This show is pure pleasure for a dude(ette). Frankly, if I knew “then” what I know now, I would have taken woodshop voc tech in high school more seriously. I come home, kick off my birks, sit down, bring up TiVo and lay back, imagining the satisfaction I would experience in crafting panneling, or a sweet gd dry sink repro. Did you see that clean wood door construction and installation Norm did a week or so ago? Kill me now! I’m thinking of selling a car to make room in my garage for a gd table saw. Am I wrong in my man-love for Norm Abram?
don’t judge me
I’ve always enjoyed his shows and skill. When watching, I wonder if I could do what he’s doing if I had the tools he has. Probably not, as he is a natural woodworker and I’m not even close. He also had a great personality. I think that he should sign his work (burn his name in) as it will probably be worth lot’s of $$$ someday.
I’m a Disciple of Norm (DoN), been watching him for years. I have conflicting emotions though; I drool over his craftsmanship while envying him for his natural abilities, and curse him for having such a nice workshop with top of the line tools. I don’t always love the style of his creations (the backpainted gilded mirror? Ug.), but am always amazed at the quality of his work.
Norm Abram is awesome!! I loved the show about the door; I wish I had that variety of wood in storage! (All I have is pine, mostly from old shelving. And I don’t have a garage right now.)
I’m a chick though; I don’t really know much about “man-love.”
Nice, my sentiments exactly! I can’t wait for this to come to fruition!
I’d love to see an encounter between him and Roy Underhill (The Woodwright’s Shop) (for those of you who don’t know, RU also has a woodworking show, but on the other end of the technology spectrum, sometimes making the tools)
Brian
Hehe… I was about to say how much more I enjoy The Woodwright’s Shop. I mean… Norm is great but he has tools that I think were invented, perfected and manufactured specifically for him to do one scene then throw away sometimes.
“So, I have to make sure this mortice is at a perfect diminishing spiral following the Golden Ratio but at precisely a 60 degree inclined angle, so I’m going to turn to my custom made power spiral morticer with a jig made just for this project. Luckily I have this preternatually perfect slab of white oak that will cut like butter without any possibility of splitting just laying here on my scrap wood pile.”
One of my favorite quotes about Norm came in a Playboy interview with Bob Vila - They asked him: What does he say when he hits his thumb with a hammer, and what does Norm say?
Bob’s response: ‘I say “shit” - Norm doesn’t hit his thumb.’
It’s not just that he’s a natural woodworker, but he’s got years of experience.
And the tools help (many of which I think are provided by the tool companies, and in any case the workshop belongs to the production company). I watched an episode with a friend who pointed out that he used about $1,500 in clamps to build something worth something like $100.
What I want to know is what happens to all the stuff he builds on the show? Does he use it to furnish his or Russell Morash’s house?
Ahhh, for me this is one of the best features of the show, because I never have the right frakkin’ tool, seems like.
I’ve said to friends in the past that I don’t know if I want to punch him in the mouth out of jealousy or buy him a beer.
It’s nice to see someone with passion and talent finding what they are good at.
Anybody remember the cartoon Freakazoid? Would you believe that Norm Abram appeared on it once? I think it was the final episode, but don’t quote me on that. One of the villains (the brain guy) wanted to build a huge horn which would produce a sound that would kill Freakazoid. Problem was, the horn had to be made out of wood, and his own woodworking skills sucked. So he kidnapped Norm Abram and forced him to build the horn for him.
If it wasn’t Norm providing the voice for his cameo, it was someone who did a damn good impersonation.
The wikipedia article Norm Abram - Wikipedia says it’s him but doesn’t give a citation.
I saw one episode where Norm was making a circular patio table with an octagonal pattern. After gluing together the giant octagon, he took it over to a bandsaw with a custom jig attached to it, built so that he could spin the entire table top and cut the circular edge. The finished table was about 6 feet in diameter.
I love the show! Whenever I flip past it on TV I can’t help but get sucked in. (I have never built anything out of wood in my life except for the frame for my raised beds, which Norm wouldn’t lower himself to piss on.)
I love to watch Norm. I sit there in total awe, and lament that I’ll never, ever do anything of the sort. I don’t know how to build anything, and I don’t have the tools to do it anyway. The man is a woodworking genius!
I love Norm too! I actually have a major crush on him; he isn’t that handsome but his skill makes him sexy. And I love specialized tools, so the show really does it for me. The one real (amature) carpenter I know kind of scoffs at his workshop, though. But I think he’s just jealous.
There are lots of Norm detractors, particularly among the Fine Woodworking crowd at www.taunton.com. He does some things on the tablesaw that aren’t safe, uses too many brads and biscuits, overuses belt sanders, etc. Very fine quality furniture is put together mostly with good joints and glue. Nails are almost never used and screws are used in situations where things may need to be taken apart later, where metal is attached to wood, or other specific applications.
That being said, he is very good at what he does.
I’m a huge fan of both. Their shows make winter weekends almost worth living. That Okie wood turner is pretty good too.