Scott Phillips???????

[fredhargis]

I enjoyed norm's show greatly, but I also enjoyed David Marks (for his too-short stint) and I really like Roy's show. I'm not a hand tool guys, but knowing the history and use of hand tools is useful. as well as entertaining.

[Arlin Eastman]

I'm not his fan...nor will I flame him. He's done the show himself and convinced the sponsors he's worthy of their support. His techniques have been battered here for many years and I agree with the criticisms. But you have to admire someone who can make a living doing things the way he does.......or not. He lives 2 counties south of me, and is quite popular with the locals. I'm told by some who consider him their friend he is indeed a talented woodworker. No one can explain why that doesn't come across on his show.

He has changed his show to use his sponsors tools instead of real woodworking.  He has been doing the shows for what 30 years and it has not always been this way.

I cringe when I seen him turn 5 years ago and after watching 5 or 6 of them I stopped.

[tablesawtom]

Roy's show debuted a full ten years before  Norm's. Norm hardly opened the door for him.

I stand corrected

Tom

[tablesawtom]

He has changed his show to use his sponsors tools instead of real woodworking.  He has been doing the shows for what 30 years and it has not always been this way.

I cringe when I seen him turn 5 years ago and after watching 5 or 6 of them I stopped.

They all do that and who can blame them for using the sponsors tools . Sponsors pay the bills and who can blame the sponsors for wanting to stay in business, to get the word out about what is available, and why theirs is better.
People see people doing woodworking and then think I can do that, and then they want to know about what do they need to do something and it works hand and hand.

I know Norm even did projects that required products supplied by the sponsors, To me it s not that big a thing but I can see where you would find it rubbing you the wrong way. And I defend your right to feel the way you  do. If you don't particularly enjoy watching something then by all means don't watch it, what ever the reason.

There is good in every woodworking show, some are just better than others and that decision is up to you.

Tom

 

.

[bhh]

I never was a fan of Scott Philips. I felt like I was being talked down to like a little kid. 

I have heard him described as "Mr. Rogers visits the woodshop."    And like several people now, I always got the impression of "Honey, you have this TV show, ... do you think I could be on too?  OK, Susie."   But I'll have to admit I have not seen more than a fraction of all 25 years of episodes.  Did you know that he was originally on the tech staff at Shopsmith?

I was getting started in woodworking about the time Roy came on and I learned much from him.

I never understood why some guys would yell at the TV during sports shows, but I found myself doing it with NYW.   

• "Ahhhkkk!   Too much glue."  
  
• "Tell me what to do if it's not 'perfect'!"
  
• "Say something else about safety while you are working with a given machine not just 'Read, understand and follow...' week after week!"
  
• "No, you don't put half-blind dovetails on a base molding just because you have a jig for that!!"
  
• "Hey, I don't have 48 routers or a Time-Saver drum sander -- nor can I afford them or have room for them."
  

I know he kindled a lot of guys into woodworking and that was good.  But I quit watching after a couple of years.  I did read one of his books and found he did know quite a bit about hand tools, but seemed to never talk about them on his show.

[AHill]

Scott's show isn't geared to show anyone how to do fine woodworking. It's sort of an entry level show. More for the weekend woodworker. That's how his sponsors like it. If you're expecting exotic skills and tools, you'll need to go elsewhere. To say it's not real woodworking is a great disservice. Scott's show has outlasted many other woodworking shows. The American Woodshop has more seasons (25) than David Marks' Woodworks (3) and Norm Abrams' New Yankee Workshop (21). That ought to say something.

These things I like about his show:

- He always uses his safety gear. Unlike so many how-to, home improvement, and other woodworking shows.
- He gets his wife involved. How many other woodworking shows show women? The only one I can think of is the occasional appearance of Mary May on The Woodright's Shop.
- He generally shows something you can make in a weekend. That appeals to a lot of weekend hobby woodworkers.

[RogerD]

Scott's show isn't geared to show anyone how to do fine woodworking.  It's sort of an entry level show.  More for the weekend woodworker.  That's how his sponsors like it.  If you're expecting exotic skills and tools, you'll need to go elsewhere.  To say it's not real woodworking is a great disservice.  Scott's show has outlasted many other woodworking shows.  The American Woodshop has more seasons (25) than David Marks' Woodworks (3) and Norm Abrams' New Yankee Workshop (21).  That ought to say something.

These things I like about his show:

- He always uses his safety gear.  Unlike so many how-to, home improvement, and other woodworking shows.
- He gets his wife involved.  How many other woodworking shows show women?  The only one I can think of is the occasional appearance of Mary May on The Woodright's Shop.
- He generally shows something you can make in a weekend.  That appeals to a lot of weekend hobby woodworkers.

All the woodworking shows past and present have had a positive impact on my woodworking skills.  Norm and David Marks were my favorites.  David Marks Woodworks show was on for seven years not three.

Roger in Texas

[paul2004]

I like Scott Phillips show.
Yea, there is some stuff he makes that I would never make.. He made an outdoor bench and used tree branches as a back..
I think he did an entire season of repurposing materials to make other stuff. Not my thing, but there's some woodworkers that like making something out of pallets,etc

I think he has a good mix of beginner projects and more advanced projects. I have only seen a few dozen of his shows, but I saw him make a 3 legged stool using only hand tools, an electric guitar , and a maloof style rocker. Those are considered advance projects in my opinion.. Now, I could probably make the stool based on what I saw.
Could I make the rocker or electric guitar? No, but at least I got an overview of the process and a few tips out of it.

There's so few woodworking shows left. I am glad Scott is still around. It doesn't bother me that he uses Rikon bandsaws, Kreg stuff, etc to make the sponsors happy. Every show does that.

[Cooler]

I got a few good tips from him.  I still have the gage blocks I made so that I do not have to measure.  Also some square brass tubing which I use to set distances. 

(I have an aversion to rulers.)  I use setup blocks and story sticks as much as possible.  Sometimes I just transfer dimensions directly to the stock. 

But I got that tip from Philips.  Not a bad return on my investment.

[Arlin Eastman]

They all do that and who can blame them for using the sponsors tools . Sponsors pay the bills and who can blame the sponsors for wanting to stay in business, to get the word out about what is available, and why theirs is better.
People see people doing woodworking and then think I can do that, and then they want to know about what do they need to do something and it works hand and hand.

I know Norm even did projects that required products supplied by the sponsors, To me it s not that big a thing but I can see where you would find it rubbing you the wrong way. And I defend your right to feel the way you  do. If you don't particularly enjoy watching something then by all means don't watch it, what ever the reason.

There is good in every woodworking show, some are just better than others and that decision is up to you.

Tom

 

.

I am not knocking him for using his sponsors tools at all.  To me it is good business, it just lacks ingenuity in using anything but pocket screws of which I would like to know more of just not to use with everything. 


I guess the only good working shows left are Roy Underhill which I like a lot and Handi's and he does some very nice work to all the rest are gone.

Scott has a nich market for weekender folks and I think that is Great!!!! If a person wants to get more involved in woodworking that is what woodworking sites like WoodNet is for and all the great ideas here.