Greetings and Salutations....

On Sun, 1 May 2005 02:26:39 -0400, "X_HOBBES"
wrote:

I don't know what your shop is like, but I don't really have one of those
gigantic boubles-sided 4-foot wide belt sanders that he can just feed an
entire tabletop into and have it come out looking like it's ready for the
finishing room within a matter of seconds.

I think Norm's speed is attributed to quite a few things:
1. He has very fast, accurate, and large machinery that makes jobs a lot
easier
2. He has jigs for just about anything you would ever want to make (I
couldn't even store all of those jigs)
3. He does have good skill
4. He pre-builds most of his projects "... and here's our version of the
antique cabinet"

As mentioned elsewhere, he actually builds THREE copies of
the project.
1) The prototype, which deals with any glitches in the design
of the project. It also allows him to determine what jigs and
fixtures would help in the process.
2) Copy #1 - from which he builds and refines the jigs and
fixtures that actually DO work on the project.
3) Copy #2 - The version that is filmed as it is constructed
and goes on air.


5. I'm sure he gets help from the production crew

Apparently the only "help" he gets is cleanup. He does all
the layout, cutting and construction. There have been some amusing
moments over the years, when we get to see him running a full sheet
of 3/4" plywood through the tablesaw (for, I believe, a bookcase
project) and, struggling to get a Mission Style sofa together (a LOT
of stiles, and some heavy bits that need to be laid in place).


6. He has premium selection of lumber and tools (I just spent a good part of
the day just trying to figure out how I needed to cut a bunch of walnut
planks for all of the parts for my project so that the visible parts
wouldn't have holes from the rotted knots in the wood)
7. There is a lot of video editing and I'm sure a lot of mistakes (ever
notice how it always fits perfectly on the first try? Or is that really the
4th try, but the other 3 were editied out?)

There is a lot of "excess" project edited out. Quite a number
of shows have him working over several days on the finished project.
They let us see him cutting the FIRST one of a repeated part, then
skip over the rest. They probably DO cut out "oops", and recuts, but
not all mistakes. I recall when he tried building a rounded base,
wine cabinet, and, had to try at least three times to get the thin
cherry to curve around the frame without breaking. It was probably
the "worst" problems we saw though.
I will say that I have seen a number of times where the camera
has panned away from what looks to me like an obvious error in cutting
the stock, and, it is never mentioned.
Which, of course, makes sense. After all, NYW has VERY
limited amounts of airtime, and, Morash does not want to waste it
with proving to the world that Norm is human too.
Speaking of which, if we want to see the process, let me
remind y'all of the webcam page at the website, which includes
a taping schedule...
http://www.newyankee.com/yankeecam.php



Most of the projects I build take up anywhere from 40 to 90 hours. I
recently build a coffee table, a side table, and a TV table out of maple
with inlaid mahogany and custom rosettes. That took 90 hours. Now I'm
building a walnut dining room table (I gave up on the wenge, for those of
you who remember me asking about wenge). I estimate that it will take me
about 40-50 hours total to build this table. But one key thing to remember
is that this is hobby for me -- it doesn't pay the rent, so I can take my
time.

Hear, Hear! My shop time is more for balancing out the
stresses of modern life...it is not there to be a profit center.
If it were...it would not be a lot of fun, and, I would have to
drop a chunk of cash on machines to cut down the unit price of
the things I build.
In any case, it is really impossible for me, as an American,
to compete on a per hour cost with the many excellent woodworkers
in India, China, Malaysia, and other such countries. Until I
can figure out how to keep the truck in Diesel while making
$0.50/hour, that is just not going to happen.
Toss into that the simple fact that everyone works at a
different pace. I might be able to turn out a nicely dovetailed
joint in 20 minutes, where it would take someone else an hour (and
Taig Fried (sic) about 3 minutes...and they would look a LOT better,
too). Work at the pace that is comfortable for you...and don't
sweat over whether or not someone else can do it quicker. If
you get heat over it from the "SO", then, invite them out to
the shop and let THEM try it.
Regards
Dave Mundt