Ed in Tampa
01-02-2010, 12:11 PM
I watched the one episode of NYWS and now I remember why I liked the show. Norm was real. It also provided me with some insight with why I lost interest.
In the early shows Norm's focus was on building things and that was what he did. In the later shows it seemed like Norm was proving he was worthy to be called a fine craftsman. In the first show he did not use any clamps to hold his glue up. In the later shows he used so many clamps I often worried the workbench might collapse under the weight. It also seemed like in the end he used so many jigs and fixtures to insure high quality that to someone watching the program the idea of building of the jig or fixture actually turned into the project.
I really liked the old days when Norm showed his tricks and quick fixes to open joints, and mistakes. I do believe we should always be increasing our ability and craftsmenship, but I think many times we can lose focus, are we building something or are we trying to show how precise we can be?
I know this sometimes sucks the life our of me and I lose interest in the project.
I was faced with this in our last remodel. I was real hesitant to install the cabinets so when my wife came up with an expert to do it for about the 1/3 the normal cost I jumped on it. However watching him I realized I could have done everything he did and probably had done it better. However what he knew from doing it so much was how to fix his "oops". He was in fact an expert, very highly rated and sought after but he still made an "oops" or two. One or two I don't think I would have made. However the results were different. Had I made them I would have had no idea how to fix them. He made them and knew exactly what to do to fix them.
He cut crown moulding like it was second nature. I would have spent more time measuring for the first piece than he did cutting and installing it all. I don't think I would have made any mistakes yet he made two. And now even though I know what they are I really can't find them since he knew exactly how to fix them. To me that is craftsmenship. And I think that was what Norm focused on in the early programs.
In the early shows Norm's focus was on building things and that was what he did. In the later shows it seemed like Norm was proving he was worthy to be called a fine craftsman. In the first show he did not use any clamps to hold his glue up. In the later shows he used so many clamps I often worried the workbench might collapse under the weight. It also seemed like in the end he used so many jigs and fixtures to insure high quality that to someone watching the program the idea of building of the jig or fixture actually turned into the project.
I really liked the old days when Norm showed his tricks and quick fixes to open joints, and mistakes. I do believe we should always be increasing our ability and craftsmenship, but I think many times we can lose focus, are we building something or are we trying to show how precise we can be?
I know this sometimes sucks the life our of me and I lose interest in the project.
I was faced with this in our last remodel. I was real hesitant to install the cabinets so when my wife came up with an expert to do it for about the 1/3 the normal cost I jumped on it. However watching him I realized I could have done everything he did and probably had done it better. However what he knew from doing it so much was how to fix his "oops". He was in fact an expert, very highly rated and sought after but he still made an "oops" or two. One or two I don't think I would have made. However the results were different. Had I made them I would have had no idea how to fix them. He made them and knew exactly what to do to fix them.
He cut crown moulding like it was second nature. I would have spent more time measuring for the first piece than he did cutting and installing it all. I don't think I would have made any mistakes yet he made two. And now even though I know what they are I really can't find them since he knew exactly how to fix them. To me that is craftsmenship. And I think that was what Norm focused on in the early programs.