Thanks to all of the “Norm” watchers/bashers for continueing to give the rest of us a good laugh. That is the price he pays for being an above average woodworker, with a Waaaay above average amount of tools to use to build his project.
I think most of the bad mouthing comes from (gasp!!) ENVY! I do not agree with everything the guy does, but boy has he opened up a whole new world for a lot of others who now know more than he does.
Just had to get it all said……keep-a-grinnin
Replies
One thing to remember about Norm: He worked very hard most of his life rising early and working in rain, snow, and heat. Since he got on TV, he works when he wants, does pretty much what he wants, and makes oodles of money.
GOOD GOIN' NORM!!!
Yeah! , But it sure is fun trying to drag him down here with us mortals :)
I'm not the least bit jealous that he has a router for each bit he owns and a staff to dimesion his stock . No, I wouldn't give up my life style for something like that!!
He still works hard. He personally builds 3 of each project and has one helper. Then there's the appearances all over the country as well as the research trips. I doubt anybody in PBS is making oodles of money. The shop you see with one router for every bit belongs to the producer, Russ Morash. I'm sure he's doing somewhat better than most of us, but he's not on easy street either.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Where would the world of woodworking be if Norm and his down-to-earth personality never hit the airwaves?
Bill/Reading,PA.
If Norm worked like Krenov, Nakashima or Frid on TV, I bet his ratings would plummet as few would appreciate or care to try to reproduce what he does.
What Norm does well is to inspire many to see woodworking as something that yes, they too could do, and gets them off their couch potato butts and into Home Depot to pick up a couple of tools (please, no HD bashing, that's not the point here). With time and experience, some of these ex-potatoes end up appreciating and trying (at least) to duplicate the work of the masters.
Whether or not Norm followers ever learn to build something without a nail gun, I think it's great that he's helping to keep the interest up in woodworking. He's a popularizer, and that benefits us all. More woodworking wannabes means more market demand for woodworking products, which means more available to us (and at lower costs).
It's also fun to see how Norm has become so assocated with NYW. I remember Norm from when I first met him on TV, when he was a carpenter who was lucky that some guy named Bob Vila hired him to help rehab a Boston home on some new show called "This Old House."
Go Norm. You need to learn be inspired to walk before you can walk or run.
- Paul in Tinton Falls
Edited 9/2/2004 7:15 am ET by Paul
A lot of it is personality. He's interesting and entertaining. Not doing rustic work or really high-end hand work. He fits a certain niche in the woodworking spectrum. My work and my shop are not like his. If I needed what he has and could justify it economically, I'd get more of it. He does not get into cost. The materials plus maintenance and depreciation on all the equipment are substantial. Would be interesting to know what it costs him to build a piece.
Commercial TV has all these reality shows now. Would be REAL interesting to have Norm drive up to some average garage shop and do a show building a Queen Anne highboy with whatever tools and materials are at hand.
Bob,
I would bet a lot of people would be surprised at what Norm could build without all of the tools in his current fancy workshop. He's been around for a long time, and was apparently working and making a living before he found his current home.
I would guess projects would take longer and some purists would cringe at some of the work-arounds he would likely come up with but, on the whole, I think he would do just fine.
Matt
I'm sure he'd do fine. He worked his way through the ranks as a carpenter. I know a couple people who are maybe better, but he's definitely good at it. It would just be interesting to see. There's a cable show like that. Throw a half dozen people in a junkyard with some random tools and make them build a submarine or a hovercraft with whatever they can find. The usual woodworking projects Norm does are just too tame. I know how to build a bench or an end table.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled