Woodworking and TV

[Chuck Lenz]

Yesterday I was watching a episode of The Router Workshop and a few things concerned me while watching it. I don't claim to be a fast guy, but I can tell when someone is rushed and these guys the way they work it's a miracle that they both still have 10 digits. Some of their dado cuts I could tell needed to be run through again because I seen the board raise off the table a bit on alot of the boards on a batch run. Then he didn't use a dust collector or a mask, you could see all the dust and chips flying out at a pretty good pace produceing a pretty good size cloud of dust. While watching some of these shows are fun, woodworking to me is to take your time, do it right the first time as much as posible, put some pride into your work, and do it safely. Enjoy it. And ofcourse theres allways the comradery of Toolaholics anonymous.

[Kyle Kraft]

Hey Chuck,

While you're on this topic, pay close attention to many of the shows which feature people working...Dirty Jobs, Build it Bigger and the like. Many of the workers in the background and periphery aren't wearing safety glasses etc.. I thought that it was universally accepted that you wear safety glasses (or should be) when working at most any job outside of an office.

[Bob Genovesi]

I've watched the Router Workshop a couple of times and was thinking the same thing. Swap bits, wrenches everywhere, plunge and go!

Personally I'm a New Yankee Workshop fan, been watching it for years until a year or so ago maybe longer, it just disappeared. I can't imagine it went off the air, must have changed time slots or something.

I started woodworking back in the mid 60's and it's because of Norm Abram and The New Yankee Workshop that the interest was rekindled about 15 years ago and I've been having a hell of a time ever since. Other than the upholstered furniture, I've made all the furniture in our home today.

Bob

[Kurt Strandberg]

What channel is The Router Workshop on please?

[Gary Graff]

The Router Workshop can be found on the Woodworking Channel .
http://www.thewoodworkingchannel.com/

[Fred Voorhees]

I'm sure that at some degree, their pace is dictated by the time demands of the particular project that they are working on. Not that I am defending their actions, just citing what may be the situation. Personally, I'd rather them stress a little more safety towards their work, as all the shows should be doing in the first place.

[Michael Fross]

I've recently added the DIY channel on cable and they carry both the New Yankee Workshop and Woodworks. The Woodwrights shop is hard to catch in Chicago land, but the other two are on quite often.

Michael

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I've noticed the same safety issues with all the shows I watch, except for The Woodwright's Shop, which has Roy as a safety issue.

Just Kidding, I love the Woodwright's Shop, however my wife and I have started keeping count of the number of stitches Roy has on different cuts, on different episodes.

The New Yankee Workshop shows you how to plan for a tablesaw accident, no guard, no splitter etc, although Norm does say to "read and follow the safety rules that come with your power tools" (or something of similar content).

Obviously Norm owns a tablesaw, whose manual didn't mention using guards and splitters.

Perhaps that is to show that the blade is actually cutting, although having run a sticker and gang rip saw during summer jobs, I have faith that blades that are fully enclosed are actually cutting, even though I cannot watch them work.

The router shows, and there have been a few different incarnations over the year, always seem incredibly lax on shop safety and good work practices.

Perhaps that's why there are so many router accidents reported in databases, people see poor examples of operation on TV and don't have enough respect for the router.

One thing is for certain, there aren't enough woodworking shows on TV, and there certainly aren't enough with good safety (including dust collection at source).

Regards, Rod.

[Charles Wiggins]

The New Yankee Workshop shows you how to plan for a tablesaw accident, no guard, no splitter etc, although Norm does say to "read and follow the safety rules that come with your power tools" (or something of similar content).

Obviously Norm owns a tablesaw, whose manual didn't mention using guards and splitters.

Regards, Rod.

From what I remember, in the early days of NYW, they used to post a disclaimer on the screen that the "Blade Guard has been removed for clarity", which I think is lawyer talk for "Norm hates the safety gadget, but we don't want to get sued."

[Rod Sheridan]

Thanks Charles, I must have missed the earlier safety warning.

I enjoy Norms show, I just wish he would use a guard on that saw.

Regards, Rod.