Is 'Furniture & Cabinetmaking' magazine well regarded?

[RogerP]

Summary - magazines don't have impartial reviews as they have to please the advertisers.

Wrong. I test and review for the benefit of the readers, no one else.

.. I subscribe to GW and confirm that their tests do tell the truth when stuff is rubbish it gets said

 

[Loz_S]

I let my subscription lapse a while back for a few reasons;
a) The page count dropped from 96 to 80, yet the price stayed the same.
b) 25 out of 80 pages are adverts.
c) at least another 10 pages are advertorials (or "reviews" ...ha!)
d) several more pages are padded out with pointless drawings/photos and have little or no text.

So that leaves 40 odd pages to show how to cut a tenon or which strip light is best in a workshop.

F&C is a shadow of its former self and has been ever since Colin Eden-Eadon left 5 (?) years ago.

 

[woodbloke]

b) 25 out of 80 pages are adverts.
F&C is a shadow of its former self and has been ever since Colin Eden-Eadon left 5 (?) years ago.

Whilst not wishing to labour the point, if there were no adverts and no income thereof, there would be no F&C...it's as simple as that.
CEE was a good editor but in almost every single edition under his stewardship, there was a 'review' of some description of a bit heavy weight industrial machinery, which I know for a fact wasn't entirely his choice, but the decision was driven from other quarters :wink:
My own view is that the mag has changed direction rather subtly under the guidance of Derek Jones and for all it's faults (and nothing is ever perfect or will suit all individuals) is still a good monthly read - Rob

 

[Loz_S]

...CEE was a good editor but in almost every single edition under his stewardship, there was a 'review' of some description of a bit heavy weight industrial machinery...

Given a choice, I would take a review of a Felder Combi over a catalogue excerpt of Ryobi Laser range finders or spirit levels.

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Takes me about 20 mins to read, not thinkng of re-subscribing.

Pete

 

[yetloh]

I'm with Rob on tis one, but it all depends on what you are looking for.

F&C has to plough probably the most difficult furrow of all woodworking magazines. It's chosen market niche is high end but with very few exceptions, professionals simply don't buy woodworking magazines so it can't cater exclusively to them if it is to survive. That means it must cater for amateurs who work at or aspire to professional standards. They are an extremely picky bunch and F&C simply has no chance of pleasing all of them even part of the time. For my part Derek Jones is striking a pretty good balance but there are inevitably going to be some issues which are more interesting than others. Overall I think it is worth the money.

Jim

 

[Dodge]

Summary - magazines don't have impartial reviews as they have to please the advertisers.

Wrong. I test and review for the benefit of the readers, no one else.

I agree with Andy here - I have just undertaken reviews of several machines for "The Woodworker" - My reviews are genuine - I have written what I have seen and thought of the machines for the benefit of the reader/purchasor.

I have also written a lot of on reviews on machinery/equipment that I have purchased for use in my own workshop so have been able to follow up with how it has performed over an extended period of time as well.

Rog

 

[ondablade]

F&C has to my mind in recent times improved too - although there's still a fair amount of fluff in there.

I'm not sure if there's a feasible alternative for editors (reportedly it'd take a different business model) given the commercial realities/demands of advertisers/knee jerk dogma from publishers to dumb down and the web in the background - but I'm another that tends towards the view that (in the US too) while they input incrementally to buying decisions, that most mag reviews of tools and machines are short on insight, bite and hard data. i.e. they don't normally form the sort of ideal single 'turn to when you want the skinny' source I suspect we'd all like them to be.

I think dumbing down by the way while appealing the accounting/banker style mind is actually a mistake too. It's another form of the eating of the seed corn that's so prevalent these days. It happened in the motorcycling press. The reality in that case proved to be that while there were theoretically many more recreational riders=potential readers, the reality was that it was lifetime committed higher end and competition readers that kept the show on the road. i.e. gazillions of fickle 'try the lifestyle for a year' types are no basis on which to build a business.

The latter problem I suspect too is a consequence of the fact that if the bar is not set high enough to challenge those new entrants then they drift away pretty quickly, and in fact never go on to become themselves part of the committed core......

 

[Jacob]

....
Whilst not wishing to labour the point, if there were no adverts and no income thereof, there would be no F&C...it's as simple as that....

I've got loads of good (and bad) woodwork books and non of them have adverts. They are packed with information and most cost much the same as a mag in spite of having anything from 10 to 100 times the content. The mags can't compete on that front.
Is there another front? News from the world of woodworking, such as that somebody has designed another sharpening jig?
News is time based but there are few real events in the woodwork world.
Now we have the net. I wouldn't buy a mag for a review as I'd get a much better one from searching a group such as this, better still by asking a question directly.
I'm not sure why anybody buys them at all. Yesterday's media. Waste of money.
Why pay for a bundle of adverts? They should be paying us!

Hmm. A woodworking free sheet?

 

[woodbloke]

... the fact that if the bar is not set high enough to challenge those new entrants...

You clearly haven't read any technical making articles by Robert Ingham in F&C. Had you done so, you might not have made that statement - Rob

 

[Alf]

I don't want to ruffle any feathers here, but perhaps declaration of interest might be helpful in this discussion. Pretty sure I know who writes semi-regularly for whom, but the OP might not.

 

[studders]

I write my own Shopping Lists, does that help?**








** It doesn't help me as I usually forget to take them with me.

 

[Jacob]

I don't want to ruffle any feathers here, but perhaps declaration of interest might be helpful in this discussion. Pretty sure I know who writes semi-regularly for whom, but the OP might not.

What's wrong with ruffling feathers? :lol: :lol:

 

[woodbloke]

... but perhaps declaration of interest might be helpful in this discussion.

Fair enoughski...I do, on a reasonably regular basis and have done for the last 10 years or so, or at least since it's inception. However the articles that I referred to by RI are so technically mind boggling in their complexity that it becomes quite hard (for me at least) to see just how he puts the pieces together. To my mind, the bar don't need to be raised any higher if there's one of his articles (which again appear quite regularly) in the mag - Rob

 

[ondablade]

I'm very much an ordinary punter, and not even an experienced woodworker - with no involvement in any magazine.

I thought I spoke positively of the very obvious improvements at F&C Rob, and was in fact dead pleased to see both Robert Ingham and David Charlesworth writing in it again. (in the Dec 2010 issue) I've great memories of reading the series of insightful, highly factual, useful and informative pieces on technique by both back in the late 90s and early 00s in F&C.

The relative absence of meaty pieces like those in most mags (in general) in recent times is precisely what I've been known to lament.

I put my money where my mouth is re. the two guys over the years since the original F&C pieces by buying and carefully reading most (if not all) of the books they have published as a means of keeping the content to hand for easy reference - David X3 (the Furniture Making Techniques series), and Robert x1 (Cutting Edge Cabinet Making)

I was speaking of recent developments in mags in general when talking about dumbing down. I wasn't targeting F&C, and most certainly (knowing that they are constrained) wasn't taking a tilt at any writer. I even made it clear that it's for me clearly a very tough problem for even editors to get around given the way the dominant culture in mag publishing in general seems now to be driving this phenomenon. (Chris Schwarz had a damn good go at bucking this trend and the dependence on advertising in the US, but seems to have had to pull back from that position)

I did suggest that F&C while (much) improved was in my opinion still not free of fluffiness in places. i.e. I wasn't criticising the mag as a whole, and agree 100% regarding how good the two guys mentioned above are. Whatever the reason (and it's a matter of opinion as to whether it's a good or not so good thing) it's fairly clear that the chopper was dropped on the word count of several pieces in the above issue though.

My apologies in advance for mentioning one in particular (and the writer may not have had much choice), but I found the piece on the Bosch multi tool (which instantly got my interest, because Bosch are very good at coming up with kit that often pretty much matches the very expensive brands in performance and quality, but at a much more reasonable cost) a bit disappointing. I found it so stripped that it didn't hit the two basic points that immediately came to my mind: (1) does it match or outperform the Fein, and (2) what's the story on blades. (which can be a big issue with these tools - re. interchangeability, lower cost/spurious options and relative performance)

RI's piece on bandsaw blades was I'd guess fairly heavily squeezed on word count too....

Finally. The aim was to convey a constructive view on what is a rapidly improving mag (along with another UK publication I've seen), so please don't let input (which if it's to be useful inevitably must cut both ways) deter anybody from the good work....

 

[woodbloke]

I'm very much an ordinary punter, and not even an experienced woodworker - with no involvement in any magazine.

I thought I spoke positively of the very obvious improvements at F&C Rob, and was in fact dead pleased to see both Robert Ingham and David Charlesworth writing in it again. (in the Dec 2010 issue) I've great memories of reading the series of insightful, highly factual, useful and informative pieces on technique by both back in the late 90s and early 00s in F&C.

The relative absence of meaty pieces like those in most mags (in general) in recent times is precisely what I've been known to lament.

I put my money where my mouth is re. the two guys over the years since the original F&C pieces by buying and carefully reading most (if not all) of the books they have published as a means of keeping the content to hand for easy reference - David X3 (the Furniture Making Techniques series), and Robert x1 (Cutting Edge Cabinet Making)

I was speaking of recent developments in mags in general when talking about dumbing down. I wasn't targeting F&C, and most certainly (knowing that they are constrained) wasn't taking a tilt at any writer. I even made it clear that it's for me clearly a very tough problem for even editors to get around given the way the dominant culture in mag publishing in general seems now to be driving this phenomenon. (Chris Schwarz had a damn good go at bucking this trend and the dependence on advertising in the US, but seems to have had to pull back from that position)

I did suggest that F&C while (much) improved was in my opinion still not free of fluffiness in places. i.e. I wasn't criticising the mag as a whole, and agree 100% regarding how good the two guys mentioned above are. Whatever the reason (and it's a matter of opinion as to whether it's a good or not so good thing) it's fairly clear that the chopper was dropped on the word count of several pieces in the above issue though.

My apologies in advance for mentioning one in particular (and the writer may not have had much choice), but I found the piece on the Bosch multi tool (which instantly got my interest, because Bosch are very good at coming up with kit that often pretty much matches the very expensive brands in performance and quality, but at a much more reasonable cost) a bit disappointing. I found it so stripped that it didn't hit the two basic points that immediately came to my mind: (1) does it match or outperform the Fein, and (2) what's the story on blades. (which can be a big issue with these tools - re. interchangeability, lower cost/spurious options and relative performance)

RI's piece on bandsaw blades was I'd guess fairly heavily squeezed on word count too....

Finally. The aim was to convey a constructive view on what is a rapidly improving mag (along with another UK publication I've seen), so please don't let input (which if it's to be useful inevitably must cut both ways) deter anybody from the good work....

Ian, accepted and a well thought out response. I neglected to mention our very own MrC's equally valuable contributions to F&C over the years which have proved inspirational not only to me, but to many others so apologies David, if you're reading this.
'Word count' is one of those things that you get used to if you write stuff for mags and whilst it seems difficult to do it's not all that hard, especially with the count facility on 'Word' I've just completed a piece where Derek said the upper limit was 800 words...so that's what was submitted, 800 words exactly - Rob

 

[DarrenW]

My oppinion for what its worth. I'm an hobbyist, not pro... and to be honest a part time hobbyist at best... the full time job gets in the way alot these days!

I subscribe to two mags, Goodwooking and F&C. Originally when my skills were lower, GW was useful and had more realistic examples and projects. I have always used F&C for 'inspiration'. Over time I find I read GW less and F&C more. I think the current editor of F&C is doing a good job and like the direction he is heading. GW can head down the more DIY side which does not interest me too much.

I agree with comments about some of the project builds, that the descriptions can be somewhat cryptic or un-clear. Pictures are often more help than the words. But this is a problem with most mags I have read.

Given a choice I go for F&C over British Woodworking (which I sometimes buy if there is owt of interest).

Darren

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

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

I'm a professional, just about to get my own proper 'shop for the first time, and have a fair few books and watch a lot of stuff as well. Not that I need to know alot more in regards to the current things that I produce, but I just find that whilst soaking up other peoples ways of working and different techniques, along with other ideas that are in no way any means anything to do with what I make, it inspires me. And gives me a clearer path of what I'm doing in my head. I'm always on UKW looking through pretty much every new post that takes my fancy, and I use books for reference only really. Woodworking videos on peoples blogs ect help with ideas on how to achieve different results. The only reason I asked this question in the first place is that I never read mags', as my local WHSmiths do not stock anything whatsoever. So though I'd just take a punt on a subscription that looks to be alright, so that I have the ful spectrum of media flying through my mindbox. Will probably get an online sub to FWW at some point, maybe next winter when the work dies down a little bit and the nights draw in.

Thanks to everyone for their input and views, I know they're not for everyone, but I will go for the F&C sub for a year.

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:

 

[bugbear]

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:

In the present climate, having enough business that you don't have time to go to college is probably good!

BugBear

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

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:

In the present climate, having enough business that you don't have time to go to college is probably good!

BugBear

I'm not making loads of dollar at the moment, but I've got a fair bit on, and I'm currently developing a website and fitting out a new workshop, so I'm happy with my lot! Cheers