I must admit that I'm a bit of a woodworking program 'junkie' and that Norm takes some beating. It was my seeing NYW many years ago that rekindled my interest in woodworking, an interest completely snuffed out by being 'taught' woodworking at school in the 60's.
I find many of Norm's projects too fancy for my (and SWMBO's) liking, but having seen other American house buying and decorating shows it seems that the tastes on the other side of the pond are more conservative.
When we watch Norm we always comment on the use of 'Donkey Brown' stain often hiding the beauty of the wood. Mind you, having seen most of the 2006 series and all of the current 2007 series to date it seems that there is a good variety. We also like the fact that Norm will visit other experts to learn the basics and then use them in his projects.
As for Norm never making mistakes - he sometimes says that things have needed to be changed since the prototype, and I remember when he made the wine storage unit that one piece broke while being bent and that he had had lots of problems making the prototype.
Now as for the other shows.
The Great British Woodshop is a close second to Norm - even to the tools. I quite like his presentation and quiet manner.
Cutting Edge Woodworker - I find this a bit annoying and don't like a lot of the designs. He seems to have Alan Herd on hand to help out but never gives him any credit.
John Revell. I find the presentation of the programs extremely annoying, especially the jingles. Also I'm not too impressed with his stuff. I seem to remeber him showing the design for his wine rack - basically a cupboard with two opening doors containing a commercial wine rack. On the plan he showed the doors with a rebate along the edge of each so that one door held the other shut (I'm sure ther's a proper name for this). Watching him build it I could see that he had forgotten the overlap necessary and ended up with two doors that met in the middle.
From Junk to Funk - SWMBO and I have always referred to this as 'From scrap to cr*p' - need I say more - the fact that there is a stupid time limit demeans the program even more.
Salvager - At least Rico doesn't pretend this is high end - interesting to watch but not what I want in my house.
Boyz in the Wood - I can't really add any more to what has already been said - the only thing to remember is that Craig is a builder rather than a carpenter!
Blizzard - A lot of people raved about his programs, but I was never impressed with his work, only a bit better than the Boyz.
Finally S & S. Yes, why don't they joint their boards, there's a P/T in the workshop. They could get their timber nice and flat and square edged. I really liked the banana shape of the dresser worktop, but when clamped into place it seemed to go flat - I just wonder if it will split. It is reassuring to see that they make mistakes and usually manage to recover from them (the mortices in the wrong place on the coffee table immediately spring to mind). It is also nice to see use of hand tools. Despite the criticisms, the projects actually look good when finished.
So realistically I don't expect details of specific projects from any of these - what I want and hope for are ideas to stimulate my thoughts and demonstrations of techniques and tools. I would like to see less use of pins and nails through the face of projects - filled holes always show. When I do things I glue and clamp and wait.
I must also mention This Old House - firstly because it's got Norm in it, but also because it is interesting to see Tom Silva using a variety of new techniques and materials and producing some decent woodwork along the way.
I used to watch Bob Vila and his builder/carpenter (another Bob I think) - who came on one week with his arm encased in bandages after an accident with an unguarded saw blade - it amazed me that he was back working within a few weeks.
Finally Hometime. I liked watching Dean and Robyn but currently he has another helper who is just not Robyn. I was watching the episode about two or three weeks ago and cringed when a piece of wood only an inch or so wide was ripped on a portable table saw by one of his team without using a saw guard or push stick - yes he pushed it by hand with his fingers next to the blade. I felt quite quesy afterwards.
MisterFish
