Page 5 of 15 FirstFirst 123456789 ... LastLast
Results 61 to 75 of 212

Thread: What has happened at Popular Woodworking magazine?

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Southwest Virginia
    Posts
    277
    Derek's posts like the ones on the apothecary chest are as informative as any magazine article I've read.

    That said, the new FWW is pretty good. They have a big comparison of sharpening guides and a nice arts and crafts bookcase.

    Jason

  2. #62
    Yep, Mel was a fun sponge. If I remember right, he was a psychologist for NASA. I guess his job was to determine why astronauts made the decisions they made, but who knows.

    I tried to keep the same feel of Knots while having very minimal moderation (if any), so conversations could flow without the fear of being banned like some woodworking forums. It's a shame it never took off.
    Last edited by mike v flaim; 02-14-2019 at 9:33 PM.

  3. #63
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Provo, UT
    Posts
    390
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Jeff, thank you, but I am not kidding. I am a hobbiest. I can do good work, but my on-line builds share the mistakes as much as the successes, and the mistakes are often due to my naiivety. I am good at problem solving, but my methods are not always the most efficient way of doing things - which would be taught by an experienced pro. I am often re-inventing the wheel. I would never hold up myself as a model to follow.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    I understand, but couldn't help but pull your chain a bit. I think that is the role of us amateurs, reinventing the wheel. Just remember the Ark in the Bible was built by an amateur. The Titanic by professionals.

  4. #64
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    John, I wouldn't want to read a magazine that featured an article by me. I want something better ... by a real woodworker

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Some of us think there is none better in the current magazines, amateur or pro. So there. Keep working, keep posting and if you let us know you're being published in one of the mags, a lot of us will pick up a copy at the news stand.

    That may not get you a magazine you want to read, but the rest of us would want to read it. Would you deprive us?

    And your candor in reporting on fixing problems is far more instructive and useful that the picture perfect projects we typically see in the magazines.
    Last edited by James Waldron; 02-15-2019 at 12:24 PM.
    Fair winds and following seas,
    Jim Waldron

  5. #65
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    Thank you Jim. I have had several articles published over about a decade, all of which were a result of requests by the magazines themselves. The last was a request by Megan for Pop Wood about two years ago, and there were several for the Australian Wood Review some years ago now (excellent magazine - I think that I mentioned this before).

    There is a difference in writing for a magazine and a blog (or forum). The magazine has constraints on space/length. The writer hands over control of editing, and photos as well as paragraphs can get clipped and distorted. This has bothered me in the past. I like writing - it's in my blood. I come from a family with deep roots in this regard (my mother, for one, was a journalist, and a number of close family are or were well-known authors in their areas). We shall see. One day. Maybe.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  6. #66
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Missouri
    Posts
    2,151
    I have to echo what James says Derek. Your builds a fun to watch even with the whiskers and you not hiding them. Discussions are good also. There are others here doing builds here also. There is not many that I don't see a technique new to me that I want to try.
    Jim

  7. #67
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    859
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Heath View Post
    There will never be another Knots. That was a perfect storm of passionate woodworkers. A lot of great advice was dispensed, from a large bunch of talented craftsmen, in between all the "gunfights", as you called it. I seem to recall one of the most passionate gunfighters of them all was the lead guy from FWW. That was right at the same time that Mike Wenzloff just started making saws for sale, and got caught completely off guard with the 3 billion people that wanted one.
    I felt the same way about Badger Pond.

    I remember starting up a conversation with a woodworker from Hiawassee GA on the Pond. Ended up renting a cabin from his wife for a two week vacation. He showed me how to hand cut dovetails and even took me to his lumber source and helped me choose some hickory and cherry to bring home. Irt was aa real community. When it died I did't find anywhere else until I came here.
    Marshall
    ---------------------------
    A Stickley fan boy.

  8. #68
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    DuBois, PA
    Posts
    1,898
    Badger Pond then became Wood Central (not sure if WC archived The Pond, or was independently new), which was pretty good UNTIL domination by a few started. I remember one guy, from NYC that was the be all expert on everything and he did everything with the newly introduced LV LA jack. Didn't matter who you were, he would tell you how to do it better, using that plane.
    If the thunder don't get you, the lightning will.

  9. #69
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lincoln, NE
    Posts
    168
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Ranck View Post
    I understand, but couldn't help but pull your chain a bit. I think that is the role of us amateurs, reinventing the wheel. Just remember the Ark in the Bible was built by an amateur. The Titanic by professionals.
    Ha ha ha ha!

  10. #70
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Dickinson, Texas
    Posts
    7,655
    Blog Entries
    1
    Well, the April issue of Pop Wood came today. There is a project in it that interests me It is the Shaker Stepladder.
    Other than that, it took me about 30 minutes to go through the magazine. I will go through it again to see if anything else pops up.

    I think the editors should go through the archives and study the subject matter of the glory days of the magazine.

  11. #71
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Sebastopol, California
    Posts
    2,319
    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Zaffuto View Post
    Badger Pond then became Wood Central (not sure if WC archived The Pond, or was independently new)...
    Ellis Walentine, administrator of WoodCentral, which was already in operation when Badger Pond shut down, established a hand tool forum on WoodCentral to which much of the Badger Pond community migrated (thus the nickname for that forum for a while, "Ellis Island"). At some point, Wayne Miller, Badger Pond's administrator, agreed to have Ellis host the Badger Pond articles and related stuff on WoodCentral. There was even a CD of posts made, although no new ones were made after the initial run.

    Bill, lived through that period and (surprising myself!) can still remember some of the details

  12. #72
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Mike, Mel largely killed The Burl as well. The forum began well, with many from Knots attending. Mel continued at The Burl where he left off at Knots. His rambling posts would go on and on. One could ignore these. However, every thread had a constant stream of his reminders what "real woodworkers" or "professional woodworkers" would do instead. He did not build anything himself (he carved bowls) but he was a font of information gleaned from reading, and his constant reminders became wearying. He sucked the fun from a thread and from the forum. Members began staying away. When you banned him, after yet another of his tirades (one in particular which was extremely bigoted), the damage was done, and there were only a handful of contributors. I posted builds and reviews, replied as much as I could, but the forum simply ran out of steam.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

    Thanks Derek for helping out The Burl when you did. Knots is alive and well and has been reincarnated as The Burl.

    http://forums.delphiforums.com/burl

  13. #73
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,469
    Thanks Mike. I have posted on the old/new forum.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  14. #74
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    859
    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    Well, the April issue of Pop Wood came today. There is a project in it that interests me It is the Shaker Stepladder.
    Other than that, it took me about 30 minutes to go through the magazine. I will go through it again to see if anything else pops up.

    I think the editors should go through the archives and study the subject matter of the glory days of the magazine.
    For people new to woodworking the articles are probably just fine. The problem comes when we get old and our memory hasn't gone yet. We remember the old articles and often several cycles of repeats of those articles. To us it seems like they are just repeating the same articles over and over. But for newbies it's all new to them.

    New or old, I still enjoy the magazines but I usually skim more than I read. For me it's more about the costs than the content these days.
    Marshall
    ---------------------------
    A Stickley fan boy.

  15. #75
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Dickinson, Texas
    Posts
    7,655
    Blog Entries
    1
    Well, the May issue leaves me flat.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •