"Woodsmith Shop" Drives Me Nuts!

[Derek Arita]

OK. I know it's the only game in town and we should be glad to have it, but this show drives me crazy. First, since when do three guys work on a home home project? It seems really disjointed to me, to see three different people work on a single project. Unless you're in a production shop, that's just not the way it happens, so come on...one guy, one project. Next, show me! Don't tell me what I should do, then show me the end product. I want to see you do it! That's why you're on TV! This show it produced like a magazine, showing me one picture and surrounding it with a bunch of words. Show me how to do it! This show is done like a skim-over, how to, woodworking article, that you might see in Better Homes and Gardens magazine.
I probably got spoiled by watching years of Norm, showing me step-by-step, how to build this and how to build that. That said, if they're going to produce a woodworking show, then why not gear it towards woodworkers, rather than the casual channel flipper, who might watch one episode, then move on. Just my $.02.

[Brad Cambell]

Derek, you have to remember that they only have 1/2 hour to complete the project. If they only have time to "hit the high spots". Any more would bore most people.

I love the series.

[Mel Fulks]

Excerpt from a tv script:
First guy: one of our
Second guy: fans wants to
Third guy :know why there
First guy :are three of us.

[Derek Arita]

Derek, you have to remember that they only have 1/2 hour to complete the project. If they only have time to "hit the high spots". Any more would bore most people.

I love the series.

Really? I think that's part of what made New Yankee Workshop so good for so long. Well, you're probably right. Still, I like watching someone working wood and I like seeing how the tough parts are dealt with.

[Julie Moriarty]

The Woodsmith guys are boring. I'll take Rough Cut any day. Tommy Mac is entertaining and informative. He's funny too.

[Don Selke]

In this day and age, I do not think there will ever be a Norm replacement. Young people are just not interested in working with there hands any more. They only have interests in computers and games. Sadly, My own boys and grandsons can give a hoot about woodworking. Sign of the times I guess or I am just too old. I personally see nothing funny about woodworking. If I want to be entertained, I will watch the news coming out Washington DC. Like I said, I am just too Old I guess.

[Dave Cav]

In this day and age, I do not think there will ever be a Norm replacement. Young people are just not interested in working with there hands any more. They only have interests in computers and games.

The students at my last school, a large (2100 students) urban, lower income area were like this. They took shop because the counselors needed to fill up their schedules.

The students where I teach now, 600 students, more small town/rural, generally like Norm and seem to appreciate the stuff he does. I know that I appreciate Norm a lot more than I did 20 or so years ago, but I still don't have much use for biscuits or portable belt sanders.

[Myk Rian]

The Woodsmith guys are boring. I'll take Rough Cut any day. Tommy Mac is entertaining and informative. He's funny too.

I'll watch him when he gets rid of the "Badda Bing".

[HANK METZ]

I'll watch him when he gets rid of the "Badda Bing".

And "wicket bad!" English translation: "wicked bad", Definition: sobriquet commonly used by New Englanders, esp. in the Boston metro area to describe an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear. Normal- speaking people prefer the simple adjective "awesome".

[Michael Dunn]

In this day and age, I do not think there will ever be a Norm replacement. Young people are just not interested in working with there hands any more. They only have interests in computers and games. Sadly, My own boys and grandsons can give a hoot about woodworking. Sign of the times I guess or I am just too old. I personally see nothing funny about woodworking. If I want to be entertained, I will watch the news coming out Washington DC. Like I said, I am just too Old I guess.

I think it just depends on the person. I'm 32 and I've loved watching Norm for as long as I can remember. I know some other guys even younger than me and they love Norm too. Sadly, though, the majority would definitely rather waste their lives away playing video games. I do still play Tetris on the original N.E.S. system with my wife after the kids go to bed.

[Derek Stockley]

In this day and age, I do not think there will ever be a Norm replacement. Young people are just not interested in working with there hands any more. They only have interests in computers and games. Sadly, My own boys and grandsons can give a hoot about woodworking.

I grew up playing with video games and computers, and now that I make a living with my computer, I find that the best way for me to unwind is to balance it out with building things.

Maybe there won't be a Norm replacement on TV, but I would suggest that the nature of TV itself is the reason for that. If you spend a little while browsing through youtube, you'll find a wealth of freely available woodworking content and lots of other trades and crafts too, being created by people of all ages. If you haven't heard of them, try searching Steve Ramsey, Matthias Wandel and Marc Spagnuolo to start. These guys started out by just doing what they wanted to do, found audiences, then found funding. TV does things in the exact opposite order and as a result, it's harder to convince TV executives to serve niches that won't be able to count their viewers in millions.

[Mike Seals]

I grew up playing with video games and computers, and now that I make a living with my computer, I find that the best way for me to unwind is to balance it out with building things.

Maybe there won't be a Norm replacement on TV, but I would suggest that the nature of TV itself is the reason for that. If you spend a little while browsing through youtube, you'll find a wealth of freely available woodworking content and lots of other trades and crafts too, being created by people of all ages. If you haven't heard of them, try searching Steve Ramsey, Matthias Wandel and Marc Spagnuolo to start. These guys started out by just doing what they wanted to do, found audiences, then found funding. TV does things in the exact opposite order and as a result, it's harder to convince TV executives to serve niches that won't be able to count their viewers in millions.

Very well said Derek, the day and age of "waiting" for the next "show" are gone. A good instance is some shaker doors I was getting ready to build. I did a quick search on the web for building them and found a ton of useful tricks. Today's market is filled with quick answers. And a big sponsor for the past shows where the tool manufactures...so that after you watched it, you just had to have that certian tool. Today with the web, you can find many tricks for obtaining the same result with out needing all the excess tools.....the big dogs don't like that, but hey, not everyone has the room for all their dream tools....

[Curt Harms]

I recall an interview with Russell Morash, creator of This Old House & New Yankee Workshop. His feeling was that shows like The New Yankee Workshop's future was on the web, not on broadcast TV. A possible downside to this is people in sparsely populated areas may not have the internet capacity to do streaming shows, they may have satellite TV though. As far as Woodsmith shop vs. Tommy Mac, IMO it's like comparing perhaps middle school courses to college prep courses. Someone thinking of getting into hobby woodworking may be intimidated by Tommy Mac's projects and choose another hobby instead. There's a place & a need for both shows.

[Derek Arita]

OK...who is Tommy Mac and does Rough Cut play in California? I just did a search on sat and couldn't find a listing.

[Paul Simmel]

uTube has some great sources... better IMO than the TV stuff out there right now. AskWoodMan.tv has sever hundred videos, and the guy is GOOD and completely revealing with extremely informative demonstrations and projects. The Wood Whisperer is also pretty good, and then for gear-heads there is Matthias Wandel who has some amazing creations with full explanation.

Took me a day or so to sort through a plethora of woodworking people taking advantage of uTube. Much much better than anything I've seen on TV. And I am a great admirer of the historic Norm and have seen nearly every show from the beginning. Super guy... but these days there is SO much more out there!