Good Woodworking Free Gift

[mr]

F&C lost a sale that way just yesterday, all for a handful of biscuits. :roll:

I looked at the latest F&C the other day and decided I wouldn't be buying either. I've been following their apprentice series and lo and behold they've gone from planing technique through saw technique to a first real project using buscuits. HMMMM apprentice ??? buscuit joiners? Not in my beginner workshop. Then I looked at the rest of the cover - couldn't see inside, all sealed up as Alf says , noticed reviews listed of 5 or 6 (I presume) top end bits of machinery ( I wonder if the SCM obsession continues). Hmmmm not in my beginners workshop. Now I know F&C isn't perhaps aimed at beginners like me, with the exception of the apprentice series, but it was enough for me to put the thing back on the shelf. It appears to be getting increasingly pointless as a magazine for anyone other than professionals. I fully expect to be alone in my opinions here but hey ho...

Edit to get back on topic...
As to the free gifts I see nothing wrong at all there, the toothbruhes, foam brushes and ruler are all useful and if gifts grab attention from the shelf in Smiths then thats all for the good. Im sure that economically speaking they have minimal, if any, impact on issue content. What irritates me is all the advertising bumph that you often get with all magazines - tool mart catalogues and the like, theyre of no interest to me and just go straight in the recycle bin.
cheers Mike.

 

[mudman]

I've never heard so many people complaining about getting something for nothing.
I also doubt if the cost of adding them would go very far towards extra pages within the magazine.
A quick Google give the circulation figures as a tad under 15,000 for 2005. If it is only a couple of pence to add the gifts, this means it cost them all of £300.
I know nothing about publishing magazines but it seems reasonable to me that if you add a four page project, then you have to find another four pages of material. I also seem to remember from elsewhere that you have to produce a magazine in fixed numbers of pages. This surely means a lot of added cost that I bet could be more than the £300 it costs to add.
However, if only 10 people take out a subscription as a result, then they have covered their costs.
Quite frankly I would rather see one of my favourite magazines continue and if that means adding the free gifts to encourage new readers then I'm all for it. Anyway, I often find them useful as well.

I just can't see what people have possibly got to complain about.

(Oops, was that a rant?)

 

[Mike.C]

Neil,

Just a personal opinion, but I'd much prefer to have the money used to pay for additional projects in the magazine.

We would all love additional projects, and i am sure that the more new readers they can attract, the better the magazine will become. But unless they can advertise and let people know they are out there, they are going to find it very hard to do this.
Don't forget, woodworking magazines have a very limited way they can avertise. Unlike some of the womens magazines (probably because of the cost) they don't advertise on TV, so i imagine that they take every reasonable chance they can to grab peoples attention.

These are only my thoughts, and some of them maybe wrong.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Gill]

When was the last time anyone here* made one of the projects from a ww mag? I enjoy reading them, but I don't think I've ever made one.



*Apart from Steve, Philly et al, who write the articles :roll: .

Gill

 

[Alf]

Chair devil from Popular Woodworking. Although I did alter things a little... The "Elegant Box" from FWW a few years ago is my staple back-up when I need a gift and have no ideas - although I'm running out of people I haven't given one to now. The mitre saw workstation Andy K did in GWW a few years back is still in regular use, although I tweaked that one a bit too... But I wouldn't say I did many projects from magazines, no. How they're done, rather than what they are is more important to me.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Steve Maskery]

How they're done, rather than what they are is more important to me.

And I would add to that, why they are done. I try to tell a story when I write up an article, and I much enjoy other projects which are written in the same way. Generally I don't like the "Do this, then that, then the other" approach if it is just a list of instructions. Sometimes the asides, the little comments, are much more entertaining than the project itself. I liked John Brown's writing for that reason.

As to who makes up the projects: I reckon I'm lucky if more than one person makes up anything verbatim, although I do know that jigs are popular. I think the most popular of my projects was an Adirondack chair. 2000, I think that was. I've only ever had feedback for one or two others. But I hope that they inspire others to make something, even if there is little resemblance to mine. I think we are selling dreams, aspirations and a good read, rather than just Information.

I've made a couple of projects from FWW - a clock and a coat-tree. Oh yes, a shaker cabinet too. But that's over 20 years, probably.

My 2p.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mike.C]

mudman,

Quite frankly I would rather see one of my favourite magazines continue and if that means adding the free gifts to encourage new readers then I'm all for it.

I have to agree, especially if the magazine is only paying £300 to do it.

Lets face it, the price has not gone up this month, so we are not actually paying for the ruler ourselves, there free, and as mudman says 'If only 10 people take out a subscription as a result of these gifts, then they have covered their costs.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Paul Chapman]

I bought my copy of GWW today (WH Smith in Leatherhead seemed to get their copies rather late this month).

I think the content in this issue is excellent =D> and the free ruler is great - stainless as well 8)

Just one point on the article about portable workbenches. I was surprised that it did not pick up on the most important (in my view) failure of these Workmate clones - virtually none, if any, has an adjustable foot.

The point about the Workmate is that you can use it anywhere and most places in which it will be used will not have a perfectly flat floor. Ron Hickman got the design right with the original version which he manufactured himself by setting up Mate Tools. I still have mine and after 36 years of hard use it's as good today as the day I bought it. It has a simple screw-type foot which makes it possible to stabilise the bench on any hard surface.

My other three Workmate clones do not have this feature and even on my garage concrete floor I have to move them around until I can find a spot on which they will not wobble. For that reason alone I think they are all rubbish.

Having got that off my chest, congratulations on an otherwise great issue

Paul

 

[Losos]

Steve,
I made the circle cutting jig for my bandsaw. I also put projects that I 'may' one day make on a s/sheet so I can find them quickly 'tho I must admit to not having made any in the last two years

I do like the jig making articles and would love to see a 'louvred door' jig some time in the next year (I want to put some French style windows outside my shop)

A bearded gentleman from across the pond has done one but it's a bit of hassle to order the plans & they'll be in imperial anyway :wink:

Returning to the 'freebie' discussion, got my ruler yesterday. I have a 6" and 24" hanging on the wall so this'll fit nicely between them I see no probs with freebies so long as they're reasonable quality.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hey, Losos! That's great to hear! I don't use mine often, but when I do it's a boon.

I've never made louvres, and if I did I'd probably get Norm's plans. I do remember seeing him make them, but I can't remember how it worked. I remember thinking that it was a clever idea.

Cheers,
Chuffed Steve.

 

[Wanlock Dod]

Steve,

Whilst I've never actually felt the urge to make any of your projects, I have really enjoyed reading them. Personally I tend to prefer the furniture stuff to the jigs. One of the things I like is the process of how you arrived at the design that you did - i.e. the why and how of it all. Personally I think that it is an aspect that is far too often overlooked and so many articles tend to result in a very prescriptive method without really thinking that probably relatively few will wish to follow the design exactly.

I'd love to make the craftsman bed that I believe you did a while back, but will try to get some more practice in first.

Cheers,

Dod

 

[Alf]

My main gripe about free gifts is invariably the mag ends up sealed in a placky bag so you can't take a gander before you buy. Too many times I've been caught out by misleading covers, so I simply won't buy them if they're in a bag now.

Guess who broke their own rule and bought GWW today? You guys seemed to think it was better, after all, so I thought I'd give it another 'nother chance. More projects I've already seen on-line, more typo corrections from a previous issue, the cover story on BU planes (which I bought it for - less than three pages of it!) followed the same superficial trend and told you virtually nothing (sorry, Steve, but I can only assume you were edited into oblivion. If you weren't, well you were presumably paid for it...). Where was the "how well they'd survive in an average workshop" stuff as spoken of in the editor's intro?

But the crowning glory? The insightful comment in the "Cons" on the skew registration jig review - "Don't know... maybe it should come in pink for the ladies?". Gosh, seems the price of patronising drivel has gone up to £3.30. :evil:

Lesson re-learnt.

Cheesed off, Alf

 

[mailee]

ahww, ALF and not one mention of my debut.

 

[Mike.C]

mailee,

ahww, ALF and not one mention of my debut.

mailee (or should i say Alan) so your the sign maker. Very nice, very nice indeed.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Paul Chapman]

Was that your's then, Mailee? I thought it was really good. I've always looked upon free-hand routing as very difficult but you gave us some good tips in that article. Might even have a go myself, following your methods :wink:

Thanks for that

Paul

 

[Nick W]

ahww, ALF and not one mention of my debut.

And mine too - twice :shock: though not in such a headlining (or coherent) manner.

 

[Alf]

Sorry, chaps, thought you'd rather not be identified as members of the damned... :wink: :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[mailee]

Yes that was me I have to admit. First article in a magazine for a long time and a first for a woodworking one! Hope to improve in future articles. All thanks must go to Steve Maskery in a roundabout way as he was the reason I got in touch with the mag Hope next months is as interesting for the readers, maybe even ALF. :wink:

 

[prawnking]

any body subscribe to practical woodworking
i think compared to most others its a very good wood mag, they never give freebies but projects and reviews IMHO are excellent, they range from cheap to expensive powertools easy to difficult projects, they have a routing section which each month covers a different topic of routing, hints and tips section and readers tip section
this month they reviewed a titan router for under £50 and 1 of the projects was a carpenters mallet (for us new woodworkers)
and more difficult projects for the more experienced, not that any body makes tem of course

i came across it after doing a search on the net subscribed for a year now and have been engrossed in every isuue.

cheers

shaun

 

[Losos]

Mailee - Well FWIW the freehand sign making article was worth the years sub. for me. I have quite few to do around our place and was considering a jig but couldn't find one that had infinitely variable type. Your method seems to offer this so it's well worth giving it a go.

I'm not too worried if the finished article doesn't have the precision of a laser guided template as long as it looks good and matches the surroundings.