the guild take over

[bullson]

Now i don't want to sound like a grumpy old man because i'm am only 20 but it seems like a lot of the free content of the TWW is being reduced to basic video, not that these are of poor quality. the days of the end table project and the gadget station are long gone to anyone who is not a paid up guild member.

i am in no way complaining about the guild service i think marc has the right to present a premier service to those who want it. however he started the show (off which i have been a loyal fan from the days of "a king and his castle")off with the intension of producing free"ish" woodworking advice for everyone, and i am worried that all the cool stuff like the "chest of drawers" etc will be out of reach.

the reason why i bring this up now is because of the completion of the trestle table which i was looking forward to seem having watched the filming live on webcam, i come to the site today and find the video are only available to guild member, now without wanting to rock the boat anymore than I already have, i feel that this project is a primary candidate for the free site since it is not a guild build, and is a small simple table project that would been a nice watch just to even the field a bit for use none guild foke

i mean no disrespect to anyone especially marc as he is just cool .... i know i have probaly suck my head in the bees nest bring this up but O well

[kentuckybill]

I sympathize with you hammer but look at it from the other side. Guild members expect some preferential treatment for our support. It is a tough job on Marc to juggle both sides and try and keep everyone happy. Lets face it thats never gonna happen. I do think there are alot of folks out there who could afford to become a Guild members but would rather spend their coins on something else. Not saying that is you or that it is wrong. Like PBS some folks have to pony up to help keep the lights on for everybody. I am in no way trying to put you or anyone else down just saying Marc deserves a break from the complaining. For now enjoy the free content and ask Santa for a Guild membership for Christmas:)

[Guest Trace]

Hammer, I get kidded a great deal at the breakfast club that I go to every morning, because I am half Jewish. I take lumps about being tight with my money. (I say frugal) However when one of the guys needs something made, or they have questions that they know I can answer, they show up at my place. I have not joined the guild because the forums are the part I enjoy. Point being, if you want to see the things that are in the guild section, spring for the fee. You probably would spend more for a specific tool or accessories than the guild costs per year. I belonged to the Academy of Model Aeronautics for a long time, for the insurance, but found that it paid only after my homeowners insurance would be exhausted. I filed that in the BS file, and left the organization. We afford what we will afford, not necessarily what we can afford. Please take this as a positive note, not a criticism of your stance. Good luck.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Well, I think I can fix this simply by making sure you are fully informed of what is actually happening on the free site. To say the days of the long builds are over is simply an incorrect assumption. The site has only been around for 4 years. In that time, I have only done a few long form projects. No more than one or two a year. I plan on continuing that same release schedule going forward. Now it may seem like I took something away from the free site, simply because a lot of content is being put into the Guild site. But the truth is, I am just busting my butt to get BOTH done.

Now if you check the calendar, you'll see the video release schedule for the next month or so. You'll notice that in November, I will start releasing the Trestle Table project on the free site. Its a three part series. Yes the Guild is seeing the videos early. But I have the Halloween router bowl video and the advent calendar videos coming out on the free site as well. And since those are time-dependent with the holiday fast approaching, I needed to get them out BEFORE I embark on a three-part build. So the trestle table is in fact a project for the free site. Guild members are just getting it early.

Going forward, my plan is to alternate between the Guild Builds and the free site builds. And when I do a free site build, I very well may continue to give Guild members early access. But the free site will still get the videos.

Hopefully that clears things up. Again, take a look at the calendar periodically if you want to know what's actually coming down the line.

[bullson]

WWWOOOWWW the woodwhisper himself i am a little blown over please don't take my comment the wrong way..... far be it from me to stick my Nose into something I know little about, you have put my mind at rest in a big way. I hope I didn’t come across as being a wining idiot because I find people like that annoying. like i said previously i have the up most respect for you marc, you are a credit to the wood working community

i find i am a bit to eager sometimes for my own good

[thewoodwhisperer]

No sweat man. Just making sure you have all the info. Inevitably, several times a year, I will get an email from someone asking why I don't make videos anymore. And its usually because they aren't looking in the right place or they just don't realize that the build schedule occurs in a cycle. I try to alternate between long form, short form, and technique-based videos. Once you realize there is actually somewhat of a method to my madness, it starts to make a little more sense. And remember, the free site has sponsors. So if I don't make videos, I not only anger a bunch of fans of the free content, but also the folks who help pay the bills. And hopefully knowing that we just spent thousands of dollars on upgrading the free site shows our level of devotion to that side of the community. The Guild site will eventually receive an upgrade too, but not for a while. We can't afford it yet!

[woodcanuck]

Like most people I started out woodworking after watching Norm and the like on TV. I then started getting magazines to help me understand 'how' to do things. This evolved into getting books and even a couple of videos.

Each time I reached a plateau in my abilities, I sought out new ways to get past the hump and continue developing. So where does this lead me?

TV -> Magazines -> Books -> Classes -> Hands on Classes -> ???

The next step seems to be something more like an apprenticeship where I 'do' things and when I get stuck I got to a mentor to understand what I'm doing right and wrong.

The guild to me is a lot like this (without the hassle of quitting my job). I get access to a variety of articles, projects, detailed insight into techniques and most importantly - ongoing access to a mentor. If I'm stuck, I can pose my problem to Marc and the guild at large and I'll basically get one on one help. Beyond that, there are other perks (like discounts, the guild as a community and probably the most impressive thing to me are the interviews with the pros....I find these incredibly valuable).

Compare the costs of developing your skills through traditional means:

Magazine subscription: $20-$30/year

Books: $20-$40/book

Classes: $30-$50/half day (not hands on)

Hands on Classes: $60-$120/day (more if your instructor is well known)

Week long build/class: Several hundred dollars and up...the sky's the limit

Check out what you get for the price of the guild membership...it's worth it. And, if handtools are your thing, check out Shannon's handtool school - another complementary take on this with a handtool slant.

[aggie4you]

the reason why i bring this up now is because of the completion of the trestle table which i was looking forward to seem having watched the filming live on webcam, i come to the site today and find the video are only available to guild member, now without wanting to rock the boat anymore than I already have, i feel that this project is a primary candidate for the free site since it is not a guild build, and is a small simple table project that would been a nice watch just to even the field a bit for use none guild foke

I've gotten a lot of great information from the (free) site already and I've only been around a couple of weeks. I plan to join the guild in the not too distant future, but I want to get to a point where I've got my own workspace instead of borrowing my father-in-laws space before I do that. I greatly appreciate the work that Marc has done (particularly on the free content) as well as the advice that's been presented (both directly to me and indirectly through responses to other people's posts) here on the forum. Obviously, we all wish for more content, but I think most people (OP included) are very happy with what's here already.

That having been said, there are always ways that things can be improved. I don't begrudge the guild members their perks (and I look forward to the day when I will partake in them), nor do I think that everything should be free (Marc's gotta make a living or none of this is available). I think it's a great idea to limit the guild projects to guild member only access. In regards to non-guild projects, perhaps they could be made available to non-guild members with a lag (say, guild members get immediate access when the content becomes available and non-guild member shave to wait six months or a year) or on a limited basis (non-guild members can access the videos, but there are only so many available at any given time). These ideas came from having a membership with Roosterteeth for the R-V-B series of videos (red-versus-blue). On the other hand, the business model may not really support those ideas in this situation as I can see that it would be very frustrating to be in the middle of a project and then not have access to a critical video or something.

Perhaps Marc could start offering DVDs at the end of every "season" that included that season's videos (non-guild projects).

In the end, those items don't really matter much to me because I'm already so far behind that by the time I catch up I'll probably be ready to join the guild anyway.

Thanks for all your hard work in putting the content together Marc.