On Aug 30, 12:22 am, Just Wondering wrote:

Nevertheless, it's still frustrating when, tuning in to see how to make
something, Norm uses tools most people will never have. For example,
using a mortising tool to cut a mortise instead of showing how to make a
mortise with a drill press, hammer and sharp chisel. And I cringe at
all the times he uses a brad nailer instead of clamps to hold pieces
together while the glue dries.

But he HAS shown doing it that way in the past. The thing is that if
you watch many episodes of the show you will see the same task
accomplished with different methods. He can't show you every way to
do something on every project in 20 minutes. I don't think he does as
many things without those dedicated tools as much as he used to, and
maybe that's partially to do with sponsorship. I think it also has to
do with him having done this for a long time and wanting to do things
that still interest him and doing things "the hard way" when you've
got the right tool for the job sitting right there is not his style.
He has done things with hand tools a lot more than he used to. It's
pretty freaky seeing him pull out a japanese style hand saw to make
the odd cut.