Popular Woodworking 2005-08 № 149, страница 39

As far as the Timesaver is concerned, OK, it's a bit much. But to Abram, it is what it's called - a time saver. Although Abram tries to keep his weekends free, he typically works 12V2-hour days Monday through Friday. From early spring through late fall, a new episode of "The New Yankee Workshop" is shot every other week. Therefore, Abram typically has 1V2 weeks to build each project, from start to finish. And on top of that, he builds each project twice. The first time he works out all the kinks, alone. The second time most of the process is filmed.

4. The New Yankee Workshop is virtually void of any hand tools.

The invention of the word "Normite" is just one example of how prominent the "power-tool-only" reputation has become. Abram says that many people believe that if they own the same number of power tools Abram uses on the show, then they could build the projects he builds, too. Abram says this belief isn't true - woodworking requires skill and much of that skill requires being able to cut a tenon with a hand saw just as easily as you would with a table saw - something Abram has proven he can do.

Several projects from the show have required hand work. Abram hand-cut dovetails when building the Federal-Style Game Table, for example. But Abram says two problems exist with incorporating hand tools into the show: Viewers of the show love power tools and there's not enough time.

Of course, this doesn't mean Abram isn't fond of hand tools - in fact, he's quite particular about them. For example, he keeps a collection of inexpensive chisels in bright yellow plastic trays propped up against a window in his shop. This isn't because they are his favorites. Rather, these are the ones he uses for quick-and-dirty chisel jobs. When working on a project that requires fine chisel work, he'll use his better ones, which he keeps safe in his hanging tool cabinet.

5. Abram has a crew of woodworkers building projects for the show.

Abram builds each and every project alone, start to finish. His first step when building a project is to find a piece of furniture he wants to build and record the furniture's dimensions in a notebook. This process is always filmed.

Abram also takes digital pictures of the piece, which helps him in his planning.

If the project is complex, Abram will create a couple sketches - using these sketches, his digital pictures and the recorded dimensions, he'll then get his necessary material. "I always have very little leftover," Abram says. "There's so much deep Yankee blood in me - I don't cut many extra pieces."

Abram does have one shop assistant, Wade Burcher. Burcher's main responsibilities are to keep the shop clean, the tools sharp and the machines well-tuned. Burcher, who has been with the show for a couple years, is himself a woodworker and has watched the show since he was a child. (He's also a whiz with "New Yankee" facts - Morash and Abram claim he knows more about the show than they do.)

6. Abram knows everything there is to know about woodworking.

Abram is quick to admit that there are several woodworking skills he has yet to master, including carving and marquetry. These two skills in particular are ones he'd like to learn, if he had the time. Finishing also is his weakness, he says.

7. Abram never makes a mistake.

"People always ask, 'Do you make mistakes?'" Abram says. "Yeah, I make mistakes." Morash says that viewers are always asking for

Everything in Norm Abram's shop isn't brand new. Here you can see some well-worn tools stored in an old coffee can, Yankee style.

a blooper tape. However, the fact of the matter is, there isn't one. Because Abram builds each project twice, rarely does he make a mistake while building a project during a shoot.

But, Abram is human. Hanging on the wall in the shop is a piece of wood that Abram botched while building the Butler's Table. The show's staff made sure it was put on prominent display. "The beasts that we are, we feasted on this," Morash says. "It was an example of his fallibility. It was cruel, inhuman and we will pay for it in our next life."

Morash says part of the appeal of the show is that there is a certain satisfaction in seeing Abram building something without making a mistake. "It's beautiful workmanship going together to form something wonderful," Morash says. "There's a calming influence to watching someone do something well."

A Woodshop That Lives Forever

Much of woodworking is a practice in patience, and for years viewers have appreciated Abram's studied approach to the craft. Abram says patience is a trait he inherited from his father, a man who didn't believe in shortcuts. Patience is what allows Abram to approach new tasks in a methodical manner, allowing him to understand a new technique or tool after experiencing it just once.

Morash laughs as he describes a typical scene in the shop whenever a new machine arrives: He and Burcher are tearing the box apart, ready to put it together, while Abram is quietly standing in the corner, reading the machine's instruction manual.

While Abram isn't planning on quitting the show anytime soon, he also doesn't plan on hosting the show forever. "Everything has to have an end point," Abram says, adding that this show's end point will be when he stops having fun. "I'll be 56 this year," he says. "By 60, I want to be in charge of my own life."

Morash recognizes that the show must have an end point, too. He says he fantasizes Abram's shop someday being on display at The Smithsonian National Museum ofAmerican History, similar to the museum's exhibit of Julia Child's kitchen (Morash produced several of her shows). And while the display most likely will include all the glitter of a Timesaver, if it's true to the show, there will also be some coffee cans, Abram's well-worn leather tool-belt, and some sawdust on the floor, too. PW

popwood.com I

37