We were informed in October last year that The New Yankee Workshop would be closing down after 21 seasons. Russ Morash was the executive producer and director and he told Christopher Schwarz that he saw an online future for New Yankee. This future is now.
Online viewing of the first episode (#101, 1988) is now possible. According to the New Yankee website, these episodes are an experiment and will continue to be made available online if there is enough positive feedback.
It’s quite a time-slip to watch the first episode. There is no gray in Abrams hair and no wide-belt. The shop isn’t adorned at all. There are a few tools that might be found in a 20-year-old woodshop, including a table saw and a drill press, as well as what appears to be a Craftsman circular arm saw. (Man, does that thing scare you). And Abram is wearing a short-sleeved blue windowpane plaid shirt, not his signature red. Oh , and theres not one mention of safety glasses.
The most fascinating thing about the show was the visit to Pittsfield’s Hancock Shaker Village. Abram claims that this is where he gets his inspiration. But the project seems a little too non-Shakerish and, if I am being honest, a little generic. Its a finger-jointed oak medicine cabinet with a plywood back, screwed-together half-lap face frame and a mirrored door attached with a brass piano hinge. Now, theres nothing wrong with the project, mind you; it just doesnt look Shaker. Its a simple project that anyone with basic skills and a few pieces of machinery could build.
That is a great episode. I only started watching The New Yankee Workshop about five years ago. The projects Abram was working on back then were more sophisticated and authentic to the period. His Windsor chair, for instance, dates back to season 16. This episode proves that Abrams stylistic influences and talents have progressed with the show and his viewers. However, it is possible that his workshop was a little more elaborate than others. Though he was certainly an accomplished carpenter when the show began, Abrams work in later episodes was decidedly that of a craftsman.
I want more episodes, so I left a message on the show’s home page. I hope that you will take the time to do the same, and maybe 25 minutes to watch the first episode.
