Thomas J. MacDonald (born June 18, 1966), known as Tommy Mac, is an American

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

and woodworker and former host of the public television series ''Rough Cut: Woodworking with Tommy Mac''. Born in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...

, MacDonald attended the Blue Hills Regional Vocational High School, but dropped out and did not complete his schooling; he later received a GED. He worked as a carpenter for 17 years, but was injured while doing construction work on the

Big Dig The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...

project in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He later attended the North Bennet Street School in Boston, where he learned woodworking. He started his own business in

Canton, Massachusetts Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of Downtown Boston. History The area that is present ...

, and his work was noticed by

Bob Vila Robert Joseph Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for ''This Old House'' (1979–1989), ''Bob Vila's Home Again'' (1990–2005), and ''Bob Vila'' (2005–2007). Early life and education Vila, a C ...

, who later invited him to appear on his television series ''Home Again'' and on video podcasts for the BobVila.com website. In 2010, MacDonald was signed by

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS List of PBS member stations, member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Affiliated stations and facilities WGBH-TV is the Flagship (broadcasting), ...

to host his own woodworking instructional program. After seven seasons, MacDonald's contract with WGBH was not renewed and he had assumed that Rough Cut would end, but WGBH eventually announced a new season of the show with a new host and a similar title. In response, MacDonald filed a lawsuit against WGBH for trademark infringement, citing that advertisements for the new show had used his name, image and trademarks without permission. The lawsuit was eventually dropped with both sides declining to discuss the specifics of the settlement. In 2019, McDonald began hosting the documentary series "Murder Matters".

References

External links

Official website
1966 births Artisans from Boston American television personalities American woodworkers Living people American carpenters 21st-century American businesspeople {{US-tv-bio-stub