| Review by mtkate | posted 1281 days ago | 1261 views | 0 times favorited | 7 comments |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Do you like quirky? (I DO!!!) Do you like unpretentious honesty? (I DO!!!) Do you like to get interesting and rock-solid insights into how an expert does his finishing? (I DO!!!)
I got this DVD for a recent birthday. I put Charles Neil DVDs on my wishlist and actually got one. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and learned a LOT. For example, I never really knew much about grain filling techniques… and now I am looking at remnants of red oak wanting to give it a shot.
When my family member gave me the gift, I swear she was biting her nails. Let’s not make any pretentions. The DVD is not sealed in plastic wrap like you would buy in a store. When you open it, you can tell it did not come off a huge production line. [Thought: did he pack this himself? Wonderful!]. The camera work is not a George Lucas production. For those who are / were familiar with SCTV, it actually reminded me of Dr. Tongue. She had previewed it and got worried – particularly with Charles’ casual and off the cuff personality.
However… I love this kind of tutoring. Charles makes a few errors during the filming (I loved it when he said “don’t you guys do that!!!”) which would have been edited out by other productions. I appreciated seeing that because it’s exactly what I would be doing. He does not edit out his working on pieces. It’s valuable to me that I can see how long he sanded something to get the result he got… rather than the timeline being edited out like they would do in a cooking show. I can’t wait to get the whole set. Maybe for Xmas?
I rate this a 5 star – just like TeenageWoodworker did well over a year ago in his review of the entire DVD set. I also found a former review by Mikega also is of the same opinion.
I gleaned so much new info from the DVD that I wanted to take the opportunity to share this.
7 comments so far
Bob #2
home | projects | blog
3808 posts in 2191 days
#1 posted 1281 days ago
I like Charles.
He is what he is, plain and simple.
I would recommend him to anyone that wants to shorten the learning curve with wood working.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
degoose
home | projects | blog
6594 posts in 1524 days
#2 posted 1281 days ago
Charles Neil impressed me very much…. I have his drawer and door series… have not finished watching it.. I also saw his review on the Kehoe Jig and have just ordered it…
Eventually I want the whole kit and kaboodle.. but have to wait for time to order and then to watch…
Finishing is one thing I would like to learn more about..
Thanks for the review … I will take time to read the others.
-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...
Kindlingmaker
home | projects | blog
2646 posts in 1696 days
#3 posted 1281 days ago
The set of Charles Neil’s DVD’s are outstanding! I am on my four veiwing of them, There is SOOOO much information and how to’s.
-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings
teenagewoodworker
home | projects | blog
2727 posts in 1938 days
#4 posted 1281 days ago
very nice i love my set too. some people dont like the really casual style but personally its like hes talking to you personally as opposed to other tutorials which seem more geared towards a large audience. and i can tell you if you get the whole set you will be amazed at what you can do. people i know are amazed at how smooth and perfect i can get my finishes… haha
Scott Bryan
home | projects | blog
27262 posts in 1992 days
#5 posted 1281 days ago
Kate, this is a nice review. I have always found that Charles gives a straight no-nonsense presentation that is packed with info and dead on accurate. I have these on my wish list as well.
-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine
CharlesNeil
home | projects | blog
856 posts in 2040 days
#6 posted 1280 days ago
and guess what …charles is on Lumber jocks about everyday, seeing if anyone needs his help, and if so , well alot of you know that answer… later ya’ll…. thanks alot guys, means alot, and oh yea along with my DVDs or show, well like it or not…you get me ..either here, my forum, or direct email
Charles@charlesneilwoodworking.com
and hey i may have packed that DVD surenuff , we just regular folk..nothing fancy , what you see is what you get
FloridaUFGator
home | projects | blog
39 posts in 2183 days
#7 posted 1280 days ago
These DVDs and all the other Charles Neil DVDs are excellent. I’ve got about 6 or 7 different sets of them and they are great. I think his finishing ones are the best but the rest are right behind. I can also personally attest to Charles’s willingness to help out with anything you might need. He recently walked me through finishing a cherry computer cabinet after I woefully messed up my first attempt. He was able to (through 60+ emails and a few phone calls) provide very detailed instructions on how to ‘mask’ my errors and then bring the peice back to a very respectable finish. I have never met Charles before but after watching his finishing series I reached out to him in desparation via email to see if he could help with my blunder. He jumped right in and spent a considerable amount of time walking me through the entire process. Thanks again Charles!
Buy the DVDs – you won’t be sorry. They are crammed with wisdom!
-- ...and remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these — safety glasses - Norm Abram
Have your say...