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I saw my first Woodsmith magazine in the late 70s. I believe I subscribed and my first issue was 22. I thought it was a wonderful magazine. Everything was fresh and new. I had plans and how to build them and it was great. To my recollection the only other magazines available was Workbench and Popular Science. Didn't see FWW for a couple of years but what they considered fine woodworking I wasn't really interested in so Woodsmith became my go to magazine. It was always late back then. I believe the latest was 6 weeks. We were a dedicated bunch and just over looked the production problems Don had because it is still here
Fast forward 40 years. Now there is the internet, YouTube. and any number ways if getting information. Now I am (all my furniture, three kitchens, one for a church, which took 500 BF of oak and 35 sheets of plywood) away from then. I still subscribe to Woodsmith and will continue to subscribe as long as they publish and or I am still here.
It still takes money to survive and evidently their subscribers have dwindled to where Woodsmith can not survive. Woodsmith for years could have made a lot more money if they had did advertising but they chose not to. Advertisers influenced a lot of what is in the publication and a lot of those magazines no longer exist so I hope it doesn't here.
Anyway, it is a hard business to be in today. They are just people trying to do their job and put food on the table at home. If they have to take on advertising to survive, then so be it. I can live with it. I hate wearing a mask but that is the way things are now.
Tom
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01-09-2021, 03:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-09-2021, 04:07 PM by Ray Newman.)
"It still takes money to survive and evidently their subscribers have dwindled to where Woodsmith can not survive. Woodsmith for years could have made a lot more money if they had did advertising but they chose not to. Advertisers influenced a lot of what is in the publication and a lot of those magazines no longer exist so I hope it doesn't here."
--TableSawTom
Agreed. The reason I am giving Woodsmith another year is that I just have not found much of interest in the last year or so. Maybe I have doing this long enough and/or read too many other woodworking magazines and books that very little appeals to me anymore. Starting to feel the same away about Fine Woodworking. Older age and burn out have set in or are setting in???
Ads are annoying, but as you say ads pay the bills.
Does Mortise and Tenon magazine have ads? Can't recall. I purchased the first two issues, but the magazine just did not appeal to me.
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01-09-2021, 05:34 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-09-2021, 05:35 PM by Handplanesandmore.)
(01-09-2021, 03:22 PM)Ray Newma Wrote: . Starting to feel the same away about Fine Woodworking. Older age and burn out have set in or are setting in???
Ads are annoying, but as you say ads pay the bills.
Does Mortise and Tenon magazine have ads? Can't recall. I purchased the first two issues, but the magazine just did not appeal to me.
Fine Woodworking at least has well over 100 contributors and growing to draw from for contents; others, you can count in one hand or two, not to mention that few of them do any commissioned work (the real kind, not the kind for the wife or neighbor!). Yes, some issues do recycle projects or techniques, but its Readers Gallery is something no other magazines can match. I read Fine Woodworking mostly for its variety and design inspiration (no longer a subscriber though).
The M&T is so narrow that it sells to a niche base. Quercus from the UK is similar which I received a couple of complimentary issues. I'm not interested in the techniques or projects featured in those two publications. May be for leisure reading, but not for expanding my skillset or interest.
Simon
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Woodsmith has not had a lot of articles or projects that appeal to me lately but is it just me or what. You can't be everything to everyone all the time. The magazine has been a part of me and in my home for at least 40 years, so why change horses in the middle of the stream. Also, if the magazine folds and goes away so does this forum and I believe a lot here are regulars. We have our moments but we are a community of woodworkers trying to share skills, knowledge and experience. There is more to the magazine than just printed pages. I find it Woodsmith to be doing everything it can to stay afloat by any means, in these changing times.
Handplanesandmore supports Fine Woodworking but does not subscribe. Support it or it will go away.
Woodsmith has been without advertisements for decades. If they feel they need to add advertisements then why not except the inevitable and get on with our lives.
Tom
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01-10-2021, 07:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-10-2021, 07:48 PM by Handplanesandmore.)
(01-10-2021, 03:17 PM)tablesawtom Wrote: Handplanesandmore supports Fine Woodworking but does not subscribe. Support it or it will go away.
Tom
I had supported it long enough in terms of subscription (my cabinet has print copies #1 (some early issues bought on ebay)- #260ish, with no missing issues), and now support lumber and supplies vendors instead. I should add that I also no longer subscribe for newspapers, sports magazines, and hack, cable too. I'm sure any of them could go away with or without my support anyway.
Simon
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I get my mag online. There were some ads but not a lot. Woodsmith got bought out by someone year or two ago. I see that Don doesn't do the leading letter in the mag. So - new management. The rest seems about normal.
John
Always use the right tool for the job.
We need to clean house.
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01-11-2021, 06:20 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-11-2021, 06:48 AM by fredhargis.)
(01-10-2021, 07:38 PM)John Mihich Wrote: I get my mag online. There were some ads but not a lot. Woodsmith got bought out by someone year or two ago. I see that Don doesn't do the leading letter in the mag. So - new management. The rest seems about normal.
That would be be (I think) Active Interest Media (they also own this board)....they also must have bought Popular Woodworking. I just got an e mail from Woodsmith this past week offering to sell me a thumb drive with all of the Popular Woodworking issues on it.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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(01-09-2021, 11:37 AM)budglo Wrote: Received my Woodsmith mag yesterday, picked it up and thought "this is going to be a good issue"........... after 35 pages came 24 pages of Woodpeckers ads. I intended a rant post here but Turner52 beat me to the keyboard.
In my estimation, the same criticism mentioned in the above posts apply to, in my opinion, to the paid subscription to "Woodsmith Essentials". It seems lately it contains, mostly, the email tips regularly sent to those who agree to it.
I really miss Don Peschke on the "Essentials" program and wonder if his move to the Woodsmith Store was his decision or a cost-cutting pressure from the publisher? The younger guys replacing him certainly don't have his level of experience.
About 6 months ago, after trying to decipher what Logan Wittmer was saying, I emailed the mag urging he needed to articulate better and refrain from swallowing the end of sentences. He responded to me direct and said he would concentrate on his style of delivery. I haven't noticed an improvement since then.
In years past I considered Woodsmith (and ShopeNotes) to be the best mags for hobbyists on the planet. Now I'm reconsidering my opinion.
What exactly does "swallowing the end of sentences" mean?
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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(01-10-2021, 03:17 PM)tablesawtom Wrote: Woodsmith has not had a lot of articles or projects that appeal to me lately but is it just me or what. You can't be everything to everyone all the time. The magazine has been a part of me and in my home for at least 40 years, so why change horses in the middle of the stream. Also, if the magazine folds and goes away so does this forum and I believe a lot here are regulars. We have our moments but we are a community of woodworkers trying to share skills, knowledge and experience. There is more to the magazine than just printed pages. I find it Woodsmith to be doing everything it can to stay afloat by any means, in these changing times.
Handplanesandmore supports Fine Woodworking but does not subscribe. Support it or it will go away.
Woodsmith has been without advertisements for decades. If they feel they need to add advertisements then why not except the inevitable and get on with our lives.
Tom
Plenty of other woodworking forums out there. WoodNet is merely a shadow of its former self. So many of the regulars here have disappeared. I have learned a ton from WN, but honestly, there's less and less appeal to me now. If it dies, it'll be a sad day. But for me, what would be sad would be the ability to search the archives. Sawmill Creek and Lumber Jocks are two other active forums. SMC has a lot more participation than WN.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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AHill, what I was trying to describe by "swallowing the end of a sentence" could better be explained by mumbling the end of a comment, or swallowing. Probably could have chosen a more apt description, but I'm a retired military pilot and have observed, that in hostile environments, miscommunications between air and ground can have severe and fatal consequences. In military communications the "who, what, when, where and, if appropriate, why" has become an integral part of my conversational habits. Summed up..... always articulate. Sorry for the confusion.
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