Seven months ago, when I started this site, my plan was to use video as a means to supplement the content I would add here. My thinking was that video can convey more information in less time than the printed word; some of the methods and techniques could be shown more easily than explained. I would put the site content first, and if I had time I could squeeze in a video to upload showing some features of a project.

Just recently I came to the conclusion that this is probably not the correct approach, if I want to see the site grow. I realized that what I was putting on YouTube was as important as what I’m doing here, and that I should start to do things differently. If video is a powerful medium, it’s only as potent as the audience that sees it, and to attract a larger audience for this site, I would have to be where that audience is: YouTube.

With that new strategy in place, expect to see more videos covering more details about the projects presented here. This doesn’t mean that content for this site will suffer – I believe it will actually improve, if you watch the videos along with the article. I’ll try to make the videos as concise as possible, without being overly long winded.

The one stumbling block is that I’m not especially great at doing this yet and may never be, but I’ll try to the best of my abilities. They say practice makes perfect – I’ll settle for “ok”!

So, bear with me – I think this will turn out well in the long run.

Speaking of YouTube, the videos I like to watch are about building a project and the methods and tricks used while constructing it. I like it when I’ll see some neat way of doing something that I hadn’t thought of before. It certainly happens, it’s all a learning process for me as well.

I’m not especially keen on the same old, same old – I, like many others, already know how to make a cut on the table saw and don’t need to see two – three minutes of it. Likewise, I had my fill of dado cutting and dovetail joint cutting twenty years ago, from Norm Abrams – it’s not new or interesting to me anymore. I understand that there are a lot of people new to woodworking, but not every video has to cater to the beginner or cover basic procedures in such detail. Woodworking is more hands-on learning than instruction and I put much more value on a video that shows how to do an operation safely. That two to three minutes of cutting would be better spent covering basic safety precautions, assuming the presenter actually knows the safety concerns, and how to correctly deal with them. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen, this isn’t always the case.

What I’m not really interested in are so called woodworking videos that are actually ads for a certain product – these are in the form of “reviews”, and are fine if you want to know a bit more about that particular model and can trust that the reviewer is unbiased, (difficult, if he’s receiving a new tool or monetary compensation in return) or actually has some experience with other models of the same tool to base his opinion on. I’m not saying that these videos have no value, just that I prefer to not watch or subscribe to a channel when the bulk of the content is this type of video.

What I’ll try to do with YouTube is stay the course: try to make videos that cover details, point out ways of doing things that may be new to some viewers and show the operation of the project when finished. I’ll stay away from product endorsements and placements. I have tools that I like and use, but I have no affiliations with any manufacturer. I’m not going to do any reviews (not that anyone is asking…) and I’m not going to try to amp up the entertainment value by pulling stunts or doing skits. There may be some exceptions, if I feel they are worth sharing. Occasionally, something funny (I think) happens while I’m filming a process and I may put that in there. Also, if I encounter a tool that I really like and can recommend, I may do so – just be certain that my opinion would be unsolicited, unbiased and honest.

Upcoming projects: The new version of the box joint jig is finished:

Stay tuned for this on Saturday (February 4). I’ll be producing plans for this version that should be available by the end of the month (fingers crossed).

The following week, I have another clamp project to present:

Homemade hand screws. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve finally found time to do it.