Tommy Walsh - Is it just me ?

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Nope not just you, though maybe you and i have a more similar thought processes (avatar...etc)

The workshop would be perfect for keeping and fettling a car , or better still dedicated to wood but i know first hand that mixing the two is a major PIA.

and whats with the plasma screen :shock: it was more like pimp my shop ;) when the dust kills it he can put the mezzanine to a proper use as a wood store :)

I was also disappointed in the tool choices too, all a bit weedy. If the Aston has to live in there then i guess easy to move out of the way.

Tom
 
:D not you at all i found it disapointing i must admit i was very dissapointed it not a workshop at all it was well im not sure what it is i was hopeng more on equiping it out dust extraction power and location of tools.

martyn
 
I mentioned the mezzanine lift and the plasma screen on November 3rd here (seventh post in thread). This was following a conversation with TW about the forthcoming series - he was very pleased with the whole thing, but seemed more pleased that Aston Martin had loaned him a DB9 (which gave him the chance to play James Bond) than anything else. Having gone to the trouble of building the height-adjustable mezzanine, the siting of the pillar drill on top of the flimsy back wall "bench" would have made it inoperable. When opening the boxes containing the tools, he seemed surprised (and pleased) at what had arrived - giving more credence to the theory that Axminster had just sent along what they wanted. They're probably going to collect them later too, although the combination machine seemed to be just an advert as it didn't figure in the final layout.

He was executive producer, which - as I understand it - gave him some control over content and final editing. The role, in the film industry, is defined as "Supervising the work of the Producer on behalf of the studio, the financiers or the distributors and ensuring that the film is completed on time (and within budget), to agreed artistic and technical standards. The term often applies to a producer who has raised a significant proportion of a film's finance, or who has secured the underlying rights to the project. Typically, Executive Producers are not involved in the technical aspects of the film-making process, but have played a crucial financial or creative role in ensuring that the project goes into production."

The point I'm trying to make here is that he cannot blame others for the finished product with his name on the credits in that capacity. The whole of the first programme's concentration on demolition could have been binned in favour of a discussion/demonstration on the sort of tools and their uses that a good shop should contain - but that requires knowledge, interest (in woodworking) and commitment.

The building may have looked reasonable on its own, but (as has been said) didn't blend in at all. The first decent wind will have the felt shingles around the dormer off, so perhaps that will be a chance to use more sympathetic and appropriate materials for the setting?

Unfortunately, he has yet again come across as a bricky with a few chippy skills (both trades for which I have respect), using others to do the tough stuff. He describes himself as "having grandfather rights" as a tradesman - having been taught by his father - but has no apparent relevant/certified qualifications.

I've still no idea who the programme was made for (other than TW). Aside from a couple of glimpses into proper shops, I consider it to have been a wasted opportunity. I think that his description of "competence" regarding electrical installation and showing a glimpse of him working on an electrical item was both foolhardy and dangerous.

Discovery RT has such low standards of quality control that they're becoming laughable - they describe that complete jackass (Gavin Lowe) in "From Junk to Funk" as a "Master Craftsman" for example - when it's a programme that could easily be used as an example of how not to do anything.

In an earlier post, I feared that TW was "becoming a luvvie." This series has proved to me, beyond any doubt, that the transformation is complete!

Ray.
 
Presenters aside, at least his workshop series focussed on actually equipping the workshop and covered such things as electrical supply, dust extraction etc. It also had some insight into tool selection with Ron Fox adding value to the pieces about routing.

I may be alone but I didn't mind John Revell. Not a real craftsman but easy to watch and listen to. Tommy Walsh is becoming a victim of his own sucess I'm afraid and the skills he has (as a builder) are taking a back seat to his presenting career.

Jeff
 
Newbie_Neil":2ikng6to said:
Gill, Gill, Gill you're 'aving a larf.

Although my tongue was in my cheek, I meant it. The Tommy Walsh programmes were all about Mr Walsh as a personality and his witticisms. I learned nothing about building a new workshop or about how to equip it.

He seemed to gloss over so much when he was constructing the building, such as vital measurements. So long as the camera could show Mr Walsh cutting some wood and nailing it in place whilst engaging in some repartee, it was as if nothing else mattered. Whilst it's true that he mentioned dust extraction and electrics, everything was so superficial as to be impractical to anyone who might wish to emulate him. He didn't discuss what he was looking for in the power tools he chose for his workshop, nor did he show them being put to use; and there was no mention of hand tools at all.

The John Revell workshop series at least had the merit of discussing why he made certain choices and it then showed the tools being put to use. Despite Mr Revell's programmes being flawed (I won't go into that right now - it's been discussed elsewhere at length) they were far, far superior to the series that Mr Walsh has cobbled together.

Gill
 
Gill":289btcle said:
Despite Mr Revell's programmes being flawed (I won't go into that right now - it's been discussed elsewhere at length) they were far, far superior to the series that Mr Walsh has cobbled together.
Gill
Couldn't have put it more succinctly, Gill! (note to self: be more succinct!)

Ray.
 
Hi Gill

I understand exactly what you were saying with regard to JR. Not having had the benefit of seeing TW, was why I was asking as, I couldn't believe it would be worse than JR.

I really didn't like the fact that JR presented himself as a woodworker but, in fact, spent his time presenting.

The only sad thing is that I missed Ian's workshop. :cry:

Cheers
Neil
 
Tommy Walsh wot a chancer. I never cared that much for his programs but this has sunk to an all time low.
I agree with Gill as least JR talked tools even if he couldn't hack using them. TW just talked B******s and to hell with us.
He is alright with bricks, he can hammer a nail in, but woodworking?? When he had Alan Herd working with him the quality of the woodworking in his show went up by at least 500%.
Instead of a vehicle for Tommy what he produced was a broken down clapped out old banger that was more than adequate for the content.

Drew
 
trevtheturner":1wl34j40 said:
Blimey. I'm so glad I don't bother to have Sky :D so's I can remain blissfully detatched from all these problems.
Actually Sky+ was a real bonus for this series - I could fast forward through all the bad bits and watch each episode in 5-10 mins max :D
I liked the building itself and the details of it's construction were good, but the equipping of it was a huge disappointment. It would have been better if it had been made clear what his plans were at the start though.
 
frank":14z0j7mf said:
tommy is a bricky not a chippy

I read somewhere very recently (may have been Good Woodoworking) that he's not actually got ANY certification or such to say he is qualified to do what he's been doing for years. Apparently, he learned it all his dad at a young age and that's basically all he's had!

Then again, I suppose that's how things were done "back in the day", eh!
If you wanted to do something or be someone, there you were, you could go do it and nobody could stand in your way.
 
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