Tommy MacDonald will host new woodworking show on WGBH!

[Al Navas]

You can watch the announcement video on YouTube, at http://www.youtube.com/user/USNERDOC . Tommy appears in this short video with Laurie Donnelly, Executive Producer/Director at WBGH-TV in Boston. She is excited about this new show!

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[Brian Effinger]

Very cool. He does some amazing work, and I am looking forward to a show.

Thanks for the heads-up, Al.

For those that don't know him, he has posted a few projects here, and you should be able to locate him under the name TChisel (I think).

[Frank Warta]

Watching Tommy's series on the bombe secretary is what really got me going. I don't have any delusions of grandeur here, it was really more seeing a style I could relate to. I know that sometimes the practical realities of making a TV show change the way a craftsman works, David Marks has talked about that some in his interviews with Marc Spagnuolo, it was really eye opening to see someone who seemed to really combine hand and power tools in such a symbiotic way. The quality and scale of his work was also inspiring but I mostly was just excited to see there was a way to combine what I see as the best of both worlds.

[Dan Forman]

Looks like they are still trying to find a sponsor/funding to make it a reality. Here's hoping!

Dan

[Kevin Womer]

I wish that Tommy the best of luck, I have watched hiim on his website for a while and he is an amazing craftsman. BTW I like the name T Chisel, it's kinda hip and catchy.

[Curt Harms]

I wonder if New Yankee Workshop or This Old House would have been anywhere near as successful without someone as skilled in the genre as Morash.

[Kevin Womer]

I wonder if New Yankee Workshop or This Old House would have been anywhere near as successful without someone as skilled in the genre as Morash.

Definitely not, the guy (Morash) was a trend setter with a vision at the perfect time. Who coulda thought watching people rebuild old houses could be entertaining and have such a wide audience? Sponsor-wise, companies would be foolish not to back MacDonald, if his show is even half as successful as NYW; it reaches many people beyond woodworkers. How many of those Delta commercials have we watched during NYW? What a great opportunity for say, Sawstop a new company with great products. Anyway, I don't know why I am getting excited, my local PBS probably wouldn't pick it up anyway, its lineup is kinda lame to say the least.

[Cody Colston]

I don't think Morash is as necessary now as he was in the beginning. Producing the show is something I think any number of people can do well. It's coming up with the idea for the genre and marketing it that made Morash such an icon.

I hope the show is succesful and I certainly hope our local PBS affiliate carries it (unlikely). Tommy is an incredible woodworker as his body of work proves and he's also a natural teacher albeit in a manner much different from Norm.

I've been watching his podcasts for a while now and I always thought he would be perfect for a TV show. He's young, handsome, talented and has a presence (an ego too) that should go well on the small screen. I even like his accent and I'm a native Texan!

The question was asked after the passing of Sam Maloof and then James Krenov, "who's gonna fill their shoes?"

It just might be Thomas J. McDonald.

[Glen Blanchard]

What a great opportunity for say, Sawstop a new company with great products.

I was thinking the same thing Kevin. If I recall correctly he has had a SawStop for a good while now anyway. Seems like a great opportunity.

[Peter Quinn]

Well that is an exciting possibility for sure. Thanks for the heads up. That would be a nice replacement for the NYW. I wonder what sorts of things he would make or what the format would be in general? Is he going to make things, or feature other makers that change each week? It seems the level he is working at would take more than one week to render. Does the public have the attention span to tune in for more than one week per topic? Perhaps on PBS, apparently not on DIY. I was always amazed that David Marks was able to do what he did in a half hour format with only a few shows spanning multi episodes. It sure would be nice to have a half to one hour show involving serious furniture making on the market again. I see lots of short vids on teh web, but are there any full length formats nationally? Hard to believe a civilized nation of almost 300 million people can't produce enough interest to support that? I hope he finds a backer.

[Dan Forman]

Saw this on one of the other forums, it was a 4 pager last time I looked, much of it devoted to complaining about his accent. Oh well...

Dan

[Thomas MacDonald]

i really appreciate all your comments about a new woodworking show...its been over 2 years in the making...i hope to make woodworkers a bigger part of our communities again..you know, back in the day we were big wigs in our communities and most wore bow-ties to work...i think its time to show how great our members are...we hope to have a show spot lighting YOUR talents .not mine..i have been working night and day showing you all what i can do...now its your turn!! this show will be allot of fun if i can make it happen...i am pretty sure i can...it cant be as hard as the bombe ...right that thing still wakes me up at night..

thanks again.and i promise not to let you down..