Norm and the Shopsmith(s)

[Rick Potter]

A previous thread about Norm got me interested enough to check out some of the Norm tapes I have. I recorded most all of the NYW shows over the years, and have 14 VHS tapes with 12 or 13 episodes on each. I must have three more somewhere as one of them is marked tape 17. Then, in later years I have a bunch of dvd's with most of the newer shows, too.

Anyway, I got out Tape #1, which was from 1989, and was checking out the tools he was using. A Rockwell Unisaw (I think it was 115V), with jet lock fence, a Porter Cable benchtop router table, an old jointer, a Craftsman RAS, Makita router, Hitachi (?) chop saw, a Makita or Hitachi resaw band saw just like my Ryobi, and a Shopsmith for a drill press.

Anyway, back to the point. On one show he was making a small drop leaf table, and had not one, but TWO Shopsmiths visible at the same time. One he used as a lathe, using a copy setup that Shopsmith used to sell, and another Shopsmith as his drill press. Yes, Shopsmith was listed in the credits, as well as Black and Decker, and Sears. Apparantly the lawyers had gotten involved, as there were warnings scrolled on the screen to use guards and safety equipment.

By 1991 he had a Beisemeyer on what looked like the same saw, along with a Delta RAS, and a Delta DP. He also told us to wear these...safety glasses.

Rick Potter

[John McClanahan]

I remember seeing norm use a Shopsmith several times, but I don't remember seeing two at the same time. its fun to watch the early episodes and see the tools he used to establish himself with. The re-saw bandsaw was a Hitachi, the D handle router was a Makita. I think the jointer was a Delta/Rockwell. He drove screws with a non variable speed corded drill, used a hammer to drive nails and used a simple miter gauge on the table saw. He referred to it as the T square. I really liked watching him use the Craftsman radial saw, similar to one I owned for 30 years. "Those saws are junk. Don't expect to do quality work with one." I've read that comment many times about those saws.:D

John

[Ron Natalie]

The shop the NYW is shot in and certainly the stationary tools (and according to one article most of the other tools) belong to TOH/NYW creator Russ Morash. I'm sure Norm made some recommendations.

Interesting catalog and chronology of the NYW tools here: http://www.normstools.com/index.shtml

[Chip Lindley]

...I really liked watching him use the Craftsman radial saw, similar to one I owned for 30 years. "Those saws are junk. Don't expect to do quality work with one." I've read that comment many times about those saws.:D

John

Well, I bought a 10" Sears RAS brand new in '76. It was underpowered (3/4 hp) for anything other than ply and softwoods. The Craftsman was cantankerous to re-adjust to a perfect 90 degrees if ever moved from that setting. I spent wayy too much time tweaking settings! There are better RASs out there!

Same with the ShopSmith. Mucho time could be consumed fiddling with the settings when moving from one operation mode to another. Not nearly as "wham-bam" as the old TV Infomercials portrayed! And, that saw blade arbor attached with only one set screw really caused me to pucker!

[Dave Lehnert]

that saw blade arbor attached with only one set screw really caused me to pucker!

Yes, I agree. Shopsmith Had that design since the 1950's. Better give it another 60 years to prove that it works. :rolleyes:

[Cody Colston]

Some NYW trivia...

> The Shopsmith(s) was only used in that first season.
> The captioned warning about using all guards, etc. was only displayed that first season and for the first two episodes of season 2.
> Norm's safety message debuted with the first episode of season 2.
> Episode 111 was the first episode where no new tools were introduced.

Norm switched back and forth between the Unifence and the Biesemeyer and at some point, the old Delta tablesaw which belonged to his father was replaced with a new Delta cabinet saw.

I sure wish NYW was still televised, even the re-runs. Norm may not have been the consummate fine woodworker but he was certainly entertaining and a very good teacher. His field trips were very interesting, too.

[John Coloccia]

I only post this because anytime Norm comes up, the notion that he wasn't necessarily a fine woodworker comes up. I've thought that too at times. It's easy to think this because of the simplicity of most of the NYW shows, but here's a sampling of some of his shows.

http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?0509
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?0407
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?9812
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?808

Any one, anywhere at anytime could post any one of those projects in our Projects sections and elicit oohs and ahs. That's just a quick sampling of the many dozens of projects that he's not only built and completed, but that he's taught others how to make. That's on top of the countless homes he's worked on over the years, including cabinetry work, rough construction, trimming, etc.

I'm not trying to pick on you, Cody. I forget too all that he's done, but all this Norm talk lately had me trudging through the NYW episodes that are available for sale and I ran across some real gems. I have a new found respect for the guy thinking back at the true scope of the work he's done over the years. Maybe he's not a Maloof but I have a great deal of confidence that if he wanted to whip out a Maloof style rocker, he could probably do it just as easily as making a pine shaker storage box. :)

[Cody Colston]

No problem, John. I only made that comment because I figured someone was bound to point out that his methods (brad nailer) weren't used in fine woodworking. I'm a huge Norm fan.

While many of his projects wouldn't be considered fine woodworking, it's because he was on a time constraint and because he built projects that the average woodworker could build. I personally feel that he could build pretty much anything he wanted, no matter how "fine". His bonnet-topped highboy is a good example and you're right. if someone else posted pics of that piece, there would be all kinds of oohs and aahs along with comments like "instant heirloom", etc.

[David Thompson 27577]

{you gave us a bunch if interesting information about Norm, and I thank you for that. Then you said......}

Norm may not have been the consummate fine woodworker but .......

{and you finished with a fitting tribute. I'll add just a bit more to that tribute}

Norm might not have been the consummate fine woodworker, but he has probably done more for the art, the craft, the hobby, than any other person in America in the same time period. By watching his shows, tens of thousands of us were inspired to try.

And try we did. Some of us have even had some successes. And though many of those successes are ours alone, the inspiration was the spark, and it came from Norm.
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