Norm
 

I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

Norm
 

robo hippy said:

I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

I've seen it - was looking forward to it, but it wasn't all that
great. Didn't cover anything but basic spindle turning, from what I
recall. I have it somewhere around here on CD...
All Norm's are on a CD around here somewhere...
He ain't that great a furniture maker, but an affable guy.

If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.


Greg G.

Norm
 

"Greg G." wrote in message
...
robo hippy said:

I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

I've seen it - was looking forward to it, but it wasn't all that
great. Didn't cover anything but basic spindle turning, from what I
recall. I have it somewhere around here on CD...
All Norm's are on a CD around here somewhere...
He ain't that great a furniture maker, but an affable guy.

If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.


What a difference between he and Roy. Roy cuts everything, while Norm's
still more of a scraper. I'm sure the sound men have something to do with
it, but that Pittman-powered, bearingless lathe of Roy's makes a lot less
noise than Norm's. You can hear Norm scratching the surface, but not a
sound from Roy.

Norm
 

George said:

"Greg G." wrote in message
.. .
robo hippy said:

I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

I've seen it - was looking forward to it, but it wasn't all that
great. Didn't cover anything but basic spindle turning, from what I
recall. I have it somewhere around here on CD...
All Norm's are on a CD around here somewhere...
He ain't that great a furniture maker, but an affable guy.

If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.


What a difference between he and Roy. Roy cuts everything, while Norm's
still more of a scraper. I'm sure the sound men have something to do with
it, but that Pittman-powered, bearingless lathe of Roy's makes a lot less
noise than Norm's. You can hear Norm scratching the surface, but not a
sound from Roy.

Norm is still not comfortable with a lathe, I don't believe.
And it IS a Delta... ;-)

And I haven't seen enough of Roy to notice a difference - in fact,
I've never seen him turn anything. I think the last episode I saw was
him sitting in the floor, whacking at a board with a chisel and saw to
make a hinged section... He called it making pliers.
I've managed to catch about 2 episodes. Stupid cable/PBS.

Greg G.

Norm
 

Greg G. wrote:
George said:


"Greg G." wrote in message
. ..

robo hippy said:


I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

I've seen it - was looking forward to it, but it wasn't all that
great. Didn't cover anything but basic spindle turning, from what I
recall. I have it somewhere around here on CD...
All Norm's are on a CD around here somewhere...
He ain't that great a furniture maker, but an affable guy.

If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.


What a difference between he and Roy. Roy cuts everything, while Norm's
still more of a scraper. I'm sure the sound men have something to do with
it, but that Pittman-powered, bearingless lathe of Roy's makes a lot less
noise than Norm's. You can hear Norm scratching the surface, but not a
sound from Roy.


Norm is still not comfortable with a lathe, I don't believe.
And it IS a Delta... ;-)

And I haven't seen enough of Roy to notice a difference - in fact,
I've never seen him turn anything. I think the last episode I saw was
him sitting in the floor, whacking at a board with a chisel and saw to
make a hinged section... He called it making pliers.
I've managed to catch about 2 episodes. Stupid cable/PBS.

Greg G.
Here yesterday they showed the episode with the large two pedestal dining

room table. They showed portions of turning the column for one of the
pedestals. It sure looked to me like he was cutting - not scraping.
John

Norm
 

"Greg G." wrote in message
...
robo hippy said:
SNIP ..............
If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.

Greg G.
=======================
There was a segment a few years back where he went to the shop of a bowl
turner and that was a pretty good show. I haven't been overly impressed with
Norm's turning. It's adequate for spindles, but I haven't see much else from
him.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

Norm
 

There was a segment a few years back where he went to the shop of a bowl
turner and that was a pretty good show. I haven't been overly impressed
with
Norm's turning. It's adequate for spindles, but I haven't see much else
from
him.

Ken Moon


I couldn't agree more. There was a lot of buzz about that show around
here, as well as one that he used a duplicator. The one that is coming
up (if it is the same one as last time) is pretty much just a show of
simple turning of spindles. Good enough for what he was doing no
doubt, as I will not be a Norm basher until I get my own show showing
off my skills. No techniques, or tool usage other than just a general
walk through on how a lathe works.

But the one with the duplicator.... oy. It was painful. He used
something like yellow pine or douglas fir (something with horrible
tearout) and just ground off the wood. It was probably a full day of
nothing but sanding on the pieces he pulled off that duplicator rig.

I think he is a master of some tools, and a wonderful technician (never
heard HIM claim anything else, ever) but as far as his turnings go....
maybe adequate skillls for his own particular uses.

Robert

Norm
 

Would like to know what Norm claimed to do. I have watched both of these
shows including lathe 101 and don't see where Norm has claimed anything that
he has not lived up to. Norm's only claim as shown in the credits is that
he is a "Master Carpenter", nothing else. He has done a very good service
to a typical, average woodworker. I appreciate his efforts.....
George Hughes

"Ken Moon" wrote in message
k.net...

"Greg G." wrote in message
...
robo hippy said:
SNIP ..............
If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.

Greg G.
=======================
There was a segment a few years back where he went to the shop of a bowl
turner and that was a pretty good show. I haven't been overly impressed
with Norm's turning. It's adequate for spindles, but I haven't see much
else from him.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

Norm
 

IMO, Norm is the TV equivalent of Woodsmith magazine. Both make
furnture building accessible to the beginner looking for a way to
start. The fine points and advanced techniques can come later.

We all started somewhere. You could do far worse than emulate Norm.


On 5 Nov 2005 16:37:51 -0800, "robo hippy"
wrote:

I just caught the end of Norm Abrams show, and nest week he is going to
do Lathe 101. This might be interesting. I did watch him work spindles
down for a windsor chair with a rasp. If I am not in the middle of a
football game, I may watch it.
robo hippy

Norm
 

In article , George Max
wrote:

IMO, Norm is the TV equivalent of Woodsmith magazine. Both make
furnture building accessible to the beginner looking for a way to
start. The fine points and advanced techniques can come later.

We all started somewhere. You could do far worse than emulate Norm.

When I first saw his show, I was highly intimidated - sure, I thought,
anyone can make nice things with all those power tools.... However,
after watching a couple of series I picked up enough tips that I
realised there's always more than one way of doing something, so I
started making furniture. Very happy with progress so far, and the
tools keep accumulating.

On the Lathe 101 show, Norm mentions he's essentially a self-taught
turner. Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and sooner or later
you're going to need spindles for a chair or table!!

About 5+ years ago, I used to be able to watch Roy and Norm back-to-back
on one of the local PBS stations (channel 23 out of Buffalo, now a
commercial station) Made for an interesting comparison, but I learned
neat stuff from both shows.

Norm
 

"George H Hughes" wrote in
news:OUVbf.1136$ih5.317@dukeread11:

Would like to know what Norm claimed to do. I have watched both of
these shows including lathe 101 and don't see where Norm has claimed
anything that he has not lived up to. Norm's only claim as shown in
the credits is that he is a "Master Carpenter", nothing else. He has
done a very good service to a typical, average woodworker. I
appreciate his efforts..... George Hughes

"Ken Moon" wrote in message
k.net...

"Greg G." wrote in message
...
robo hippy said:
SNIP ..............
If the sponsor had _REALLY_ wanted to sell lathes this Christmas,
they'd have show some of the more interesting facets of woodturning.

Greg G.
=======================
There was a segment a few years back where he went to the shop of a
bowl turner and that was a pretty good show. I haven't been overly
impressed with Norm's turning. It's adequate for spindles, but I
haven't see much else from him.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.





Just what I was thinking, but wasn't eloquent enough to state it so.
Hank

Norm
 

Norm doesn't even claim to be a master carpenter. There is no such
term, Robert Morash the producer of the show used that term when they
first taped theThis Old House series. I read where Norm objected to the
term master carpenter, but the producer prevailed. Like myself,Norm is
a journeyman carpenter. He is an excellent carpenter from what I have
seen on the early shows. He is not a cabinet or furniture maker by
trade, but still does nice work. I imagine that he has limited
experience on a lathe and does the best he can.
mike

Norm
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
Norm doesn't even claim to be a master carpenter. There is no such
term, Robert Morash the producer of the show used that term when they
first taped theThis Old House series. I read where Norm objected to the
term master carpenter, but the producer prevailed. Like myself,Norm is
a journeyman carpenter. He is an excellent carpenter from what I have
seen on the early shows. He is not a cabinet or furniture maker by
trade, but still does nice work. I imagine that he has limited
experience on a lathe and does the best he can.
mike

I attended a luncheon where Norm gave a presentation about two years ago. I
sensed he was rather frustrated with a lot of the criticisms... Like all of
us he has developed a lot of new and more refined skills over the years.
However, through the magic of TV people keep seeing shows he did 5-10-15
years ago, form an impression, and then criticize his skills as if he didn't
evolve...

Over the course of the day I had three opportunities to chat with him and he
was a very nice guy. The funny thing is we didn't talk about woodworking!
Digital cameras and my kids did come up though. His wife was a delightful
woman...

Personally I think Norm has done the world a great service by sticking his
neck out and developing his skills in front of our eyes on film. I recall my
days working at Colonial Williamsburg in front of a live audience all day.
Many people wouldn't know if you knew what you were doing or not. However,
there certainly were people who would challenge you (either through
ignorance or maliciousness)! My mug is in thousands of still photos and many
home movies but they wouldn't allow for the kind of critique Norm faces
every day! Thankfully! ;~)

John

Norm
 

In article . net, John
Grossbohlin wrote:

[snip]
Personally I think Norm has done the world a great service by sticking his
neck out and developing his skills in front of our eyes on film. I recall my
days working at Colonial Williamsburg in front of a live audience all day.

Didn't Roy Underhill do a show out there at least once? Or am I
just getting my historical reanactment/living museum places muddled
again?

Just curious...

Norm
 

"David C. Stone" wrote in message
...
In article . net, John
Grossbohlin wrote:

[snip]
Personally I think Norm has done the world a great service by sticking
his
neck out and developing his skills in front of our eyes on film. I recall
my
days working at Colonial Williamsburg in front of a live audience all
day.

Didn't Roy Underhill do a show out there at least once? Or am I
just getting my historical reanactment/living museum places muddled
again?

Just curious...

Roy worked there as the master housewright... at the same time he was doing
the show out of Chapel Hill. I'm not sure if Roy is still with CW but he may
as I'm pretty sure he still lives in Williamsburg (we're both members of an
organization that puts out a member list with addresses). I knew him
socially... his wife Jane and my housemate Carol were the best of friends.
Another great guy but in a different way from Norm--louder and way more
sarcastic! ;~)

John

Norm
 

I didn't intend for this to come across as a 'Norm basning' thread. I
know that Norm isn't much of a turner. At shows, it seems that about
half of the people who stop to look at my stuff, are woodworkers;
beginners, hobbyists, semi-pro (you make enough money to support your
habbit, and pay a few bills, but not enough to quit the day job), and
pro. For those that ask me how I learned I tell them that I have always
liked working with my hands, I had 30 plus years of construction
(mostly concrete work), I read a lot of books and magazines, and I
watched the PBS shows, both Norm and Roy. Norm has all of the latest
and greatest electrical tools, and Roy does everything with hand tools.
If I had never seen Roy hand cut dovetails, I would never have had a
clue as to how to proceed. You need both skills in the shop. Some
things have to be done by hand, and machines make a lot of things
easier. I would love to be able to do either of their shows.
robo hippy

Norm
 

robo hippy said:

I didn't intend for this to come across as a 'Norm basning' thread. I
know that Norm isn't much of a turner. At shows, it seems that about
half of the people who stop to look at my stuff, are woodworkers;
beginners, hobbyists, semi-pro (you make enough money to support your
habbit, and pay a few bills, but not enough to quit the day job), and
pro. For those that ask me how I learned I tell them that I have always
liked working with my hands, I had 30 plus years of construction
(mostly concrete work), I read a lot of books and magazines, and I
watched the PBS shows, both Norm and Roy. Norm has all of the latest
and greatest electrical tools, and Roy does everything with hand tools.
If I had never seen Roy hand cut dovetails, I would never have had a
clue as to how to proceed. You need both skills in the shop. Some
things have to be done by hand, and machines make a lot of things
easier. I would love to be able to do either of their shows.
robo hippy

You didn't come off that way at all. And neither did most others.
Apparently Norm is one of those sacred cows, like UniSaws and Bush.
Norm is a nice guy, an accomplished carpenter, and he never claimed to
be a "Master" turner. Some folks are just a little bit excitable.

I have every Norm episode ever made - I like Norm. Norm got me
interested in woodworking in general. (Hmm.. maybe I should hate him.)
I like the crew they have on TOH and ATOH. I watch, not because I'm
going to learn anything revolutionary, but because the are good,
pleasant people to be around - even if only as background noise.

But I do not consider him to be a 'Fine Woodworker', and he has never
claimed to be. If anything, Morash is the one that plastered the
"Master" label on him - Norm seems too modest to claim such a thing.
Seems this almost identical thread comes up every few years, because I
have a feeling of déjà vu... ;-)

Don't take anything you read here to heart. Sort through the good
stuff and apply it to your life. Throw out the bad stuff with next
weeks trash. There are many fine, helpful people who do not offend
with their smug approach, and these make it all worthwhile.

Nothing worth having is easy, eh? g

JMHO,

Greg G.

Norm
 

I think most woodworkers are aware of the fact that there are craftsmen
and there are woodworkers. I also think that Norm probably has the best
job in the world. There's probably not a day that goes by without Norm
getting a phone call from a tool manufacturer offering a free tool if
he would only use it on his show,and add in the the fact that he gets
paid well for doing what most of us pay to do. Isn't that almost any
woodworkers dream?

Norm
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
I think most woodworkers are aware of the fact that there are craftsmen
,and add in the the fact that he gets
paid well for doing what most of us pay to do. Isn't that almost any
woodworkers dream?

That's it! Jealousy.....that is the reason for all of the bashing over the
years. All Morash intended was to show how to woodwork and be frugal in the
work by using everything (wood), without a godly amount of waste. I read the
article when he first started NYW.
Most of the bashers are just envious of Norm's good fortune.
Almost like all of the fishing anf hunting shows.
Why, just imagine if we who like to fish, hunt and woodwork could have all
of the needed equipment and supplies give to us.....and then got paid to use
them.
Just my 2 cent s woth