I have been working with all kinds of material my entire life and I have yet to find a material that I would favor more than wood.
— Norm Abram
The New Yankee Workshop was a PBS television program that ran from 1989 to 2009. It featured master carpenter Norm Abram teaching viewers how to make various wooden furniture items and accessories for their homes and gardens. The series was a spinoff of This Old House, where Norm appeared as a regular since the first episode.
Tropes for The New Yankee Workshop are provided by:
- Author Appeal: New Englander Norm is especially fond of regional woodworking styles like Colonial, Shaker, and Adirondack.
- The Cameo: Some episodes feature brief appearances from Norm's family members and friends, and even his dog in at least one episode.
- Cool Workshop: Norm has a spacious workshop filled with a wide variety of best-in-class tools that most woodworking hobbyists could only dream of.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Norm's dog is a samoyed named Sam.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Downplayed; it's not weirdness, precisely, but it's hard to miss that the first season lacks a few elements that would come to define the show later. The editing isn't as smooth, the intro formula hasn't quite been worked out, and Norm jumps right into working with his power tools without delivering his iconic safety speech.
- Friend to All Children: Norm occasionally works on projects for children, like a playhouse or a trundle bed, and is later seen chatting with the kids as they use his creations.
- Handy Man: Norm isn't just a handy man; he's the model by which all other handymen measure themselves.
- Iconic Outfit: Norm's fondness for plaid shirts was later parodied in such series as Home Improvement.
- Manly Facial Hair: Norm has an extremely respectable full beard.
- Multi-Part Episode: Some projects are time-consuming enough to require two or three episodes to complete.
- Nice Guy: Norm is a friendly and likable fellow who never talks down to his audience.
- Product Placement: Many of the show's underwriters were companies that made power tools, finishes, and other woodworking-related products. All got brief commercials after the opening theme, but Norm rarely, if ever, mentioned a brand by name while working.
- The Reveal: Episodes often start with a reveal of the finished product standing alone and end with a reveal of the finished product in use.
- Safety Freak: Downplayed. Norm is too mild-mannered to be a freak, but he does emphasize the importance of understanding your power tools and wearing your safety glasses in every episode.
- Stock Phrases: Just about every episode is guaranteed to have a few.
- "If you want to build your own [insert project type here], a measured drawing is available with a materials list, and you'll hear more about that before the program ends."
- "Before we use any power tools, let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use you power tools properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember there is no more important safety rule than to wear these (points) safety glasses."
- (following the Time Skip that takes us from one day's work to the next) "Well, good morning!"
- Tidewater and Regular Mid-Atlantic Accents: Norm grew up in Rhode Island and spent much of his life in Massachusetts, so he's got a strong one.
- Time Skip: Norm often takes a couple of days to finish a project, wrapping up for the evening midway through an episode and returning the next morning to resume the work.
- True Craftsman: Norm is devoted to quality in every project he works on and takes pride in making useful, durable, and beautiful pieces. There's absolutely no Cutting Corners in the New Yankee Workshop; Norm is a firm believer in "measure twice, cut once" and advises woodworkers never to rush anything.
- Viewers Like You: Well, it was a PBS show.
