The New Yankee Workshop - Remodeling Bathrooms On A Budget

The New Yankee Workshop is a woodworking program produced by WGBH Boston, which aired on PBS. Created in 1989 by Russell Morash, the program is hosted by Norm Abram, a regular fixture on Morash's This Old House. The series aired for 21 seasons before broadcasting its final episode on June 27, 2009.

Overview

The New Yankee Workshop featured the construction of woodworking projects, including workshop accessories, architectural details and furniture projects ranging from simple pieces to complex, high-quality reproductions of antique classic furniture. In the course of 21 seasons, approximately 235 projects were produced. In addition to furniture and cabinets, the show also focused on outdoor projects such as the building of a gazebo, shed, greenhouse, sailing boat, flag pole, mail box, cupola, and fences.

The New Yankee Workshop theme song consists of a fast-paced guitar tune with a harmonica sound.

Weekend Bathroom Remodel Part 1: Demo and Flooring Removal

The shop

The shop where the show was produced is owned by Morash and is located on his property even though the viewer was given the impression that it was in Abram's backyard. Its location was portrayed as a closely guarded secret, even though astute viewers of the series would have, no doubt, gathered enough clues over the years to discern its whereabouts. The property at one time was also the site of The Victory Garden, another Morash production. Many of the outdoor projects that Norm built over the years are currently in use in Morash's yard.

The shop is 936 square feet (87.0 m²) in size. The famous sliding barn door faces west. Along the west wall is the "back bench" and drill press. Along the south wall is the miter bench and storage unit, radial arm saw, and (not seen in episodes) a computer, a TV, and a small office area. The east wall of the shop has a staircase leading to a loft area, jig storage, horizontal edge sander, and dust collector. The north wall houses sheet goods, router table, bar clamps, Timesaver wide belt sander, planer, jointer, band saw, and various mobile tools. The center area of the shop consists of the table saw and associated outfeed tables as well as a large assembly table. In the northeast section of the building is a separate finishing room.

The show has elicited many requests for plans for the shop layout, and those interested in such plans can purchase the Doll House (episode #602) plans. The Doll House is a scale replica of the shop, and its plans can be scaled up to build a full size shop.

The location of the shop is detailed here: http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/the-new-yankee-workshop/

Sponsors

As with all shows broadcast on PBS, The New Yankee Workshop depended upon corporate sponsors to partially fund production. Over the years, major sponsors of the show included: Porter-Cable power tools, Vermont American saw blades and drill bits, Delta Machinery, Columbia Flooring, and the Thompson-Minwax Company.

Although Delta Machinery was indeed a sponsor, the original Unisaw that formed the principal power tool in the New Yankee Workshop was a used model which came from Morash. Only later was this Unisaw replaced with a more modern new one, first with a Unifence and later with a Biesemeyer fence, and finally with an outfeed table.

Cancellation

On October 16, 2009, WGBH Boston announced that no further episodes of New Yankee Workshop would be produced. In remarking on the end of the show, Abram stated, "We've had a great run, built challenging projects, met wonderful woodworkers and received loyal support from millions of viewers." Abram later claimed that the entire duration of the show was fully funded through underwriting and could have kept going, but he decided he had accomplished everything he wanted to do and wanted to spend more time with his family. Episodes continue to be available on The New Yankee Workshop website.

Award nominations

• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Service Show, Russell Morash (1997, 1998, 2000)
• Daytime Emmy Award for Single Camera Editing, Gary Stephenson (1999)

Pop culture reference

The show was referenced in the second season episode "Clueless" of House. The title character, Dr. Gregory House is asked why he has a season pass for The New Yankee Workshop on his TiVo, and responds that "[i]t's a complete moron working with power tools. How much more suspenseful can you get?"

Episodes

Over the course of its 21 seasons, at least 235 projects were built on New Yankee Workshop.

Season 1 (1989)

Season 2 (1990)

Season 3 (1991)

Season 4 (1992)

Season 5 (1993)

Season 6 (1994)

This was the last season to use the News Plantin credits font, which had been used since Season 1.

Season 7 (1995)

Starting this season, the end credits are shown in a Copperplate font.

Season 8 (1996)

Beginning this season, Norm Abram is added to the end credits.

Season 9 (1997)

Season 10 (1998)

Season 10 introduced a new episode numbering system. Previous seasons had been numbered in three digit format using the season number (1-9) as the first digit, and the episode number making up the last two digits. So, for example, the third episode of the 4th season would be episode number 403. Starting with this season, episodes numbers consisted of four digits with the first two digits representing the last two digits of the year in which the season first aired and the last two digits representing the episode number within that season. So, the fourth episode of the 10th season, having first aired in 1998, would be episode number 9804.

Season 11 (1999)

Season 12 (2000)

Season 13 (2001)

Season 14 (2002)

Season 15 (2003)

Season 16 (2004)

Season 17 (2005)

Season 18 (2006)

Season 19 (2007)

Season 20 (2008)

Season 20 varied slightly in format from previous seasons in that the first nine episodes were devoted to a single, larger project. This project involved a kitchen remodeling and focused on cabinet construction. The kitchen being remodeled belongs to Morash. Season 20 also represented the last season in which original projects were constructed for the show.

Season 21 (2009)

Season 21 stood out from other seasons in that it had approximately twice the number of episodes of any previous season. The season also varied from previous seasons in that no new projects were built. Instead each episode rebroadcast a project built in a previous season. All of the rebroadcast episodes were from either the ninth or tenth season. Each "new" episode consisted of the original episode prefaced by a newly recorded introduction by Abram.