British Woodworking magazine

[KevM]

I've just received my first copy of 'British Woodworking', I haven't read it in detail from cover to cover yet, my ritual with magazines is to skim for articles of interest and go back to read those that interest me. My first impression is: it's a keeper.

My main points of comparison are all UK magazines: Furniture & Cabinetmaking, together with Good Woodworking & The Woodworker. Looking at the most recent issue of F&C (Issue 213, Winter 2013) confirmed my decision to cancel the subscription and spend the money on glue. Out of 80 pages F&C struggled to turn up 25% of original content, barely 50% of that was worth slowing down to read, i.e. I've just received a 10 page pamphlet disguised as a glossy 80 page magazine - I'd rather have the pamphlet thanks. I know publishing is a difficult game with vanishingly small margins, but I'm afraid in the internet age magazines really need to raise their game to keep my business.

By contrast, British Woodworking has way more original content, far higher word count, fewer full page photos masquerading as articles, and far less of the recycled press release Advertorials. Apparently they've just gone monthly so I hope they're able to keep up with the increased demand for high quality articles and maintain the current balance between (necessary) advertising and content.

I have no links to any of the magazines, and certainly no wish to see any of them fold, but maybe the UK community simply can't sustain the number of publications - so I'm backing the upstart!

 

[RogerP]

I used to take several magazines including Woodworker and Good Wooodworking but ....

One day I was reading the current Woodworker when I had a feeling of déjà vu. Checking in past issues I found exactly the same article (photos, layout, everything) in a Good Woodworker. The more I checked the more duplicated articles I found in the two magazines. Don't know why I'd not spotted the scam before.

Anyway I dumped all the magazines shortly afterwards.

 

[RogerS]

You've just reminded me, Kev. My latest issue of F&C on subscription arrived a couple of weeks ago. Still not opened its wrapper. In fact, I'm not sure exactly where it is!

 

[KevM]

Very funny - maybe that should tell you something about what you get out of it these days!

 

[baldpate]

I switched to BW a couple of years ago, precisely because it was bi-monthly, and seemed to be richer in content than the others : I put this down to there only being 6 issues per year. I'm disappointed that they are going monthly - I think they will struggle to maintain the same level of content.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Can I chuck in my 2p, as someone who has written regularly in the past but doesn't have anything in the current issue? Personally I think it is an excellent issue. Whilst you can't please all of the readers all of the time, there is a good range of material, from a top-notch tambour cabinet that, quite frankly, few of us are going to duplicate, to a trivial childs toy. But both have something in common. They will both be the cause of the maker feeling like they have made something, they will both give pleasure to the recipient, and both articles will inspire people, either to raise their game if they do woodwork already, or to "have a go" if they are newbies.
Nick is being quite successful at attracting good authors for his mag, there is a wider range than there was a few years ago and it seems to me that the writing is good too. (We writers hate being edited of course, but whereas once it used to frustrate me, now I just shrug my shoulders and say hey-ho ).

I can't speak for Nick, but clearly he feels there is a market to be fought for, and indeed it is quite crowded already, but at least a couple of the titles mentioned are not the high-quality mags they once were. Nick is passionate, not just about woodwork, but about mags as well, and whilst it is a legacy format, the e-format has yet to prove its worth from a business point of view, I think. Yes everything is available on Youtube for free, but a) what is the quality like and b) what incentive is there for creators to continue to create if there is no resultant revenue stream? Yes it is fun to write your first article or make you first short, but after that?

I've been a bit in the doldrums this last few years, for one reason an another, but I hope to be as creative in the future as I was a few years ago.

I hope that there will continue to be people who like to enjoy their woodwork in this format and support the people who work hard to create the product.

Steve

 

[KevM]

Steve, I think you summed it up very nicely - I look forward to some good articles, edited or otherwise!
Kev

 

[Alexam]

Being at the stage of returning to woodwork following what I learnt at school over 60 years ago, I find all information on the subject fascinating. I have been looking at all the magazine racks, but failed to see a single copy of anything pertaining to woodwork. Perhaps I need to go to a large WH Smiths, as I believe I saw something there last year before my interest tweaked.

However, having been engrossed in photography for a few years, I was buying all the magazines I could find whilst in the learning process. I rarely buy a magazine now as the repeats of the same information don't help any more. It must be similar with all magazines. Difficult to keep on top with new and interesting topics to draw interest. I expect I will be buying again soon, only this time it will be about woodworking.

I'm in the process of trying to find the right band saw, pillar drill and possible table saw, but it's confusing a there are so many manufacturers and little to go by on the ones to avoid. Budget is somewhat limited, but I will probably need to shell out a few hundred to get started. Just hobby equipment that I and my son can use in our garage, which I am sorting out at present.

Alex

 

[KevM]

At the risk of sounding like I'm plugging a commercial product, I understand there are restrictions on this, can I suggest you put "British Woodworking £5 Trial" into Google, £5 for 3 issues is cheaper than driving into town and finding somewhere to park.

Disclaimer: I have no relationship whatsoever with the publisher, other offers are doubtless available

 

[Baldhead]

At the risk of sounding like I'm plugging a commercial product, I understand there are restrictions on this, can I suggest you put "British Woodworking £5 Trial" into Google, £5 for 3 issues is cheaper than driving into town and finding somewhere to park.

Disclaimer: I have no relationship whatsoever with the publisher, other offers are doubtless available

Thanks for the 'plug' :lol: :lol: :lol:
I've just placed my order.

Baldhead

 

[Alexam]

KevM

Thank's for that info. I tried looking the offer up but it did not show up. However, I have phoned them and arranged for the first 3 issues to be sent.

That's a start, but I will look around for others and watch the videos on my PC.

All the best

Alex

 

[KevM]

Alex,

Glad you were able to sort it out and I hope you enjoy it - personally I think it's worth the punt for a fiver.

At the risk of bringing a can full of whoop-ass down about my ears, here's the link: http://ccstandard.securewebservices.co. ... index.html

I think your point regarding keeping the contents of magazines fresh and relevant must be one that keeps editors awake at 3am. How do you balance the needs of your new readers, and you always need to refresh your reader base, with the expectations of the experienced and expert readers? How do you balance the interests of hand tool users with those who only want to use power tools? I guess that, together with a hundred other trade-offs, is the editor's secret sauce - get it right and you've got a successful publication.

Kev

 

[RogerS]

It's a very hard balancing act for an editor. On the one hand there are newcomers coming along all the time but they would like to read about completely different stuff to a more seasoned woodworker.

 

[KevM]

Agreed, I think there are also 'tribal' considerations at play: The shiny new tribe, the proudly vintage tribe, the freehand tribe, the jig for everything tribe.

Keeping all the tribes happy all of the time is clearly a big ask for an editor, just scanning these forums for 5 minutes makes it abundantly clear that there's always more than one 'best' way to do anything!

 

[Alexam]

Alex,

Glad you were able to sort it out and I hope you enjoy it - personally I think it's worth the punt for a fiver.

At the risk of bringing a can full of whoop-ass down about my ears, here's the link: http://ccstandard.securewebservices.co. ... index.html

I think your point regarding keeping the contents of magazines fresh and relevant must be one that keeps editors awake at 3am. How do you balance the needs of your new readers, and you always need to refresh your reader base, with the expectations of the experienced and expert readers? How do you balance the interests of hand tool users with those who only want to use power tools? I guess that, together with a hundred other trade-offs, is the editor's secret sauce - get it right and you've got a successful publication.

Kev

Thanks again KevM, the link didn't work for some reason, but having made contact with the distributors, I am now waiting for the trial issues.

One of the unfortunate things I have found, as someone new to woodworking, is the lack of actual contact with those who can help and advise. Unfortunately the exhibitions are few and far between and I would imaging that there will be a new influx of 'newbies' this Christmas and depending where they live, may find the same problems.

All the best

Alex

 

[KevM]

Alex,
It's true enough that some skills which can be nigh-on impossible to 'book learn' can be picked up in seconds when demonstrated in person, the famous "Aha!" moment when it all suddenly clicks, a bit like the first time you tie your own shoelaces (my Mum was so proud when I showed her last week). There's a lot of good resources available from Youtube now, the trick is sorting the wheat from the chaff, anybody with a cellphone can post a video, so it's always worth getting a second opinion or two. One of the good things about forums, so long as you can tune out some of the static, is the exchange of opinions and experience - people are very free with their advice, some almost incontinently so!

I've been trying my hand at saw $h@rpening* and there are some first class resources out there - but there's nothing quite like the first time you put file to metal, then it's all down to your own feedback mechanisms.

Kev

*Edited for the squeamish.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I suspect that this is a problem with all minority interests. We all (and I do include me) expect to find absolutely everything we want online, tailored to our own needs and free to boot. Magazines fill a particular niche, and that niche is very different now than it was when I wrote my first article. It's smaller, for a start.
But mags serve a function that tinternet has not yet replaced.
Functional info is available by the yard, for free, in varying degrees of quality. But mags can inspire and enthuse in a way that few web articles, including my own, have yet to match.
S

 

[KevM]

Steve,
I think you're dead on with the 'inspire' bit, even if some projects can be totally out of reach for any number of reasons, skills, time, space, funds - it's almost always possible to see something that can be applied to a future project. Also, I think maybe the discipline necessary to create, edit and generally fettle an article for print encourages a tad more diligence in the author.
Kev

 

[Steve Maskery]

I think maybe the discipline necessary to create, edit and generally fettle an article for print encourages a tad more diligence in the author.

Whoo-hoo! You are opening a can of worms, my friend!

There is a continual friction between authors and editors, for the simple reason that their aims and objectives are different. Nick and I have an excellent, but hard wrought, relationship. All writers think that their every word is sacrosanct, but all editors know that the stuff they print has to fit the page. It would look awful otherwise. So stuff gets changed between the writing and the printing.
At first I was appalled and quite upset by the butchery (as I saw it), but now I realise that that is the way it works, and if I were editing and publishing it, I'd have to do exactly the same thing.

I think I now know how to write an article. I should do, after this much practice. But even so, I know that what appears on the page is not going to be exactly what I write. I just trust Nick (and Francesco in Italy) to represent me in a favorable light, so that readers enjoy the material that I produce.

Often, they succeed :tongue9:

Try it (but it's not easy...)

S

 

[yetloh]

Going back to the beginning, I too worry about BW going monthly. It isn't just the problem of keeping up the standard which is difficult enough in itself, but the inevitabbility of repetition overt time. BW has more than its share minor editorial cock-ups as it is and, to my eyes, it looks very dated. Maybe the extra revenue will help with the latter but it is hard to see how going monthly will help with the former. That said, I have subscribed pretty much from the beginning and will continue to do so because they have some good authors who are not afraid to express an opion, which is something I value even though I sometimes strongly disagree. I wish Nick the best of good fortune with the change.

As to the comparison with F&C (to which I have subscribed for much longer), the two magazines are aimed at different markets although there is obviously some overlap. F&C is aimed at the serious furniture maker who has an interest in design and is biased towards the contemporary. Within that remit, which corresoends pretty closely with my own interests, I think it does a good job. BW is more generalist and includes a lot of relatively low level unsophisticated stuff which is of little interest to me, but it has enough that does hold appeal to keep me subscribing, at least for the time being. The important point is that there is a place for woodworking magazines at all points in the market and many readers will grow out of the more basic ones as their skills and design understanding evolve.

Jim