Handmade - C4 - Britain's Best Woodworker

[TheMadGardener]

Haven't seen a thread about this yet. Did anyone else watch it?
Mel Giedroyc playing same role she did in Bake Off - sympathetic to competitors and encouraging them.
Interesting mix of contestants.
Very wide skills range. Think the beds they made would have been better if they'd been given a bit longer and hadn't had to rush and bodge some of the woodworking.
Is there any limit to the skills which can be turned into a reality show? - baking, sewing, pottery, jewellery-making and now woodworking!

Really disappointed in tonight's results. I don't understand how they praised Misti's drinks cabinet which was 6ft tall, and said it would look good in an apartment. Where as Billy was told his was too big and would look out of place in a living room.

Billy's was poorly made though. I think the right person went.

I like Billy but he was the right one to go this week. If they are automatically put through can they not ‘win’ the week, because I thought Radha’s was better than Misti’s by far?

@haggisaggis

I like Billy but he was the right one to go this week. If they are automatically put through can they not ‘win’ the week, because I thought Radha’s was better than Misti’s by far?

I agree, Radha’s was the best by miles.

I’d like Charlie to win, I think- her designs seem to show off the beauty of the wood itself more than others. Misti is great but as someone else said, it feels more like she’s designing bits of furniture which could be made out of anything.

I liked Billy so much but agree he was the right person to leave this week. I loved the design of his cabinet but it was out of proportion. It would take over a room in an ordinary house.
Misti's was also huge but it was proportionally right. It was a piece of furniture in its own right. Personally I didn't like the piece. I thought it looked like something from Ikea and the washed painted doors looked very homemade. It wasn't my style at all.

Radha's was lovely though perhaps too commercial looking?
Charlie's was nice but I didn't like the doors. I didn't like the legs either.
If Billy had made his smaller, it would have been the style I'd find most appealing.

The judges definitely like Misti. I didn't care for that piece though.

I liked the pattern effect on Charlie's doors.

Love Billy. He could be incredible given a few more years experience.

The judges definitely like Misti

She is extremely talented when creating sculptural pieces. They look like they belong in art galleries!

(NOT the drink's cabinet though!).

I liked Billy's piece. The revolving shelf and the sliding doors showed skill and saved space. I loathed Misti's piece. It looked like a badly finished toy and book storage unit for a child. Radha's was best. Charlie's was a curate's egg. Very sorry to see Billy go. I liked his dry sense of humour. Radha to win?

She is extremely talented when creating sculptural pieces.

I agree. I do think her finish lacks something though - even the zebra from last week looked a bit scruffy.

I like the way Billy worked from instinct but I wonder if that's what let him down on the proportions of the cabinet. He will learn from experience though. My dad never drew plans for anything and it always seemed to work out.

Billy did seem to be a very instinctive worker - home schooled as well apparently. No plans means that you have to be good at problem-solving as they come up. I liked him, but I did notice that the others (esp Radha) didn't really 'console' him - and that he (Billy) didnt clap or congratulate Radha when he gained 'immunity'.

I liked Misti's cocktail cabinet, tho I think I'd have it as a shelving unit, rather than for glasses/bottles! Radha's was very classic.

Both Billy's and Misti's work gave me flashbacks to childhood this week.

I recall my grandparents having a revolving drinks cabinet and loved the motion of Billy's work. I think he was judged harshly. He attempted a lot in a short amount of time, but had maybe taken on too much.

Misti's reminded me of the shelving unit in the Blue Peter Studio in the 80's. Just needed a blue boat on the shelves.

I'm not completely sure that Misti's was a drinks cabinet. Anyway, it seemed to have been well executed. Billy has been great, I'll miss him, but the cabinet proportions were wrong. Charlie's door would have been great just as one piece that flipped down to make it shelf.

I would like Radha to win the final but Misti seems to be the judges' pet so I expect she will win.

I think Misti has been the most consistent. Radha seems to have form for ruining something at the last minute (the finish on the peacock feathers for example).

I think I'd be happy with any of the finalists winning TBH. They all have a similar balance of strengths and flaws.

Does anyone else find it strangely joyless? There seems to be no "we're all in this together" vibe that you usually see in these types of shows. Poor Mel is earning every penny of her fee! I think Rahda is the most talented woodworker, but would love to see Charlie win.

They haven't shown any of the "helping the others" that you get in, say, the Sewing Bee.

I wonder if the sheer noise of the tools doesn't help. It must make "banter" difficult. I've never noticed contestants in other similar programmes wearing ear pieces and mics so that might be acting as a barrier.

Does anyone else find it strangely joyless? very much so. I think a lot of it is down to the tall, very joyless judge! There is no fun, no 'banter' in his expression, or his voice or his opinions.

And while I think of it - surely a spoon is something that goes in the mouth? A SCOOP is something that scoops - those damn jenga pieces with a dip in .... NOT spoons!

They haven't shown any of the "helping the others" that you get in, say, the Sewing Bee.

But they don't need it because they have the technicians team to help out.

I'm thinking if I was in a room with the male judge from this and the female judge from All That Glitters I'd never have insomnia again!

@Ellmau

They haven't shown any of the "helping the others" that you get in, say, the Sewing Bee.

But they don't need it because they have the technicians team to help out.

My point was that it's that kind of thing that adds to the "we're in this together" vibe.

I like the male judge. He has a very dry sense of humour I think that probably doesn't appeal to everyone.

I think the woodworkers are quite spread out for practical reasons so they have enough room. Some of the pieces of wood are huge! Then the machinery, the mallets, the chipping tools. It must be incredibly hard to chat.
The only time to chat is during the immunity challenge really.

I don’t mind the judges tbh. It’s a difficult one. In the GBBO there are numerous threads saying that it’s the PH show when it should be about the bakers. In Handmade the judges are too aloof. There must be a balance but it’s obviously really difficult to achieve.

I'd love Billy's cabinet in my living room. Would no way want the monstrosity that was Misti's or Charlie's with the awful doors.

Can't take to Charlie at all and really hope she doesn't win. I think she should have gone last week

I think perhaps if they were to allow Mel to wander about a bit more (so long as she doesn't break anything) it would be a tad more joyful.

Can't take to Charlie at all and really hope she doesn't win. I think she should have gone last week

Was last week the animals? I loved her snail.