PW Turns 40: The Rob Cook Story

Editor’s Note: Back after we started placing the 40th-anniversary timeline collectively, we reached out to a few of our earlier editors with just a few questions of what PW meant to them. Rob Cook, editor from 1992-1994, mentioned “your questions brought back a lot of memories when I had your job.” Little did we all know that we had been going to get a full story again that maintain us intrigued the complete article

What in your thoughts made/makes PW completely different than different magazines?

A bit historical past. I left my place as a monetary marketing consultant of 15 years firstly of the primary Gulf War in January, 1991. I did a little bit of vintage restore for a few of the sellers in my city till the recession killed it off 5 months later.

So it was time to get an actual job once more. I discovered a list within the native paper for a woodworking author. That sounded attention-grabbing—I’d all the time cherished working with my palms and I believed I’d realized to write down in faculty. So I took a writing pattern and a few venture photographs with me. The interview was with Wayne Lin, the proprietor of EGW Publishing and David Camp, the editor of PW. Wayne had began Pacific Woodworker with David and because the editor some eight or 9 years earlier. (It could have been a special editor at first, however you’d must examine). Wayne additionally owned a pair different craft magazines. At the time, David was in his late 20s, I used to be in my early 40s. He was quiet and reserved, I used to be outgoing and talkative with much more life expertise—I revered his expertise with phrases, and he my woodworking expertise.

I used to be employed as an assistant editor and taught write within the lively voice (my diploma is in zoology not journalism). After a few months—and some enjoyable builds later, Shop Manager was added to my title as Assistant Editor on the masthead.

Back then publishing was an analog world. We edited and laid out textual content in PageMaker and positioned FPOs from our little Epson scanner on a Mac II SIs with 1 meg of RAM. We despatched out for Linotype, waxed artwork boards, minimize rubylith with an x-acto knife, listed the CMYK colours for kind after which mailed all of it off to the strippers, then on to the printer. (Two years later, when PW was offered to F&W Publications, I used to be producing the journal 100% on the desktop—we had no separate Art Department.)

After just a little over a 12 months on the job, David, a vegan, was tasked with beginning a vegetarian journal known as Veggie Life. The rating affiliate editor of PW didn’t need the duty as editor of PW so I used to be it. I used to be already on my method to changing into a reasonably first rate author, however now it was time to refine my design chops.

Ben, the editor of Weekend Woodcrafts (a sister pub began after I joined) was a extremely gifted designer. He would assist me with laying out a few articles after I was on deadline, and I him. Together we undertook to revamp the entire of PW, cowl to cowl, as a result of we thought it was time for a face elevate. We took our completed product to Wayne for approval and all he needed to see was the quilt—which was all he appeared to care about as a result of that’s what drove information stand gross sales and subscriptions! That was after we went to a full-bleed cowl that includes our “big” article glamour shot. He appreciated it.

The outdated (left) and new cowl designs in 1993.

I used to be allowed to purchase, fee or construct what I appreciated—we paid $125 a broadcast web page. One of the perks we had was that we had been allowed to maintain what we constructed since we didn’t get the value per web page. Ad gross sales decided what number of pages I needed to work with, however I needed to make all of it slot in 100 pages.

Every 12 months on the National Woodworking Show in Chicago, the opposite editors and I might all the time handle to get collectively and share just a few store tales, gossip about a few of our shared authors, bitch about our publishers and praise one another on articles that we wished we had revealed. My final 12 months there all of them cornered me and needed to know who my writer used to do demographics. I had taken subscriptions from 180,000 to just a little over 280,000 in a 12 months and a half. I instructed them I simply did what I appreciated. Now I’ve to confess that I don’t know if it was simply the occasions or me, nevertheless it was probably the most enjoyable factor I’ve ever finished for cash in civilian life. (I used to be a Cobra gunship pilot in Vietnam—the flying half was additionally fairly enjoyable!)

Anyway, with these subscription numbers, F&W got here calling and Wayne gave it up for a rumored $2.5 million. F&W flew me out for an interview. First cease, an industrial psychologist—give me a break! Next, a employees assembly with all of the division heads. When requested what I might require to provide the journal I instructed them that in the event that they gave me two good woodworking writers I’d give them recordsdata prepared for movie. Needless to say, the artwork director went ballistic. They ended up going with another person and after producing their first difficulty from California, I went on my method.

So sure, we went about it from a special route than conventional publications, however what a trip. David impressed on me that phrases on a web page had been an image too. I might have stayed till I used to be 65 and even later if Wayne hadn’t offered it.

What do you suppose probably the most Iconic PWW initiatives over the past 40 years have been?

After leaving Popular Woodworking and never getting picked up by F&W, I wanted to maneuver on—my spouse and I had 5 daughters to boost. I did promote one article to a different woodworking journal, however just about gave up woodworking, aside from just a few issues round the home, till final 12 months, however that’s one other story. I sometimes picked up a duplicate of PW in my native bookstore simply to see how they had been doing, however that’s about all. So, all I can speak about was the time I used to be there.

Hands down, my favourite articles and initiatives had been ones by Ken Sadler. Ken was in his mid to late 60s after I took over the journal and had been an everyday contributor for a number of years. Ken was a customized furnishings builder by commerce and lived within the Pacific Northwest on his personal plot of forest—learn lumber provide, walnut, ash, alder and beech. This was a woodworker that would promote a rocking chair for $1000 again within the 1970s. I obtained to take a seat in a single and my again simply melted into the spindles.

Download a Ken Sadler chair project from the May 1991 issue.

Ken had made me a proposal I couldn’t refuse. He had develop into allergic to walnut (put on a masks my fellow kings and queens of sawdust) and requested me if I needed his lumber provide. Hell sure! All I needed to do was persuade Wayne how a lot cash he might save in native lumber prices for the value of two airline tickets and a U-Haul rental. He went for it and we drove residence with a truck full of two” x 10-12” x 14′ slabs and items of excellent, dry lumber. A variety of the alder was superbly spalted. (That’s after I obtained to take a seat in one among his rockers.) I took most of it with me when the journal was offered.

He was additionally a gifted author. All I wanted to do along with his articles was edit for model and infrequently right for voice. Most of the time there was only a only a completed photograph that got here with the textual content, so we obtained to construct his creations in our store.

I actually revered the person. In one dialog earlier than I turned editor, he chewed me out for over-editing an article he’d written. He instructed me to return and browse what he’d initially written, then learn my model and name him again and clarify why mine was higher. I did, and I couldn’t. I feel he most likely instructed David that he didn’t want to fireside me!

Ken turned my woodworking dad—my actual dad thought a screw driver was one thing with orange juice in it, not mechanical in any respect.

Check out Ken’s book here [Amazon]

What, in your thoughts, is the most important change in woodworking previously 40 years?

Getting again into woodworking after 30 some odd years has been an attention-grabbing journey. Going from just a few bench-top instruments to a cupboard noticed, a bandsaw with a 13” throat, a three-bladed planer and a variable velocity, reversible lathe was an costly endeavor over the past 12 months—by no means thoughts what I spent on jigs and fixtures.

Record had given us a lathe at PW I used to be instantly drawn to it. Wayne let me take it with me after I left. I did little or no with it over the following 30 years till a neighbor requested me to construct a six foot, two leaf eating desk with turned legs.

Then I found epoxy use in turning. Haven’t finished it but, however I donated that outdated Record to an area church with a giant woodworking store and acquired a brand new Laguna. Now if I can solely discover time to make use of it. Other initiatives maintain getting in the best way!