Britain's Best Woodworker

[Nelly111s]

I wish I had half of Billy's imagination.

 

[mr rusty]

I watched a bit of the last episode. What really concerned me was angle grinder carving. Those carver and saw blades in angle grinders are absolutely lethal, and showing them to Joe Public who might think they'll have a go IMHO is just dangerous. Son of a friend opened his arm up with one.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

I thought Joe was robed and Snail lady should have gone

 

[Corset]

i have been a woodworker a few years (20) and i think its easy to be cynical and mock these programs and the people on them. i must admit i found the pyjama guy a bit much. When it first started i was a bit cynical too. However my kids ,who despite my best efforts have never really gone woody, love it. My son was asking about joints and wood types. He actually makes me sit down and watch it with him.
Interesting they were really annoyed the zebra won last week as they loved the dog. So for me, if it encourages kids into woodworking its a win. Highbrow cabinetmaking is all very well but maybe showing people making mistakes is a bit more accessable, we all have to start somewhere. I personally dont think i could rustle much up in two days as i am quite slow. i was wastching a sam maloof thing on youtube, kids couldnt have been less interested.

 

[HamsterJam]

I watched a bit of the last episode. What really concerned me was angle grinder carving. Those carver and saw blades in angle grinders are absolutely lethal, and showing them to Joe Public who might think they'll have a go IMHO is just dangerous. Son of a friend opened his arm up with one.

I didn’t go back to confirm but I think one brief clip showed Misti turning cross grain on the zebra base using a spindle rouging gouge.

 

[treeturner123]

i have been a woodworker a few years (20) and i think its easy to be cynical and mock these programs and the people on them. i must admit i found the pyjama guy a bit much. When it first started i was a bit cynical too. However my kids ,who despite my best efforts have never really gone woody, love it. My son was asking about joints and wood types. He actually makes me sit down and watch it with him.
Interesting they were really annoyed the zebra won last week as they loved the dog. So for me, if it encourages kids into woodworking its a win. Highbrow cabinetmaking is all very well but maybe showing people making mistakes is a bit more accessable, we all have to start somewhere. I personally dont think i could rustle much up in two days as i am quite slow. i was wastching a sam maloof thing on youtube, kids couldnt have been less interested.

I think you have the whole point here Corset. This is a program to make people interested enough to take the first tentative steps NOT a program for the experienced woodworker.

BTW HamsterJam, have you not seen YouTube videos of equally hair raising turning practices; I certainly have!

Phil

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I thought Joe was robed and Snail lady should have gone

Ah! Yes! But then it would have left just three(?) blokes and a ?????? and that would have been inferred as sexist.
My prediction for the final, assuming three people in it, Misty, Charlie (snail lady?) and Radha unlessone of these totallyscrews up so cannot be selected/saved. Why? Unfortunately the programme will want a trans, a female and a token male/person of colour.

 

[HamsterJam]

.

BTW HamsterJam, have you not seen YouTube videos of equally hair raising turning practices; I certainly have!

Phil

Sadly, I have.

Unfortunately I don’t think there is much that can be done regarding the quality of YT content. I expected better from a national TV channel though.

 

[xraymtb]

Just caught up with the latest episode - for me Billy should have gone. It wasn't finished, it didn't really look that good and as usual he has taken on something far too large with no plan and failed to deliver.

The show in general has grown on me each week - it is at least as much about the design as the execution but isn't that arguably true for a lot of woodwork and crafts? You can make a chair with the most exquisitely refined turned legs and steam-bent arms attached to a hand carved Elm seat, but if the legs splay inwards, the arms are only 100mm above the seat and the whole thing tilts at a 30deg angle it's not going to be a good piece of furniture.

In my opinion, one of the shows biggest challenges is in defining 'woodwork'. I would love to see them challenged to cut half-blind dovetails by hand but I'll bet there are plenty on this forum who couldn't do a good job of that either - but ask them to do the same with a bandsaw/router and they would turn out beautifully. My version of 'woodwork' isn't the same as yours, Misty's or Norm Abrams' but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it.

Still think having an architect as a judge is a nonsense though...

 

[Garden Shed Projects]

I wasn’t too impressed with the chainsaw use either. No chainsaw boots and starting it in the air at arms length, something that happens but shouldn’t be shown as the way to start one.

I think the smiley lad was lucky to get immunity at his peacock was rubbish and he was pretty lucky last week.

 

[user 17340]

I'm watching it, enjoying the variety of approaches and personalities. If anything it will motivate me to get on with some projects that only exist in my head (and wood store) so far. As many have commented the format is removed from actual woodwork production but that's TV - Jewellery making friends had the same complaints with the "All that Glitters" show.
Anyone know what happened to the Rustic woodwork program fronted by Lee Mack? Saw trailers but no show.

 

[Tris]

Was that the one that got canned because one contestant had neo-nazi tattoos on his face?

 

[Jameshow]

Lee Mack would have been a much better presenter!

 

[Hornbeam]

I have watched all the series so far but am not sure why. I would not expect a first series to get it all right but despite being able to look at other similar series they have managed virtually every mistake in the book
Too broad a subject
Awful presented (who was no better on the bake off)
Lackluster judges with no clear judging criteria
Overambitious projects way beyond the skills of the participants or time constraints. (this is weekend woodwork)
The skill level of the participants is clearly limited. Again looking at other similar programmes I think there is a far greater skill level (particularly the jewellery one) but perhaps I am more critical of my own area of knowledge. I cannot believe that given the number of people who leave colleges such as Rycotewood etc or private courses that they couldnt have found some better more skilled applicants
There are no skill demonstrations and although I of the judges clearly has some skill she hides it well
I have yet to see anything where I thought "that looks really good" and was a saleable item
Hopefully the presenters will learn from their mistakes and get things right next time but I am not too sure

 

[thetyreman]

Was that the one that got canned because one contestant had neo-nazi tattoos on his face?

yes

 

[user 17340]

Was that the one that got canned because one contestant had neo-nazi tattoos on his face?

I think it was, I remember some talk of that foul up.

 

[Mickjay]

Ah! Yes! But then it would have left just three(?) blokes and a ?????? and that would have been inferred as sexist.
My prediction for the final, assuming three people in it, Misty, Charlie (snail lady?) and Radha unlessone of these totallyscrews up so cannot be selected/saved. Why? Unfortunately the programme will want a trans, a female and a token male/person of colour.

I must admit, that thought had crossed my mind too. Can't be getting rid of any members of the minority groups or else could be perceived as racist, sexist or transphobic, which leaves a token white male in the mix. I had this particular thought the previous week when it was obvious that Radha should have been one of the departures based on the judging criteria. My money is on Misti to win as the most minority group of all

 

[JSW]

I must admit, that thought had crossed my mind too. Can't be getting rid of any members of the minority groups or else could be perceived as racist, sexist or transphobic, which leaves a token white male in the mix. I had this particular thought the previous week when it was obvious that Radha should have been one of the departures based on the judging criteria. My money is on Misti to win as the most minority group of all

Yep, Billy out this week, then Misti to win overall, which is a bit of a shame because

Spoiler

If you've seen the challenge they have lined up for the final, I think Billy would have walked it

 

[billgiles]

I thought that the peacock carving was very good and realistic. The tail was a bit basic but the idea was good given more time it could have been stunning.

 

[Owd Jockey]

What a terrible terrible waste of wood! Even if the Oak tree conveniently fell down.