Curious Dilemna

Re: Curious Dilemna

John Crissman

>Chuck,

I saw the Muddler you did and it looked nice to me. I am not familiar with them but the design was appealing and it looks comfortable to use.

My question is, where did you get a quilted maple blank that size? I have been looking for some in a similar size.

Lastly, I don't know why there were no replies to your message. I think it was more due to oversight than purpose. I have had posts that have also gone by the wayside. I think it is the nature of a messageboard.

I look forward to seeing your next piece and wish you well in your recovery.

John

Re: Curious Dilemna

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Well I know that I did look at your post - from home where I have (until tonight when I install my DSL stuff), a 44K dial up line. Seeing that there were more than one pic in the post in the form of the little image placeholders Mozilla inserts until they download, I passed on the message to look again at the office the next day. When there were no replies, it dropped off of the radar because at work I have my settings to show me new messages.

I've had posts that nobody replied to before. One of them I felt was my best work at the time. Kind of messes with your confidence, doesn't it? I'm sure there was no conspiracy to jip you of replies. Just the ghost in the machine.

I still don't know what the heck that thing is in your picture, and as a non-pen turner, I don't usually know how to comment on pen turnings.

Re: Curious Dilemna

Andy in Raleigh

>I usually don't respond to work posted, because I am not that skilled and don't really have much to say. I just went back and looked at your post. You didn't really invite comments but said "Thanks for looking." I don't think anyone was uninterested or unfriendly.

Re: Curious Dilemna

John Lucas

>Your being too sensitive. sometimes we read things and just don't have time to respond. I love to see work of all quality. Every person is original and that often comes through in there work. I remember your piece and thought it was nice. Not being a drinker I had no idea what it was but now I know. You never know when that will pay off in a trivia contest.

I run by the computer in between assignments at work and often don't have the time to write. Today my assignments have all been late so I sit here waiting for them to arrive and have time to play.

1.5 megapixels should be fine for web use. I forget what they said the maximum file size is here but it's like 30 or 60K. Use the biggest file size on your camera and then you have plenty left for compression when you start manipulating the photo.

no responses

Shawn - in ID

>Chuck - I saw your post and appreciated it. I've actually been following a post from "harv" from last Thursday where he asked about dust collectors. Everyone is incredibly concerned with health and dust collection but not a single person has helped him out (though perhaps he received e-mails, I don't know). I'm very interested in the same topic and would have appreciated reading replies folk had for harv. Please don't take the lack of replies to yoru work personally.

Re: Curious Dilemna

Fred in NC

>Chuck:

I have experienced the same ! So don't feel bad. I looked at your pic of the muddler too. Nicely done! I think it dropped in the page due to other newer postings.

Best regards,

Fred

Pen Pictures and My 2 cents

Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level

>Chuck,

I am not a prolific turner so I will admit that I am not around the turning side very often. So what I am about to say will likely anger some turners. I hope not as I mean no disrespect!!

The lack of response I'm sure was not personal. We have all been there so I know how you feel. Your work is just fine and I'm glad you are getting back in the swing of things.

Now here is where I'll probably catch hell....pens. Pens are cool and I really like hand turned pens. I cherish one that a friend made me years ago. I do not consider them trivial by any means, I myself have turned a couple so I know they require skill.

None the less, I have to admit that I see so many pictures of pens that I sometimes get bored. I'm sorry, I'm just being honest. I am not bored with that person or their work, just that after a while I have seen about every pen and wood out there.

I know that is bad. New turners want to show their stuff and they need our feedback. It doesn't help for "old timers" to get bored and stop responding but I will admit that from time to time I get burned out on pens so I don't respond.

Not the best thing to admit but I am just being honest. As I said, I get to this side once or twice a week so sometimes I miss posts and that was the case for you. But I just looked back at it and saw the pen so it got me to post this. I may speak for others but I don't know. If I do then maybe that helps explain so lack of responses?

Ok folks...don't pound on me! :-)

Peace!

Tommy

Re: Curious Dilemna

Ron in Drums PA

>The same thing happens to me all the time.

At first I thought I annoyed the people on the board and they didn't want to bother with me.

Then I thought that maybe my stuff was lousy. I thought, "I like my stuff, so geezz, what's the problem!" I even thought that "Boy, That looks like crap" would feel better than no response.

Then I looked at how I posted and noticed a trend. There are days that all I have time to do is quickly glance at a few topics. Other days I get a chance to view a few pics. Then other days I have the time to read every message make a full "Atta Boy! Nice Work!" response.

Also, most of the "spare" time I have to check this site is at work. I have people walking in and out of my office, if they noticed I was on a website about my hobby there will be some friction. Something I try to avoid. Then there are my typing skills, I type pretty darn fast using 4 fingers, (5 if you want to count my thumb which I use for the space bar) I bet I might get up to 20 mistakes a minute. (Can anyone beat that!)

I realize that my situation is probably simular for most of us on the board. It's not that nobody noticed your work, or no one likes you, you just hit a bad day.

Chuck, I've looked at your work, your pretty darn good!

Re: Curious Dilemna

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Hi Chuck

I get the nonresponse thing from time to time too. I know on my end my computer time can vary from lots to none at all, and often I will be interrupted right in the middle of stuff to go off for long periods of time, so I may intend to repsond to something, not get to it, and by the time I get back, like Mike, it falls out of my head.

To tell the truth, I liked the muddler and intended to ask more about it, as it is something I think might sell at some of my shows this year. But this past week has been a real circus, even more than usual, and it went by the boards (so to speak).

So, if you would be so kind, could you cough up the details on how you did it?

Thanks.

Bill

Re: Curious Dilemna

Phil Lieberman

>It happens i posted many times and "nothing" just check below Firewood post. I checked out your pics and really like the Pens. Hang in there

I tend not to pass and judgement unless I know you

steve antonucci in NW New Jersey

>I met a bunch of folks at Bill's picnic, and I would gladly offer an opinion if asked.

But I don't know you, and you don't know me! When I first started posting, I had a few "No reply" posts. I felt the same way you did, until I realized I didn't really need someone else's opinion to feel good or bad about a particular piece. So now I post when I feel like I have something to say.

That being said, do you see the muddler as a one-off? All of my spindle turning is for "magic wands" which I did as a goof for my son (Harry Potter fan).

Maybe you could be Chuck the Muddler Guy...

Re: Curious Dilemna

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Thanks Mike,

Yes, it does play with your self-confidence. I'm glad to know that I'm not alone. And will do my best not to continue taking it personally.

The first pic is a "drink Muddler". Which is something you stick in the glass to crush certain ingredients - like limes or spices. I don't drink myself so made it to the general design of the requestor.

Chuck.

Re: Curious Dilemna

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>Chuck I follow several groups, both woodturning and woodworking, and generally pick and choose what I read, and am even more selective about what I respond to. I hardly ever respond to photo posts of people's work, but I do try to respond to all posts that pose a question I feel I have some significant expience with. Post a question on hollowing tools some day, and you are likely to find me weighing in. There's nothing personal in this, nor any commentary on your work, it's just a matter of what I like to do.

Re: no responses

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Thanks for pointing that out about Harv, Shawn.

I've not posted too much here regarding the illness/allergy - but have posted about it on the penturner site because I thought it would help more as that group uses excessive amounts of CA for the tubes and the finishes. I'm now highly allergic to CA glue.

I, as well as my doctors, owe a lot to Russ Fairfield for pointing me in the direction of proving that.

Chuck

Re: Curious Dilemna

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Thanks John,

I got 3 good sized end-cut pieces of maple that where about 3-1/2" think and were to be used for gun stocks. Since I only needed a 12" x 1-3/4" blank to start, I trimmed one end off to length. You may want to see if their are any gunmakers in your local area. Exchange a bowl or a pen for the pieces he can't use and you might get some nice maple or walnut.

Chuck

Re: Curious Dilemna *LINK*

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Thanks for chiming in, Bill.

I appreciate everybody adjusting my perspective. And for doing it gently. I guess my nerves were just getting as sensitive as my skin has been these last 2 months.

Regarding the Muddler, this one was a specific request from my boss, and he provided a link that gave me some background on it. I'll include that link below.

Someone here posted some muddlers recently, but I can NOT find the post. I think I will make a few more of these at least to take to this month's club meeting. I think they make a novel gift for someone who enjoys mixed drinks and they make great spindle practice as there are only a couple "requirements".

The main thing is that the head have enough mass and diameter to crush the ingredients uniformly. In addition, the lower part of the shaft is tapered, in my analysis, so that it can be shifted and rotated in the glass while still allowing the head to contact the material being crushed. Beyond that, he just wanted enough mass to be comfortable in his hand and to not flex or break when manhandled.

I think they would sell well but only to those who know the difference between the complicated mixed drinks. They are quick to turn. If you tossed a couple in your display, then you might get that one person who is a home-bartender or something. He may like it enough to want you to make more for him on consignment. My boss gave me $10 for this one. Not a bad deal.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me out.

Chuck


Bar Tools - Muddlers

Re: Curious Dilemna

Chuck Ludwigsen

>Phil,

You are correct and I do stand corrected. I see where you were the only one who replied to your post. Do you know what the wood type was? And what is the size of the finished piece in relation to the original block of wood? It is a nice turning - especially for a piece of wood you thought was firewood.

Chuck

Don't take it personally

Dominic Greco at home in sunny Richboro, PA

>Chuck,

I can speak for a good chunk of us here that browse the internet while on their lunch break, or the odd stolen moment during the day at work.

Sometimes there are so many posts that you have to pick and choose which ones you can respond. Some you can give a brief reply, other you just glance at. There is just not enough time in the day to respond to all.

It's been like that for me. I used to have all the time in the world to reply. Not anymore!

Dominic

Re: No "PIC" tag?

Mike Rubes, Apex, NC

>Hi Chuck,

I didn't see your post until you mentioned it. My surfing time is pretty slim but I try to always hit the posts with pics in them. Most them have the word "PIC" in the title and since yours didn't, I missed it. At least from my point of view, having "PIC" in the title would have been a signal for me to take a look.

It's nice looking. Keep up the work and don't be discouraged from posting pics!

Thanks,

Mike

Not enough time for .... you name it, in Apex, NC.... :)

Re: Curious Dilemna

Phil Lieberman

>Chuck, its Maple and the design just happened as i made it! Thanks for looking

Re: Curious Dilemna

Brad Vietje

>Chuck,

I simply missed it. The header was something like "Getting back into things" or something, and oddly, there was no indication of a photo. Usually a post with those magic letters PIC will be looked at by quite a few people. I wonder how you added the pic's to your post so they didn't get tagged ?

The photo quality can be improved, but that may be related to how you attached them to your post. For a forum like this, you can take photos at rather low resolution, but you are better off shooting them at medium or higher resolution, and using a program like Photoshop to re-size them (saving the smaller version under a new name in case you need the better pic for another purpose).

I had no idea what a muddler was, so I learned something. The wood is very pretty, and the turning looks good to me !

Safe spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Don't take it personally

Keith Tompkins

>hi Dom, I'm in the same boat!!!I haven't had time to mow the lawn; no time to grow a garden in two years.

Re: Pen Pictures and My 2 cents

Dave Peebles Lyons, Ohio!

>Hi Tommy,

No pounding from me, as I tend to skim over the pen turning too. I guess I have a certain area of interest and tent to skim over the other things posted here.

That being said, I love all turned wood and I guess I missed your post Chuck. I just went and looked at it, and it looks great!!

I too have a limited time to cruise the forums. And many times I think I will post a reply tommorrow. But this place has grown so much over the last year or so, that things seem to scroll to the bottom at light speed.

But I am really happy to see that you are back at the lathe and having fun.

Best wishes,

Dave

No pounding here

Dominic Greco in Richboro PA

>Tommy,

You aren't alone in your opinion my friend. Even though I've been turning out pens now for several months, I find myself somewhat jaded when it comes to viewing photos of pens. I usually look when it's someone I know is innovative, or prone to try really cutting edge materials or techniques.

That being said, I still post pictures of the pens I consider unique. Not here on Woodcentral, but on Penturner.org.

See ya around,

Dominic