New Yankee Workshop closes its doors.

That is a shame. I really enjoyed the show and picked up a lot of good tips and plans from Norm. I will miss the show.

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

I am afraid it will make little difference to me. They stopped broadcasting Norm here a few years ago. and even the repeats of repeats stopped.I really liked watching him but wish we had the same chance as you guys to see more of his stuff.I heard he was asking Sky for too much money and they said no thanks .Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

This is a sad day indeed. Norm is, and has always been my inspiration in woodworking. Having never been formally taught this hobby, most of my limited skill and abilities, let alone my love of tools of all kinds, have all come from watching this master at work.

I wish him good times, long life, and hope that he knows how much he is appreciated, by so many people.

Thanks Norm.

-- You know.... I think that old wood needs to be furniture.

That is sad. Norm was really my first exposure to this stuff when I was about 7 or so, and since then I’ve picked a mountain of information from his show.
Only took me another 20 years to start actually doing it :)

We’ll miss you Norm

-- Steve -- University Heights, Ohio

That is a bummer. But to tell the truth I rather suspected something like this would happen since they quit filming new episodes. Norm certainly has been an inspiration to countless numbers of us who enjoy woodworking.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

OOOOH WTF DUDE!!!

-- "Democracy is by far the worst system of government. Except all the others that have been tried." ~ Winston Churchill

An enormous loss for the tool industry. Whoever considered buying task-specific machinery for their small wood shop until Norm made us feel like we couldn’t live without it. Oh sure, you guys who have been into woodcraft for years knew that things could be done with a minimum of tooling, but newcomers like me just ate up morticers, edge sanders, and the like. Don’t get me wrong, I like all these fancy contraptions. They let me overcome my lack of talent and ingenuity. I like to think the recession would have been insurmountable if not for Norm and his influence on my tool buying.

Thanks to Norm, Delta, Porter-Cable, and Festool, I can go down to my shop and after a few days I can emerge with some useless box that looks pretty good. What’s more, I’ve occupied my mind with enough calculations to make me forget I flunked algebra.

We’re all gonna miss you Norm.

-- Measure twice, cut once, buy extra stock.

I’ve never watched a Norm episode, but I realize that many have. I’m sorry that his talents will not be shared.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Man, I loved The New Yankee Workshop. I’ve learned a lot from Norm over the years.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

Man, that’s a kick in the teeth for generations to come. I’ve grown up watching Norm and love the show, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

That’s the pits :-(( Wonder what Roy’s status is??

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Somebody else will come along. Its that becoming thing that is neccesary throughout life. And they too will one day be missed.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

After re runs this year I was anticipating that this might be the end of new seasons . I started in woodworking because of the information form all of Mr. Morashes shows . I’m grateful for all the years Norm worked hard to bring us new projects and I still will tune in to the oldies but goodie shows when possible.
THANKS NORM THANKS MR. MORASH for all of those great shows. The new shows will be missed.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

That sucks!! At least we still have the woodsmith shop

-- There is no such thing as a mistake. Its called a design modification Rick Kruse, Grand Rapids, MI

THAT SUCKS!!!

-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan

I remember watching Norm going back 20 years. I was in my thirties but he gave me such a passion and desire to work with wood,, the same passion that my dad had as I grew up. I think one thing that we could do to show our support to Norm would be to continue to watch his shows and visit his website and store. One day we will all remember him as we did Sam but on a differrent plane. We Luv Ya, Norm.

-- Ed E. " Taking one board at a time "

A great loss indeed, Norm is a very skilled woodworker and I really enjoyed the program, the New Yankee Workshop will be missed.

-- A hammer dangling from a wall will bang and sound like work when the wind blows the right way.

oh no

-- Jim, Kentucky

I remember seeing the first episode of New Yankee. Have it on VHS. Norm was the reason I started woodworking. I learned a ton from him and others. Thank you Norm for your inspiration and talent. Wish I had your shop ;)

-- Rick

I hope someone else steps in. I would like to see a show just a wee bit more upscale than what Norm used to do.

-- http://newmissionworkshop.com

I guess you can only find just so many pieces of antique furniture to copy.
Glad I got my photo and signed promo pics last year.

Lee

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

Thank you for posting this ….Very sad news to say the least , but I’m sure that Norm needs some time off after all of these years. He was truly an inspiration to all that have seen the show : ) Thank you Norm !!!

Ok ,Todd Clippinger , here’s your chance ! Best wishes : )

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

bummer…its too bad that they cant find a way to keep going…i enjoyed the show immensely.

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

I remember about 20+ years ago I started watching NYW on Saturday afternoon when the show aired. I felt like I did when I was 6-7 years old getting up to see Saturday morning cartoons, The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Sky King, Roy Rogers, and all the “B” movie shows they played. I recorded every show, and watched them afterwards. I was like a vampire after blood—I wanted more and couldn’t get enough. I have to blame Norm for all the good tools I have. He forced me to buy them!!!!! And I’m glad he did! We’ll miss you, Yank!!

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

This might be a fatal blow to the plaid shirt industry. I will miss the show as well. I never built any of the projects from the shows I watched because of all the tools and gadgets. It was intimidating for me as a novice. What I did gain was the knowledge of how the tools should be used. I need to see it before it makes sense. Thanks Norm! Hope you get more time to chase those striped bass.

-- ShawnH "A little knowledge is a tool for disaster." Chinese porverb

I’ve always enjoyed watching and learning from Norm, however , never could relate much with him. He had way too many modern tools to do everything. Will miss his instructions, but I love the Woodwright Show the best!

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

I did not have the pleasure of “growing up with Norm” as I developed my woodworking skills. The NYW was not available to my area until a little over a year ago because we do not have cable and we did not even have PBS.

It was interesting to catch his shows after I had become a woodworker. I must admit that it would have been easier to watch some of his programs before I tackled some tasks in the shop. I did not build the project he showed but I needed the techniques that he used.

He is straight forward and there is no unnecessary drama in his shows. A little bit of history and peripheral information was added so we understood how things fit into the larger context. It is good to hear what a genuine and nice guy he is. It just confirms what comes across the TV. These things made him and his show easy to watch.

He has set the benchmark in more ways than just woodworking. As I have started doing videos, I watch his shows to see how they were produced. This has been a good place to start.

After doing a few videos I am a bit in awe of the guy because there is a lot of work that goes into producing just a 10 minute video and he was doing much more than that. His hard work is evident and even though it will disappoint a lot of people that he no longer is doing the NYW, I think he deserves a break.

Everyone who follows on TV and even the internet will be measured against Norm. He has become the standard.

Norm moving on may be what he needs for personal goals. Norm moving on means that someone else will rise and bring a new perspective to this great craft, hobby, and livelihood that so many of us enjoy.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

It is a sad day. Like many above, the man taught me so much. Because of the similarity in our names, a co-worker nicknamed me “Norm’s nephew” (John Abraham). I would have loved to have actually been one of his relative’s. Do you think he would have let me use any of his tools?

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

Thanks Norm!

Todd after watching all of your videos posted here, I think you would be on that short list of names to be Norms replacement. You, Marc S. and some other would be perfect for the job. I think that a few, even more then a few LJ’s would agree with me. I sure will miss Norm though.

-- Guy Kroll

The compliments and acknowledgement are appreciated for my video efforts.

Marc Spagnuolo, Dave Pruett, and Tommy McDonald have all provided me with information on how to do things in video production.

Through conversations that I have had with them, Norm’s name almost always comes up when talking about video production. It is clear that he has set a standard in woodworking videos and he provides a base line to work from, even for the internet.

I think one of the neat things is that we all provide different, yet valid perspectives in woodworking. The great thing (for the world of internet using woodworkers) is that all of these perspectives are available.

I plan on getting out more videos, and much of the work on my shop was to facilitate a better video environment. The funny thing is that I tolerated the mess and it was social embarrassment that motivated me to organize the shop. Now I will no longer suffer the embarrassment and my shop is a brighter and more efficient environment to work in.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Ditto to everything stated above plus this thought: Perhaps, just maybe, Norm will take a rest for a bit (He will still be doing This Old House.) and then a network will convince him to do a new show! While I hate to even mention his name because I am not a fan, this is what Bob Vila did when he left This Old House. We can hope that some day we will be watching Norm on HGTV or the DIY network.

-- And on the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop!

I started being a Norm fan back on This Old House in the Bob Vila days. Thats a bummer that NYW wont be on any more.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Sorry to hear Norm is leaving.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Really is sad – I really hope that the exit is something he wanted and not that someone at WGBH just decided they needed another 30 minute slot of Jim Leher or some other talking head show.

-- Its never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

I would love to read the press release. Thank you Norm for the 20+ years of teaching me woodworking.

dam what to say, i’ll miss the flanel shirts and all the projects he’s the reason i started woodworking him and roy underhill but i like these new guys out now like david marks, and a few others seems like were loosing alot of woodworkers maloof, krenov now its new yankee workshop what am i going to watch over the week and on weekends cuz i tivo all yankee workshops and woodsmith shop but woodsmith is nothing compaired to new yankee well i guess i’ll have to get in my shop alot more thats all but i have no one to show me the way no more i hope i wount get lost i’ll be here more often now lumberjocks will be my woodworking show i have to keep hope alive somehow.

-- Ike, Big Daddies Woodshop,www.icombadaniels@yahoo.com

That is to bad, like others here Norm inspired me to build things, my kids were just starting to get in to watching him with me. I will miss NYW Thanks Norm for everything.

-- Dave, I wood if I could but I can't so I woodknot

Has it only been 21 years?

I remember watching Norm back in the early 90s, and just kept going. Even when I was shopless and all. and even now I gain plenty of inspiration from his program….

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

As an earlier poster alluded to, what will the tool guys do now to promote their products? I always cringed at how things were cut with guards missing to help make better TV and give clarity – but this is not surgery – we do not need to see the actual cut to understand what is needed- I always thought there was a disconnect between promoting safety and actually throwing it out the window when it came time for filming.

A rite of passage… make a cutting board and watch “Nahm”

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

I hope this is just a hoax. As I was watching NYW yesterday morning I was thinking that Norm sure has been busy for a lot of years. Hopefully he will enjoy a much deserved vacation of whatever duration he sees fit. My guess is he will never be very far away from sawdust.

-- Abe Low, Fine furniture, Sacramento, CA

This would be very sad. Totally responsible for getting me into the field.

Eric
Greensboro, NC
Woodworkers Store

-- http://woodworker.com

I will certainly miss Norm. Learned a lot from him. I believe Norm is not only a excellent woodworker, but just a fine human being. Maybe he will just kick back and relax for a while.

-- You can't trust dogs to guard your food.