End of The New Yankee Workshop

[Scooby074]

Are there any woodworkers on here? If so i have some bad news.

After 21 seasons Then New Yankee is over. Its kind of a shock, but not necessarily a surprise. Norm and Roy Underhill (and yes even Vila ) are the ones that gave me my introduction to carpentry and working with my hands in general.

Ive recently seen a podcast where he talks about downsizing his house and building a boat, so i guess the writing was on the wall, but now its been confirmed.

This is quite a loss. We say we have no tradesmen or people that like to work with their hands. Kids are exposed to consumerism at such a young age, New Yankee was one show that my kids love, and i have no worries about letting them watch. Not too much consumerism there (unless they have a sudden want for a Unisaw, then who am i to complain ) Losing this show certainly wont help the lack of young people getting involved in working with their hands.

Just thought id share this with the group. Feel free to post about TNYWS, PBS or anything woodworking in general.

New Yankee Workshop Series Ends - Fine Woodworking

[dave1949]

That's a shame Scooby.

Turning me loose on a fine piece of wood is a crime against nature, but I still enjoyed watching Norm build things. Always amazed at how many tools Norm has.

Dave.

[/pine]

First let me say I love the show but I did hear an amusing story about Norm...a friend of a friend that married a friend of Norms wife related that Norm in real life is much more like many of us than he is like on the show...

what I heard was that Norm's real life garage/shop is packed to the rafters with tools piled everywhere and unfinished projects to no end...

[tommu56]

Ill miss it
The other one I miss was the woodright shop with Roy Underhill
the local station pbs stations don't carry it at all.

tom

[Scooby074]

Originally Posted by /pine

First let me say I love the show but I did hear an amusing story about Norm...a friend of a friend that married a friend of Norms wife related that Norm in real life is much more like many of us than he is like on the show...

what I heard was that Norm's real life garage/shop is packed to the rafters with tools piled everywhere and unfinished projects to no end...

Ahhh so hes human after all

Tom: St.Roy... that guys one of a kind. Quite a craftsman. Pretty much the definition of "old school"

[hitekcountry]

I met Norm some years back at a county fair. I made some comment about what a great shop he had and he told me that shop wasn't his, and that it belonged to the producer of the show, in the back yard of the producers house.

[Scooby074]

Originally Posted by hitekcountry

I met Norm some years back at a county fair. I made some comment about what a great shop he had and he told me that shop wasn't his, and that it belonged to the producer of the show, in the back yard of the producers house.

Yep. The shop he made famous, isnt his. It belongs to Russell Morash the producer of Yankee and man behind lots of great PBS how to shows.

[2manyrocks]

That's kind of a bummer that the producer got the nice shop instead of Norm. I thought it was Norm's all this time.

It seemed to me that TOH went in a different direction after Villa left. It seemed more how to hire something done instead of how to DIY. I thought Villa and Norm made a great team.

[kennyd]

I am a woodworker...but lost interest in the show the last several years. He used to make practical things with common tools that most average woodworkers had. Then he started using all the "specialty" tools that no one could afford like a 48" widebelt sander!

Just my opinion...but the same happened to TOH (This Old House) with the use of exotic and expensive materials...

[MossRoad]

Originally Posted by kennyd

I am a woodworker...but lost interest in the show the last several years. He used to make practical things with common tools that most average woodworkers had. Then he started using all the "specialty" tools that no one could afford like a 48" widebelt sander!

Just my opinion...but the same happened to TOH (This Old House) with the use of exotic and expensive materials...

I tend to agree with you. I still liked the show, but the tools were too expensive and he stopped showing you how to do it with average tools. But still, really nice work.