New Yankee Workshop Online...

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penhead

penhead

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For those interested in woodworking...and Norm Abrams in particular...and are not subscribers of 'Popular Woodworking'...

"In October of last year, we learned that after 21 seasons, "The New Yankee Workshop" was closing up shop and at the time, Russ Morash, executive producer and director of the show, told Editor Christopher Schwarz that he foresaw an online future for "New Yankee." That future has come to pass.

The first episode (#101 from 1988) is available now for online viewing. The "New Yankee" site says the web episodes are an experiment, and that if there's enough positive feedback, a different episode will be available every week. "

http://www.newyankee.com/index.php
 
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Nice to watch one of the old ones again. Back then he had a shop with tools like most of us can afford.
Don't know about the freehand mortise cuts on the table saw, but back then we really didn't have mortise attachments available.
 
kirkfranks said:
Nice to watch one of the old ones again. Back then he had a shop with tools like most of us can afford.
Don't know about the freehand mortise cuts on the table saw, but back then we really didn't have mortise attachments available.
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Yep; Did you notice the Shopsmith he used to drill the holes?

Boy does that shop look empty!
 
1988.... That was a long time ago. I was still active duty AF back then. Had access to a woodshop on base that was actually better stocked than his at the time, was too busy with other stuff to appreciate it.

That shop sure looks deserted, don't it. Where's all the custom cabinets stuffed with duplicate high dollar tools and single purpose gew gaws? I actually saw him using a vintage, arm powered, non battery operated straight slot screwdriver to drive in a screw. And a Shopsmith of all things! What on earth is the king of a tool for every job doing with one of those? I wonder if that transitional jointer plane on the top (2x4!) shelf behind the (storebought!) workbench is sharpened and adjusted correctly?

What gets me is how many little touches show that the shop was actually a working shop that had seen plenty of use even though this was the first episode they filmed. The piece of homosote he's got down on top of the workbench is all ragged and chewed up, and the table on that radial arm saw (is that actually a craftsman tool???) Has been around for a while too. The dartboard is a nice touch too.

Now I believe that the NYW is actually located behind show producer Russ Morash's house. The actual physical location is a closely guarded secret though. I'm really glad that they are finally going to make the shows available online. Going to have to make myself a reminder to download each one for posterity. I have lots of the old ones on vhs stored in the house, but digitally is much handier to reference.
 
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jskeen said:
What gets me is how many little touches show that the shop was actually a working shop that had seen plenty of use even though this was the first episode they filmed. The piece of homosote he's got down on top of the workbench is all ragged and chewed up, and the table on that radial arm saw (is that actually a craftsman tool???) Has been around for a while too. The dartboard is a nice touch too.
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I believe Norm was the carpenter on "This Old House" for several years before NYW started. Being a true yankee, he probably used/moved the tools he already had.

Shopsmith was one of the early sponsors of NYW.
 
randyrls said:
I believe Norm was the carpenter on "This Old House" for several years before NYW started. Being a true yankee, he probably used/moved the tools he already had.

Shopsmith was one of the early sponsors of NYW.
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For many years I assumed that the NYW was actually at Norm's house, and that the contents were his personal tools. Norm is a lifelong carpenter/contractor, and was working for Russ on a personal job when The concept for this old house was approved. The NYW was an outgrowth of TOH after the first few seasons. I would really love to know at what point in that relationship the NYW was built, and how long it was used before the show was first filmed, by who, and for what. I would guess that much of the tooling and props for the earliest episodes really was Norm's personall stuff, possibly moved from an earlier workshop that Norm owned. Of course after the show caught on, toolmakers companies were known to fall over themselves to try to get Norm to use their widget on the show, as that was practically as good as a Papal bull for having your sales explode.

I actually have always thought that the shows production showed a great amount of restraint in the tools and products he used on the show. No obvious product plugs, or prominent labels on display, and some of the most used tools in his shop were NOT made by his sponsors.

I would definately not be doing the woodworking I am now if not for Norm and Russ and Boston PBS. I really hated to hear he was hanging it up. But hey, I hear that I may be able to get Saint Roy on Direct TV sometime this year.
 
jskeen said:
I hear that I may be able to get Saint Roy on Direct TV sometime this year.
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Saint Roy??? As in Roy Underhill???
Norm Abram would start off... "First you call the lumber supplier and get some of this rare, very expensive, unobtainable wood..."

Roy would start, "First you go out and cut down a tree...."
:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

By-the-way; I like your tag line.....
 
One and the same. The guy known to occasionally say "take your third largest axe....."

I got all excited a while back when I found his show listed as I was searching for something tolerable to tivo between the kids cartoons and the wife's seemingly endless supply of talk shows and modeling reality "documentaries". Of course after it didnt' record after a couple of weeks, I checked and it was on a channel that was only available to people in other areas of the country that probably really didnt' care anyway, and "no, you can't substitute that channel for the lifetime network, no matter if you are willing to pay extra". Cest' La Vie.

As for the tagline, I originally heard it as one of the "reasons it's better to be in the airforce than in the infantry" but I found it again later online here, so I'll give credit where it's due.

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/miljokes/blhelicopterlessons.htm
 
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