Hi CW,

I've got some insight on the man and the process. David Thiel is
described on the DIY web site as "the Senior Editor of Popular
Woodworking Magazine". He hosts the "Tools and Techniques" show and
also appears quite often on The Woodworking Channel:

http://www.thewoodworkingchannel.com

interviewing product reps at tradeshows (like IWF). In December of
2003 Beth Knott, Producer of the DIY "Tools & Techniques" show,
contacted me about using a Jr. in a couple of episodes. She represents
"Fantasym Productions" which has produced shows for HGTV and DIY for
years. In the Bio that she sent me, I learned that she and her
co-producer Brad Staggs shoot thousands of shows per year. The
shooting schedule must be absolutely maddening (at least three shows
per day?). I suspect that the budgets are extremely tight and that
there is little time for any preparation or rehersal.

Anyone who is familiar with the Jr., and has seen the demos that David
did, knows that there was no time taken to learn anything about the
tool before the shoot. I cringed the first time I saw it. But, it was
still pretty effective (for my purposes). I imagine that just about
everything else on the show is like that. The scripts seems pretty
loose with a lot of improv. If David doesn't have intimate, first hand
knowledge on a particular procedure, then the first take is probably
his first try and that's what likely ends up in the show. And, I can
appreciate the difficulty of doing something correctly on camera even
when you are an expert. Some of the scenes in the Jr. video had dozens
of takes. Eventually, I just let the camera run while I did it over
and over and over. I can appreciate using the word "talent" to
describe someone who can do something well on camera.

As you read magazine articles and watch TV shows for information about
woodworking (or any technical subject), keep in mind that most of the
people involved are Journalists with an interest in woodworking. They
are very rarely woodworkers (or anyone with a technical degree) who
have an interest in woodworking. I have offered my expertise as a free
technical consultant to Beth (and to a few woodworking magazine
editors) in an effort to raise their technical competence (and my own
reputation). Unfortunately, no takers yet.

As you compare the commercially produced woodworking shows to the PBS
shows, keep in mind that they don't get free money from the government
or from semi-annual begathons. Everything is operating on a
shoe-string budget, the "talent" has no experience, and the schedules
are incredibly demanding. Under these circumstances I would be pretty
happy to be able to maintain the quality that they do.

Thanks,
Ed Bennett

http://www.ts-aligner.com

CW wrote:
Is this guy related to Bob Villa? I had never seen him before watching him
on the DIY website. In the few shows I've watched, I've seen him demonstrate
extremely unsafe practices and very bad work. Is this the norm for this guy?
Where do they find these people?