no Rob I didnt

Im impressed with the way he writes and hes obviously an experianced carpenter from the advice he gives

ive been on norms website and I wasnt impressed, its more of a fanclub site where you can buy check shirts and pouches so you can look like norm

its a shame because the little bit of hand finishing ive seen him do shows him to be a very competant carpenter

Mike, the This Old House website is a joke, and the magazine has become essentially a DIY rag. Norm unfortunately was packaged and marketed in a way that took him to the level of WalMart rather than what he really is-as you said-a very skilled carpenter.

Another magazine that used to be fantastic but has gone the way of mediocrity for the masses is Fine Homebuilding.

Mike here is the link to the site which Gary moderates the trim carpentry forum:



Finish Carpentry - JLC-Online Forums

You will also see the link to his site, which has a lot of information on it for trim work.

There is one British carpenter on the site-Tom Bainbridge-who I met on the Festool site a year or so ago. I told him about the JLC site and now he is already at ~1000 posts. He tells me that he likes reading about how trade work is done in the US and Canada.


Similarly, I would like to see a site for chippies in the UK. Is there a site like the one Gary has here in the US?

Ive read that one Rob and another us magazine ,I think it was called fine woodworking

I havent seen them for years, theres a uk magazine thats similer in style to fine woodworking but the shop I bought it from closed down and I havent seen it any where else

they were proper magazines written by those who know their stuff and a very enjoyable read
the uk magazines were full of diy tips and werent aimed at the professional

Originally Posted by Rob Z

Mike here is the link to the site which Gary moderates the trim carpentry forum:



Finish Carpentry - JLC-Online Forums

You will also see the link to his site, which has a lot of information on it for trim work.

There is one British carpenter on the site-Tom Bainbridge-who I met on the Festool site a year or so ago. I told him about the JLC site and now he is already at ~1000 posts. He tells me that he likes reading about how trade work is done in the US and Canada.


Similarly, I would like to see a site for chippies in the UK. Is there a site like the one Gary has here in the US?

unfortunatly not, tilers forum is the only decent site in the uk, it does have an other trades section but it has never taken off

maybe we should change that

us and canada are streets ahead of the uk on timber construction, in the uk its not really understood which is a shame as timber is a renewable resource

thanks for the link im going to visit later

im on various us decorating sites, I dont understand the humour and have to convert feet into metres but find they are well up on pricing and have a high level of knowledge and customer care

Originally Posted by mikethetile

Ive read that one Rob and another us magazine ,I think it was called fine woodworking

I havent seen them for years, theres a uk magazine thats similer in style to fine woodworking but the shop I bought it from closed down and I havent seen it any where else

they were proper magazines written by those who know their stuff and a very enjoyable read
the uk magazines were full of diy tips and werent aimed at the professional

Mike, I have all the issues of Fine Woodworking, going back to the start of the magazine in ~1975. It is a great magazine, and I can only dream of being able to do some of the work that is in there.

Originally Posted by mikethetile

unfortunatly not, tilers forum is the only decent site in the uk, it does have an other trades section but it has never taken off

maybe we should change that

us and canada are streets ahead of the uk on timber construction, in the uk its not really understood which is a shame as timber is a renewable resource

thanks for the link im going to visit later

im on various us decorating sites, I dont understand the humour and have to convert feet into metres but find they are well up on pricing and have a high level of knowledge and customer care

Which sites are you on? You could send them to me in a PM, if you'd like.

As for the humor, I feel the same way around here at times. Let me know if I can help you out with a translation or interpretation. I'm starting to feel bilingual in British and American English.