Woodworking TV shows

[James O'Mara]

Although it may seem a bit weird to many of you I have elected not to have TV in my house for the past 5 years. It started when the satellite had to be removed to build a deck, and I just never missed it enough to replace it. I didn't have cable or an antennae either so the only time I saw any TV was while in a hotel room or while visiting friends or family. Now that we have our first child on the way I decided that it was time to get TV flowing back into the house.

So what woodworking shows are worth watching, and what channels are they on. Oh and when do they normally air?

Thanks,
Jimmy

[Lee Schierer]

I watch New Yankee Workshop, Hometime, THis old House and Ask This old House. All four are on PBS here in my area. Reruns are on some of the other channels on satellite.

[Tom Sweeney]

I would add David Marks' WoodWorks on DIY network - channel 111 on Dish Network. He is more artsy & refined in his WW'ing than Norm. don't get me wrong Norm is great - I, like many others would not have gotten interested in WW'ing if not for him.

Marks uses very nice wood and looks to me like he knows what he's doing - course I'm kinda new to this so I could be wrong.

I've only caught bits & peices of ask this old house - It's Ok IMHO but not great. DIY has two other regularly scheduled shows: In the Workshop & woodworking. They are both OK & give a different perspective to the hobby - Especially woodworking. Bruce johnson is sort of the anti Norm, he has a workshop with normal tools ;)

[Carl Eyman]

Roy Underhill's Woodwright's Shop is as Neanderthal as it can get. He is good at what he does and he's entertaining. I especially like his shoes when he goes on the road to a Shaker Village, Colonial Williamsburg, or some other living history site. He had at least one program where he visited Mystic Seaport in CT while they were building the schooner Amistad mho

[Jim Izat]

I've been watching NYW and This Old House seems like forever, and I've pretty much lost interest in both. TOH was great in the beginning because they worked on houses with techniques that I could run out and use the same day. Recently it seems they're all about doing renovations or build outs whose budgets start at about a half million dollars and go up from there (way up!) They just finished a kitchen remodel (the result of some kind of contest) which, manufacturers freebees included, had a budget of $200,000+, just for a kitchen.

On the Norm front, it's probably just me but as the last two or three years have gone by the projects he has done have held less and less interest for me. Heck, this weekend he made a flagpole of all things. I've got I don't know how many years of TOH/NYW on tape but I haven't taped more than two or three shows in the last couple years.

DIY woodworking is interesting, but most of the objects he makes are a bit frew frew for my taste. That and the $6K+ multirouter limits the utility of that show for me, that and the odd times it's on.

The above comments are probably 90% due to the fact that I'm getting older and more cranky with every year that goes past, and the fact that I've learned a few things about woodworking and have a bit more confidence to go about things on my own...

Jim

[Ken Salisbury]

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Personally I find the TV Woodworking shows a big waste of time

[Dave Arbuckle]

That and the $6K+ multirouter

Jim, you can't spend that much on a Multi-Router, I don't think. The basic machine is $2,600, a comprehensive set of guides is $670, and so forth. With the machine absolutely loaded, it might just exceed four thou.

Dave

[Charles McKinley]

I think you miss all the set up and tricks. I think a lot of people feel this way ut are afraid to admit it.

[Mike Vermeil]

I still enjoy New Yankee Workshop after all these years, but I don't get to see it that often because of the time of day it's on around here. I also enjoy WoodWorks on DIY quite a bit. David Marks builds furniture of a completely different genre (sp?) than Norm, but it's well built and easy on the eye.

I do agree that TOH has gone down hill. When I first started watching they covered much more "technique" type stuff, but now it's all new product showcasing & tours of other houses, factories, etc. I like seeing the new products, but there's not much that translates over to my house anymore.

[Jerry Hazen]

Hi Jimmy,

My cable provider includes DIY in a package of "premium" channels that I don't want to pay for, so I don't get it. They include HGTV in the basic cable channel lineup. HGTV plays Norm reruns at 7:30am eastern on Saturday and Sunday. You can even go to HGTV.com before the weekend to see which episodes are playing that weekend. I catch these more often than I catch the current NYW episodes on PBS (not on at a great time for me).

Jerry

[Von Bickley]

James,

Don't have cable here. On Saturday mornings starting at 9 AM on PBS, it's TOH, then NYW and then The American Woodshop. I usually tape these and will watch later if time permits.

[James O'Mara]

Thanks everybody. those shows should keep me busy for a while.