A new YouTube channel

[Trigs]

Another Youtube "woodworking" channel with no wood. Or working. I hope you correct those oversights soon.

Ha ha, indeed..

YouTube's a great outlet for anything and everything and over the lockdown I've watched heaps of videos to kill time. But so much is repeated content I rarely find something that tickles my genuine interests. Have a good look at as many woodwork channels as you can get through and look for the gap. 'Grandpa Amu' is my new go to watch when I got 10 mins

 

[tomosap]

Another Youtube "woodworking" channel with no wood. Or working. I hope you correct those oversights soon.

Ha ha, indeed..

YouTube's a great outlet for anything and everything and over the lockdown I've watched heaps of videos to kill time. But so much is repeated content I rarely find something that tickles my genuine interests. Have a good look at as many woodwork channels as you can get through and look for the gap. 'Grandpa Amu' is my new go to watch when I got 10 mins

Now interestingly, I can see your point, and believe that that's exactly what I set out to do.

So I've been after a PT for ages now, something better than the Titan jobby I had some years ago, and there's nothing on YouTube about the product I featured, not even an unboxing video!

So my intention was to fill that exact gap - not even Axminster have a video featuring this piece of kit, hence my idea.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[tomosap]

.........Will look to try and get this sorted in time for the next vid!

If you are serious about the Youtube thing, then as a viewer I would humbly suggest that you post regular videos, but not every week. Most of those who post every week soon run out of suitable projects, and the channels go from interesting content to a series of low grade fillers. You have to be in your workshop doing meaningful work for an awful lot of time to produce a video a week.

Some of my negativity stems from the huge number of similar channels on the internet, all focusing on tools, gadgets, and trivia around the workshop rather than making beautiful or practical things. Add to this that you have spent your time on this forum asking about a series of new machines and tools.......which is fine, of course, but suggestive of someone who hasn't a long background in making stuff in a well set up workshop. And as I said, Youtube is awash with crappy videos about setting up a workshop. If you had posted a load of photos of stuff you've made then maybe I could be more enthusiastic about your channel, because ultimately I am interested in what comes out of a workshop, not what stays in there permanently.

I sincerely wish you all the best with this venture, with the caveat that I'll only be interested if you actually start making decent videos about making stuff. Others may well enjoy seeing a machine revealed, and the very best of luck to them and you regarding that......but if you surprise me by coming up with some quality woodwork I'll be pleased as punch and I'll be subscribing.

Can I ask, with a genuine sense of curiosity and no implied tone, do you have a YouTube channel? and indeed, do you have an online presence showcasing your pieces?

 

[Distinterior]

.........Will look to try and get this sorted in time for the next vid!

If you are serious about the Youtube thing, then as a viewer I would humbly suggest that you post regular videos, but not every week. Most of those who post every week soon run out of suitable projects, and the channels go from interesting content to a series of low grade fillers. You have to be in your workshop doing meaningful work for an awful lot of time to produce a video a week.

Some of my negativity stems from the huge number of similar channels on the internet, all focusing on tools, gadgets, and trivia around the workshop rather than making beautiful or practical things. Add to this that you have spent your time on this forum asking about a series of new machines and tools.......which is fine, of course, but suggestive of someone who hasn't a long background in making stuff in a well set up workshop. And as I said, Youtube is awash with crappy videos about setting up a workshop. If you had posted a load of photos of stuff you've made then maybe I could be more enthusiastic about your channel, because ultimately I am interested in what comes out of a workshop, not what stays in there permanently.

I sincerely wish you all the best with this venture, with the caveat that I'll only be interested if you actually start making decent videos about making stuff. Others may well enjoy seeing a machine revealed, and the very best of luck to them and you regarding that......but if you surprise me by coming up with some quality woodwork I'll be pleased as punch and I'll be subscribing.

Can I ask, with a genuine sense of curiosity and no implied tone, do you have a YouTube channel? and indeed, do you have an online presence showcasing your pieces?

I think if you take the time to look at some of the projects & work that MikeG has produced and shown on this Forum, you will realise that your question is moot!.....

 

[tomosap]

Hence my asking - as I say, no tone implied, just curious what standard I’m aiming for and where the bar is

 

[Jon C]

Well done on making a start Tom. Don't be put off by the negative crowd there is a lot to be gained from someone unboxing and initial impressions, do take the valuable advice of Peter Millard and subscribe to his channel there is a lot of information on his channel that will be of great help to what you're trying to do.
I wish you every success

Thoroughly agree. If you don’t like unboxing videos (or any video) don’t watch it :| I don’t understand the negativity. I wish I had the self confidence to stand in front of a camera and make YouTube videos.

 

[lurker]

Hence my asking - as I say, no tone implied, just curious what standard I’m aiming for and where the bar is

Have a look at Mike’s posts and then tell us what you think of the bar he sets? :lol:
Personally, he makes me just want to give up trying :roll:
I get tired just thinking about his work rate!

 

[powertools]

If you hadn't come on here the likes of Mikeg or Richard Jones would not have found your vid but I am sure anybody looking to buy the same machine would take the time to watch it. If people are interested in a subject they will watch a vid that is less than studio quality and be grateful for your input.
Best of luck with the future of your channel.

 

[Trevanion]

Some of my negativity stems from the huge number of similar channels on the internet, all focusing on tools, gadgets, and trivia around the workshop rather than making beautiful or practical things.

The great shame is that those videos about the gadgetry will get many times more views than any video about actual craftsmanship, John Heisz is very open and talks about it often on his separate channel that videos about "actual" projects get next to no views compared to workshop nonsense. He recently did a set of four videos about making a bathroom vanity cabinet which collectively had a combined view count of ~190,000 views between the four videos, a video about some sanding/grinding doodad experiment on the lathe a week later had over 160,000 views on a single video. You can see this kind of trend with many other YouTubers too if you look at their back-catalogues, Fine Woodworking itself is simply too boring to watch for the general audience.

I think one of the absolute best examples of a proper YouTuber is Alec Steele. I've been watching his stuff for the better part of five years now (he used to upload very high quality stuff daily back then, he's absolutely nuts!) and he's always managed to keep the energy up and the content entertaining and engaging to watch. But of course, this is blacksmithing, it's all very mystical and interesting to watch the metal move, the sparks fly and the hammers pounding... Woodworking, by comparison, is very tame and hard to make all that interesting to the average viewer.

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[Sgian Dubh]

If you hadn't come on here the likes of Mikeg or Richard Jones would not have found your vid ...

You're right. I certainly wouldn't have sought out tomosap's video, and I'd say it's almost a certainty that I'll never watch another one, unless someone else puts up a link to an example of his that illustrates some spectacularly difficult and meticulously and flawlessly crafted technical tour-de-force. Run-of-the mill woodworking skills, whether machine or hand skills demonstrated on film or video hold no interest for me which is, I suppose, why I like to know the credentials of the people I'm supposed to be paying attention too.

But that's my particular focus, the knowledge and potential learning that might be available, and I guess I'd forgotten that there's a massive viewing market out there for what I can only think of as visual candyfloss; the woodworking equivalent of all those pointless (to me) videos of cute cats, doggy antics, funny children, and all sorts of wedding dance pratfalls. As others have said, it's possible I suppose that the truly instructive woodworking stuff out there on YouTube struggles to find an audience because it's too difficult, too involved, too boring and way beyond the skill level of non-woodworking viewers that chance upon it. The quick clever looking tricks, probably most of which may not be considered serious or properly joined-up woodworking, may well get a lot more hits because they appeal to casual browsers looking for a bit of entertainment.

Still, tomosap came across as personable and likeable in his one video to date, so that seems to me like a decent start ... but will he end up having to go down the woodworking flim-flam and candyfloss route to get a decent following? Who knows, ha, ha? Slainte.

 

[tomosap]

If you hadn't come on here the likes of Mikeg or Richard Jones would not have found your vid ...

You're right. I certainly wouldn't have sought out tomosap's video, and I'd say it's almost a certainty that I'll never watch another one, unless someone else puts up a link to an example of his that illustrates some spectacularly difficult and meticulously and flawlessly crafted technical tour-de-force. Run-of-the mill woodworking skills, whether machine or hand skills demonstrated on film or video hold no interest for me which is, I suppose, why I like to know the credentials of the people I'm supposed to be paying attention too.

But that's my particular focus, the knowledge and potential learning that might be available, and I guess I'd forgotten that there's a massive viewing market out there for what I can only think of as visual candyfloss; the woodworking equivalent of all those pointless (to me) videos of cute cats, doggy antics, funny children, and all sorts of wedding dance pratfalls. As others have said, it's possible I suppose that the truly instructive woodworking stuff out there on YouTube struggles to find an audience because it's too difficult, too involved, too boring and way beyond the skill level of non-woodworking viewers that chance upon it. The quick clever looking tricks, probably most of which may not be considered serious or properly joined-up woodworking, may well get a lot more hits because they appeal to casual browsers looking for a bit of entertainment.

Still, tomosap came across as personable and likeable in his one video to date, so that seems to me like a decent start ... but will he end up having to go down the woodworking flim-flam and candyfloss route to get a decent following? Who knows, ha, ha? Slainte.

I’m positive there’s a compliment in there somewhere :lol:

So my position is simply this in respect of the “candy floss” woodworking videos...

To grow the hobby, it needs to be accessible. Not everyone has the time/patience/attention span/whatever to get into the weeds right from day one. I know that what I’m interested in won’t appeal to everyone, and I do enjoy the “candy floss” because it’s accessible watching - even my wife enjoys watching some of that stuff with me, and that’s saying a lot.

I get that on here, you have the “hardcore” brigade, the people that would turn up their nose at the idea of a pocket hole or putting resin anywhere near a piece of wood (spoiler: you’re gonna hate some of the stuff I’m going to publish in future), but the point of this hobby is for you to enjoy it for what it means to you.

I didn’t set out to conquer the world of YouTube, and I’m certainly not bothered about monetising my content (I make enough in my full time job to cover the bills, so this is still a hobby for me, albeit one I take seriously). If I put up a “piece of candy floss” and it gets someone thinking, ‘I’d love to give that a go’ or ‘wow, that was 10 mins of gratification that I enjoyed’, then great, mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned.

Thanks so much for those who took the time to share tips, messages of support and constructive feedback, it really is appreciated.

To those who derided my efforts, or insinuated that I was expected to bow down to their unquestionable superiority and would only ever be good enough if I met their standards, well I guess it’s easier to leave things unsaid and remain respectful of our differences.

Look forward to seeing you in the next videos, with improvements made (and I’m serious, new camera is in the post 8) )

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Deadeye]

Hi Tom

Brave move in many ways!

Some (intended constructively) thoughts from a newbie:

You need to consider and define who is your target audience and then be quite clear about it. I'd estimate that 80%+ of the people here are 5+ years' experienced and many are lifelong craftspeople. I feel in a minority as a beginner - and your video feels like it's aimed at beginners, which is fine, but then you should talk about why you chose this one rather than the others and what you want it for.

You need to think through why you're doing the Youtube thing at all. Money? Altruistic spread of knowledge? Narcissism? To teach yourself camera editing? To get click-throughs to furniture sales? All those are fine, but it changes what you do. If it's money then you need views and stickiness. There are far more newbie weekend warriors than high-end craftspeople, and the craftspeople tend to have less time to watch youtube.

Why are you different/watchable? Have you examined and categorised the many, many other offerings (the competition for an insanely valuable resource - time)? What's the niche/angle? Personality? A long-term inspiring project (see Tally Ho!)? Techincal expertise and authority (see Custard's "How to"s here)? Genuine skills advancement/insights (see Wandel or Sefton or Millard)?

For example, are you education or entertainment? 90% of internet woodworking content is the latter. People here like a bit of woodworking skill s ****, but mostly want to improve our own. Can you help with that?

If you spend a week binge-watching other channels and ask those questions about each of the successful ones, you'll see what I mean. Think through "what is Matt Estlea doing"? Is Izzy Swann actually skilled or just imaginative (education vs entertainment)? Why does Bob Cosman show everything in real time? Why does Woodgears command respect even though mostly we don't build mouse mazes? Is your audience making real products or just an ever-nicer shed to tinker in?

Oh, and if you think of somethign about which you know little but are curious, search youtube and critique what you find. I did that today for laser cutting - and it's really easy to separate channels that really help (I'm after education not entertainment) from those that don't!

Hope that helps. I'll watch the next one.

 

[tomosap]

Some very valid points there Deadeye, thank you for sharing.

To address some of them immediately, I suppose my main driver is just to share my experiences and document projects to share with others - how you categorise that I’m not sure...

Have watched or subscribed to most of those you’ve named above, and know what you mean about forming an identity.

The one you haven’t mentioned is Rag and Bone Brown who I probably identify with most, I.e I’m involved and interested in the hobby, have done it for a number of years and looking to share those experiences with others.

In terms of where I’m at, as I’m taking a step up in the hobby, I’ve invested in additional equipment to help with that and wanted to share that with others who might be in that similar stage.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[MikeG.]

..........To those who derided my efforts, or insinuated that I was expected to bow down to their unquestionable superiority......

No-one has done that.

 

[AJB Temple]

I wish you well with your venture Tom, and I agree with the comments that identifying your target market is key. Not only YouTube, but Instagram and other sites are littered with people trying to monetise their offerings and to succeed you need IMO something that differentiates you. This is why I thought an unboxing video was a weak place to start - the internet is full of them and they are often tediously slow.

You also appear to be making assumptions about the motivations of people who contribute to this site, using the word "hobby". It is certainly true that there are hobbyists on here. However, there are a sizeable number of contributors for whom it seems to me at least that woodwork is not really a hobby but more a part of the way we live our lives: ie doing things for ourselves, sometimes with help from forum members.

For example, woodwork is not a hobby for me at all. I enjoy doing it usually, but the actual reason why I do it is because I do not wish to pay or cannot afford to pay for other craftsmen to do the work. For example, I have built a number of timber framed buildings from scratch. The primary reason is that it works out about 30% of the cost of paying others to do it. It is still work though. A good many people on here either have similar motivations, have the skill and tools or machinery to do work just as well as most of the trades out there, or are actually professionals in their trade (making doors, kitchens, windows or whatever).

A key element is that the site, it seems to me, operates as a kind of virtual shed. People seek help and advice - and very often that advice is exceedingly helpful.

I hope you will make a valuable contribution to the site and I will try to at least skim some of your future YouTube vids when you start making things. Personally I only read (or indeed post) tool reviews in the context of work I am actually doing and would not normally watch reviews of gear that I have no need to acquire and probably not reviews of hobby level gear at all.

It is incredibly time consuming to post things like build threads. I am miles behind in mine for that reason.

Kind regards, Adrian

 

[screwpainting]

Have a look at the responses to this channel Tom...

post1328843.html#p1328843

Good luck mate.

 

[tomosap]

Hmm, so if I understand you correctly, I need to lose some pounds, grow out my hair and develop ****s? :lol:

And of course make sure I always use a blade guard

 

[thetyreman]

you'll always get people who don't like what you do, it's definitely a tougher than average crowd here but there are a lot of people who I'd describe at expert level so it's justified somewhat although it can come across as arrogant at times.

One thing I will say with youtube is that if you can invest in half decent microphones then it will make a big difference, it's easier to watch a poor quality video and high quality audio than low quality audio and high quality video, if you can get both right then it makes it a lot more watchable as well as good lighting, video editing and just having a good personality on camera, I am biased though because I am an audio engineer.

 

[tomosap]

Agree with your excellent points, and as mentioned above, I've fully taken these onboard and have invested in a better camera to start with and will follow this up with an upgraded microphone for the next video. I'm hopeful that with some better equipment, lighting should be less of an issue too.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Still, tomosap came across as personable and likeable in his one video to date, so that seems to me like a decent start ...

I’m positive there’s a compliment in there somewhere :lol:

Well, there is that excerpt from my post, which is complimentary.

The rest of it was essentially me simply musing on potential YouTube issues in general - I'm not much into YouTube content really, but I've watched some stuff on it, therefore my ability to comment is perhaps limited, but I guess I can still do so if I'm in the mood to do so. Slainte.