Shop Talk Live - Fine Woodworking

There’s nothing better than driving around aimlessly learning about tapered sliding dovetails, drying walnut, or how to identify how sharp a blade really is. Real woodworking practitioners generously sharing their magic ways with wood. Thanks y’all!

The only podcast I listen to at 1.0 speed

I’ve been listening now for a couple dozen episodes and I’m nothing but inspired by these episodes. Keep up the good work fellow sawdust herders!

I’m unfollowing the podcast and skipping next year’s magazine subscription. I’ve been a finish carpenter my whole life and Fine Woodworking used to hit hard, but after they sold out and got folded in with the Woodsmith crowd it went soft. The podcast, the magazine, the website. All watered down. More tool chatter, no real craft. They used to teach you something worth bleeding for. Now it’s weekend-warrior talk at full price. Feels like they traded steel for plastic. Two stars for the ghost of what it used to be.

I very much enjoy the Shop Talk Live podcast. It carries forward into a new medium the same things I like about Fine Woodworking magazine. Ben Strano, Amanda Russell and Vic Tesolin or Mike Pekovich are normally featured with frequent guests, that are other woodworkers. It’s fun to listen to people talk about the things you are passionate about and normally you have the opportunity to learn new things and be exposed to ideas which originate from different sources - leading you into new ways of doing things or different tools or methods. And no one takes themselves so seriously and so the show has plenty of laughter and fun.