Surprise Celebrity Collaboration
Added 2018-03-07 01:15:02 +0000 UTCIt's been another interesting week.
My sawstop video went just about viral and has over 125k views as I write this. My subscribers doubled and I'm getting a nice check from YouTube.
Despite all the attention my Patreon hasn't grown much and I'm extra thankful for all my current patrons, who will keep my channel running when all the fuss dies down.
But all the new exposure had one extra side-effect. My videos came to the attention of James Wright, who runs the excellent hand-tool woodworking channel Wood by Wright.
I admit, the one time I mentioned James in a video, I kind of busted his chops a little bit, so I was pleasantly surprised when he got in touch and suggested a collaboration.
No joke, James' channel is ten times the size of mine and he hosts the well-known podcast Creators Collective, so he really didn't need to reach down and and offer to collaborate with me.
What are we doing?
A build-off. We're each going to build a low-angle plane and then promote each other's videos. It's sort of a contest, but there's no judging and no prize. I guess since we're doing cross promotion, everyone wins.
Anyway, I'm making a miter-plane. It's a bevel-down plane that existed mostly in England in the 18th century. It's kind of died out, but the miter plane is supposed to really excel at the shooting board, and since I've never been totally happy shooting with a conventional bench-plane, I have the opportunity to make a specialty plane that will make a cool video and give me a useful tool.
I hope.
Wish me luck!
Comments
Thanks, George! It's interesting that all my Patrons seem to watch both of us. I feel like most of his audience would like my content and vise-versa. I think doing a similar project will really expose the different ways we work. For instance, I'm going to use electricity!
Rex Krueger
2018-03-09 14:41:04 +0000 UTCWonderful news! this is exciting and I'm looking forward to see the great "battle of the pickles" :) I love both your channels. It's interesting to note that both of you begin every video with a pun :) Exciting times, indeed..
George B
2018-03-07 21:10:20 +0000 UTCI didn’t mean to put down Shopsmith. I was sorry that his books didn’t make him independently wealthy! Lol they were so good I hoped he should have been able to retire there in the lap of luxury.
Barbara Schulz
2018-03-07 17:03:50 +0000 UTCI'm sold. I'm going to start looking for his stuff!
Rex Krueger
2018-03-07 17:01:06 +0000 UTCI agree! James is a master of proportion and function. He doesn't measure because he doesn't need to. It's a good philosophy and one that has a long history.
Rex Krueger
2018-03-07 17:00:25 +0000 UTCI think Powertool Woodworking for Everyone was the name of the book he wrote for Shopsmith. I've never understood the hate towards Shopsmith. It's a great tool for someone who doesn't have much space for storing tools. Yeah, it's a pain to transition, but it just makes you put more thought into your workflow.
Jason Bailey
2018-03-07 16:56:18 +0000 UTCI enjoy both of your channels and look forward this challenge. I'd have to say that I'm more likely to actually do something you show on your channel than something James shows on his. But I've learned a lot from his philosophy--don't get hung up on plans and measurements.
Jason Bailey
2018-03-07 16:53:29 +0000 UTCThese were his “The Workshop Companion” series. I think there may have been almost 20 volumes. They were well illustrated, taught you how to make handmade tools of every kind, how to find the right steel, how to make jigs for hand work and power work. He explained all jointing in the context of the properties of wood so that you knew why a joint worked here but not there. He had an entire volume on wood species and characteristics. I think he ended his career as the front person for the Shopsmith machine, which I felt bad about, but everyone has to make a living. He authored other books, which were really just a rehash of his Workshop Companion series. Look for them on eBay. I have gifted a couple of people in the past who wanted to be woodworkers (usually women, but two men, also) with his complete series which I found there. He was the best. I used to joke that I slept with his books. :)
Barbara Schulz
2018-03-07 03:29:49 +0000 UTCWow, that was a really nice thing to say. What a lovely way to end the say. Also, I'm really going to have to check out one of those Nick Engler books. You make them sound great.
Rex Krueger
2018-03-07 02:33:32 +0000 UTCWonderful, Rex!! So happy for all the attention you’re getting. I think the Patrons will come in time. This is exciting to me. I used to have a shooting board, and I liked it, but it took a lot of effort for me because I don’t have, and didn’t have, a lot of upper body strength. I had a hard time, anyway. I think a plane designed for a shooting board will be marvelous!! I’m all over it. I think you’re getting the attention because you make things feel doable. Things are intrinsically doable, but they feel impossible. I learned woodworking from a series of books written by Nick Engler in the 1990s. He did the same thing you do. You demystify the process. Heck, cut the chisel. Bzzzz, brrrrr, and there it is, a plane blade. Simple. And your persona is a good person. We as a nation are starved for good people. That is hard to understand — that things have devolved to that. You have a secular “honorable man” affect. Wright does, too. This is a big pull, I think. Your popularity may just stay up there.
Barbara Schulz
2018-03-07 01:29:37 +0000 UTC
