Is 'Furniture & Cabinetmaking' magazine well regarded?

[tomatwark]

Righto, well looks like this post has thrown a bit of a proverbial cat amongst the pigeons!

ps, other than a 9-12 month period working for a cabinet-maker on a casual apprentice-basis I've had no teaching whatsoever, and I have learnt the vast majority of things from blogs, videos, this forum and the odd book. I don't have the time/ money to get to college or anything at the mo, but plan on some courses in the future when business isn't so hectic.

Thanks again, _Dan. :wink:

Dan

If you can make money without doing a course why bother, the only reason to do a course would be to learn a particular thing, such as turning for example.

I have been doing this for over 25 years and have got qualifications, but I am still learning and coming up with new and easier ways of doing things.

Your clients will not care if you have a qualification or not they are only interested in getting the piece they want, at the quality they expect and a price they are prepared to pay.



Tom

 

[Chataigner]

Personally, I find magazines, especially FWW, useful to trigger ideas, both projects and techniques. I've recently taken out a subscription to F&C, and have rather mixed feelings. Some of the content interests me, but taking the latest issue, I was dissapointed to see 5 pages devoted to an article on a hidden knock down fixing. The idea is fine, useful even, but 5 pages? That would have been half a page in FWW and equally useful, leaving 4.5 pages for something else.

As for tool reviews, I dont agree that magazines always try to please advertisers, that is a recipe for slow death As readership drops 'cos no-one believes what is written, advertisers have no further interest. Editorial integrity is critical to the survival of a publication, it is only of interest to advertisers if someone is reading it and taking notice.

 

[Jacob]

...
If you can make money without doing a course why bother, the only reason to do a course would be to learn a particular thing, such as turning for example.....

Couldn't be further from the truth!
When I did a course (TOPs course - accelerated C&G carpentry and joinery) I learned things which I never would have any other way, except by old fashioned apprenticeship. It was taught according to a very old established C&G syllabus, by time served retired tradesmen.
You don't know what you are missing until someone shows you. Starting with just the very basic procedures - rods, sequence of work, sawing to length and section, marking up, planing, etc etc
This was the main reason I gave up on magazines - several years worth piled up and I had absolutely no idea about woodwork basics. I dumped them all and have never bothered since.
A good course can completely change your working life.

 

[yetloh]

Interesting that one ot two have mentioned Fine Woodworking. I have been a subscriber for about ten years but have not renewed, for several reasons.

The first is that it seems to have abandoned any real interest in contemporary furniture and design which is in any way innovative. No doubt this is a reflection of the interests of its American readership. To test this I posted a couple of provocative threads on US forums saying that US woodworkers seems, from a design viewpoint, to be firmly stuck in the past and FWW along with it, to the point where the most intersting part of the mag was the readers gallery. I was expecting a lot of abuse but all I got was a sprinkling of people bemoaning the fact that I had hit the nail on the head.

The second was that the product reviews have become very superficial where once they gave hard facts. There usefulness had always been limited by the fact that a lot of products sold there are not available here, but now they are useless.

Finally, I completely lost patience with their cavalier and completely irresponsible attitude to safety. This of course, is not new. but I could put up with it when the mag had other things to recommend it.

Jim

 

[woodbloke]

Interesting that one ot two have mentioned Fine Woodworking. I have been a subscriber for about ten years...
Finally, I completely lost patience with their cavalier and completely irresponsible attitude to safety. This of course, is not new. but I could put up with it when the mag had other things to recommend it.

Jim

I agree completely on this one ref FWW. From the little I've seen of it, I like the layout but as you say, the mag from a design point of view is in the age of the dinosaurs. Whenever I read it, I just get infuriated :evil: with the 'murricans attitude to elfn'safety, which is the main reason I've never subscribed - Rob

 

[yetloh]

I agree completely on this one ref FWW. From the little I've seen of it, I like the layout but as you say, the mag from a design point of view is in the age of the dinosaurs. Whenever I read it, I just get infuriated :evil: with the 'murricans attitude to elfn'safety, which is the main reason I've never subscribed - Rob

It is beautifully produced. I don't think you will see woodworkers with spray tan and make up and working in perfect pristine workshops in any other mag!

Jim

 

[ondablade]

+1 on FWW's production standards - incredible. That said they seem to have 'dumbed down' heir content quite a bit too - to have to a fair degree moved away from the sort of detailed 'how to' pieces and tests that were pretty much universal...

PS added later. Could it be that part of the picture is that many of their older and very well established editors/writers seem to have started to phase out in recent years? That a lot of what they publish now is by younger and perhaps less experienced writers?

On that note the Wood Whisperer guy comes to mind. It's not my personal style (a bit too showbiz), but how in heaven does he manage to cover so much ground? Does he have a team behind him prepping stuff that he just presents I wonder???

 

[Harbo]

Thread is 2 1/2 yrs dead!!

Start something new?

Rod

Mod Edit:- Previous Poster (removed) was a Spammer.

 

[yetloh]

Thread is 2 1/2 yrs dead!!

Start something new?

Rod

That's a bit brutal to a newbie, Rod, but you do have a point.

Welcome to the forum Barney.

Jim

 

[custard]

Welcome Barney, and top marks for using the search facility before asking a question that's been asked before!

F&C seems to have had a resurgence over the past few months, better articles, better photography, better everything really. They seem to be finding reasons to exist as a printed magazine in the internet age, hopefully they'll continue at this level as I've just renewed a two year subscription!

 

[Harbo]

Yes you are right Jim - didn't notice he was a newbie!
I was more annoyed that I didn't know who he was referring too - started reading back then noticed the dates - a lot of changes happen during that length of time?

Sorry and welcome.

Rod

 

[bugbear]

Yes you are right Jim - didn't notice he was a newbie!
I was more annoyed that I didn't know who he was referring too - started reading back then noticed the dates - a lot of changes happen during that length of time?

Sorry and welcome.

Rod

May be a spammer, judging by the sig.

BugBear

 

[CHJ]

May be a spammer, judging by the sig.
BugBear

Correct:- spamming multiple fora of various flavours across several continents with the advertising signature link.

 

[Jeremy Broun]

Hmn - interesting discussion. I've been writing for the UK magazines on and off since 1971 if not before and sadly the trend as online competition gets tougher is biased reviews for the simple fact they rely on advertizing to keep them afloat. However I have never been in the pocket of anyone asnd have always written honest critixcal reviews. My only allefiance has been to promote Trend cutters exclusively on my YouTube channel etc but I have recently received flack over one of their routers. I wrote regularly for Woodworking International which later became F & C. The current magazine could easily write up The Alan Peters Award but havent! So I hope the admin doesnt mind my advertizing here award ceremony and month long exhibition at Axminster Tools Nuneaton Store. (Jeremy Broun)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

And the prize for thread resurrection goes to ...

 

[Against_The_Grain]

However I have never been in the pocket of anyone asnd have always written honest critixcal reviews. My only allefiance has been to promote Trend cutters exclusively on my YouTube channel etc but I have recently received flack over one of their routers.

I’m not surprised. Everything Trend sells is utterly terrible and grossly overpriced and no one should really promote their business when there are far better alternatives like Titman or Wealden for bits and pretty much everyone else for routers.

A new Trend T12EK is a £400 router
A new Dewalt DWE625KT is a £350 router

They are the exact same machine.