot with a 60's version of mission brown added insult to the injury the poor timber has suffered.

I don't think that I will be setting the video for the next episode! Bring back (David)^2 and Norm any day!

Mike

Originally Posted by Mini

I would rather watch David Free (The great British Woodshop). Its just a personal thing but he appeals more than the Yanks. I watched it for a while and thought he sounded Ozzie then read his bio saying he spent a large part of his earlier life here. For my money he is clever as he never had any formal training and somehow his approach is more down to earth. But they all have that air of ease about doing things that never seems to happen in real life, or not to me anyway.

I'm with Mini here, it's a bit like police shows, the british seem to have a knack for representing things the way they really are. But I do enjoy Norm. Also David Marks but we're not all at the master craftsman level yet and I know that I get a lot out of watching the basics that Norm and David Free do.
I actually went so far as to reduce my foxtel subscription once they stopped the woodworking shows and overwhelmed us with martha and the computer show. Guess it's time to upgrade again, unless they're repeats, does any one know if it's a new series?

Cheers

Bob K

I did see Norm use a block plane during one episode. I nearly fell out of my chair.

Maybe there was a blackout or something.

WB

Killer of brain cells

Originally Posted by MikeThePom

Did anyone see the latest 'woodworking' prog on the "How to Channel" tonight. I thought that it might be a bit of a distraction while I wait for the council grant me the permission for the new shed. I was rather disappointed, he spent ages showing how to use a dowell jig to join the timber for the top but a closer inspection showed that the pieces were not jointed and had chamfered edges. Not to worry 3 or 4 strokes with a small block plane seemed to do the trick. Then to use the 'decorative' coach bolts or whatever it was to simply butt join the timber and finally coat the whole lot with a 60's version of mission brown added insult to the injury the poor timber has suffered.

That's reality TV for ya!

Marks and to a lesser extent, Abrams, show us how it should be done in an ideal world. Luke shows us how the... errm... "bloke next-door" really does it.


(Talking of bloke's next-door... anyone know if there've been any new episodes of the Old Crankee Workshop released that're worth watching?)

Originally Posted by Mini

I would rather watch David Free (The great British Woodshop). Its just a personal thing but he appeals more than the Yanks.

What's this Great British Workshop show everyone's referring to? How long ago did they stop showing it? I've never seen it.


BTW, the NYW episode they are showing tomorrow is episode 0301, which means it is the first episode from season 2003.

To their credit (and I was about to bag them out), when Foxtel stopped showing it on Lifestyle years ago, they were showing season 2002, so they haven't skipped any episodes.

Hopefully, foxtel has secured the rights to more than just one season! Also, I wonder if they will ever show any of the early episodes (from 1989 onwards)? Because some of those early pieces looked nice.

Not knowing too much about what I'm missing, but I'm interested in it. Would anyone with Foxtel have a spare DVD burner that I could send some empty DVDs to?

Rob

Originally Posted by John G

What's this Great British Workshop show everyone's referring to? How long ago did they stop showing it? I've never seen it.

Google is your friend
http://www.greatbritishwoodshop.co.u...aspx?tabid=115

I don't know if it has ever been on TV in Oz. I watch it on the Woodworking Channel on the net. I can't figure out if this is still working or not.

http://www.thewoodworkingchannel.com/

Originally Posted by jmk89

I don't mind Norm - I just regard him as the WW equivalent of those TV chefs who show you the easy bit, tell you about the hard bit and then say "here's one I made earlier....".

What pi$ me off is that he :

1. has that big a workshop, with all that benchspace
2. has that many tools - especially single purpose power tools (I mean to say, he seems to have table saws and dado saws with different width dado blades already set up....)
3. never has to sharpen anything
4. never has to tidy up
5. never has to leave the job in the middle to go shopping with SWMBO
6. never has to sit down and work out what he needs to do next
7. never measures twice and cuts it wrong
8. only has one job on the go at once
9. never has to make a jig - it's always there already
10. always has everything right there - he never has to dash down to Bunnies to find something that they don't have (and that no-one there has ever heard of - "what do you mean you don't have a left handed axe or a long weight!!").

But if Derek's right and he's going to do it all by hand, I'll be looking for signs of the editing.....

1 - it's his producers shop, not his
2 - Delta, Porter Cable and a few other companies provide him whatever he wants so long as it makes it on the show. After all, what else are sponsors for?
3 - that's what flunkies and roadies are for
4 - see 3
5 - I believe he got divorced the other year.
6 - already built at least one of anything so hopefully the 'what to do next' is already figured out.
7 - Can you say "Let's do it again"? I'd love to see some outtakes and see how many times there's a screwup that didn't make it onto the air.
8 - when you make as much as I'm sure he does from the shows and appearances, you can arrange some things.
9 - see 3
10 - see 3

I'm not faulting the man, he's made it when few others have. Some was luck and some was tallent. He's not a Sam Maloof but then again, Sam can't build something in one show either.

Have a good one.

Paul

PS - if he did things entirely by hand, he'd lose all his sponsors. Maybe one or two shows by hand but I'm betting that's all you'll see of hand tools.

David Marks was interesting to watch and you could pick up some good techniques, but I do believe he made some of the ugliest pieces of furniture even imagined.

So much for "The New Yankee Workshop returns to Foxtel and finds its new home on the HOW TO Channel with brand new episodes" (From the How To Channel website). The episode that has just been on is one which had been on the Lifestyle Channel many times over when the show was on there a couple of years ago. It was the episode where he makes a modified version of his Router Table & Bench from 2003. Good if you haven't seen it but disappointing if you have. Looks like typical Foxtel fare - Repeats of repeats!!

Mick.

Survivor or rerun of NYW
Models or rerun of NYW
Home and Away or rerun of NYW
... or rerun of NYW
...or rerun of NYW

Much as I would prefer new shows, at least I can watch the old ones (fading memory makes it seem like a new show anyway )

I couldn't agree more Groggy.

It is good to see Norm back. I like seeing him use new tools.

Isn't that where we all learnt about those great Bessey clamps.

I enjoyed watching Norm last night. Luckily I don't think I've seen this series yet.

I've also been watching Holmes on Homes as well and REALLY enjoying that show. Must be the generations of carpenter forebears in the family coming through.

cheers
Wendy