Many thoughts on hollowing and the equipment... *LINK*
Lyn J. Mangiameli
>we use.
As many know, I kind of have a thing about hollowing and the equipment used for it. I've used or examined almost every commerically available tool provided for it (see my comphrehensive 5 part "Opinionated Survey of Hollowing Tools available at the link below), and made quite a few modification, and new tools of my own--a few of which have been adopted by some major manufacturers. Hollow forms are my prefered artistic turnings and I likely have made a few hundred by now. I know most of you know these things, but I put it forward as backdrop for the things that follow.
First, hollowing is going to mean different things to different people, both at the production and at the consumers end (which for some of us are only parts of the same thing). Bill brings up the artistic vs the technical components of woodturning, which I find a valid but not rigid dichotomy. Artistic qualities of a hollow form are, for most, exemplified by the exterior: the shape, figure, texture, color, etc. Now of course some of these factors will be more important to some than others (i.e. some will find more merit in the coloring produced by Giles Gilson or Donald Derry, others will care most about the form and use of figure found in Stocksdales works, others will appreciate the wire brushed texture found on a John Jordan or the lacquer smoothness of a Moulthrop) thus even limited to the exterior, the artistic value of a piece may focus on different components based on individual preferences. Going one step further, our (artistic?) appreaciation of a hollowform can also be based on its weight versus its visible appearance (isn't one of the things so many folks are taken by, is the disconnect between the visible indicators of massiveness, contradicted by the proprioceptive awareness of lightness). Issues of balance (between top and bottom, from side to side, etc.) also come into play. The artistic impact of these things require techical talent to carry out. Few of us have the technical mastery of paint of a Giles Gilson, or the Carving abilities of Vesery, or the hollowing talents of Ellsworth. Technical capabilities intertwine with artistic qualities, and nowhere more than in carved and/or turned three dimension objects of art.
So, if technical capability matters, it is no wonder that production turners, and novices will attempt to elevate those abilities and reduce the time required to achieve and obtain the highest levels. For many consumers, the means to achieve the technical capability will be unimportant, it will be the artistic impact of the finished form. However, and particularly for more sophisticated consumers (and also those looking for the exclusivity that comes from something not easily reproducible) the means to achieve that technical level will matter. Some (but certainly no all, or even most) will prefer the marks (and even imprecision) that show that a human of talent performed the operation rather than a machine. Thus the variance of hand cut dovetails, the marks left from hand planning, the cruder brush marks of a hand applied finish, the vagueries of hand carving, etc. all hold meaning (indeed, often artistic meaning) not only to woodworking, but in such art froms as glass, pottery, sculpture and ceramics. Now if the visible signs of such hand work and the talent associated with it, hold meaning, it is not that great a leap to recognize that meaning (and thus value) can be attached to the knowledge that a talented hand was involved in the production of an artistic piece. Thus, for some, just knowing that a piece was produced by one person, and/or by only hand guided tools, and/or by hand propelled tools can add to the intrisic value of a piece. It may be hard for those who don't have these sensitivities (and I see these sensitivies as an individual difference, not a superiority) to understand them in others, but to fail to acknowlege that they are meaningful to some reduces ones ability to address those consumers desires.
Let me provide a personal example. I have a fairly expensive hollow form, obtained through a gallery. It sits across from the bottom of my bed and I often observe it as one of the last things I see at night and first things I view in the morning. I have loved this turning. I love the shape, the form, the texture, the color, the weight and balance, I have loved it more that it is made by John Jordon, a turner I who not only to a have a certain history associated with, but who has expressed some woodturning values I also value. I appreciate that turning because it was made by his hands and that I had had confidence that it had been blind hollowed. I admired the thin walls, and the consistent concentric tool marks inside it. For years, it was my favorite woodturned vessel made by someone other than myself. One day, in a forum exchange on blind hollowing that included my chiding JJ after seeing a picture of him with a laser device attached, he teased me that my hollow form just might have been made using a laser and restrained rig. Folks, I've never felt the same about the turning afterwards. For me (and this is NOT just a turner thing), how a piece is made does contribute to its artistic value.
But this is illustration is on the consumer end. I'm going to take a moment to make a few comments on the production end. I'm not a production turner. I'm not a gallery turner, I don't show off my work to others (most of you have never seen more than a handful of what I have made), although I do think of myself as one who makes wood turned objects of art. I make them for myself (a very stringent critic) and a few others I care for. I like having these objects cluttering up my household and offices, just to bring a form of beauty that is meaningful to me to my surroundings. So how I make them only matters to me, and it does matter.
Hollowing is more than a task for me, it is a therapy. I don't expect this to be the case for everyone else, but I don't underestimate how important Blind Hollowing is to me. I like the slower pace, the emphasis on my other senses of touch and sound and proprioception. I love the mental focus it requires, that drives other thoughts from my head. I love the contest between my attention and skills, vs a small mouth and the characteristics of the wood. Hollowing for me is a meaningful process unto itself, and is much more than simply a step in the creation of an object, though certainly not divorced from it. No laser guidance device (and I have several) are a substitute for the experience I develop when Blind Hollowing. It also leads me to know my tools better (which I hope shows in my reviews), my body better, and to know better the idiosyncracies of the wood I am working,
But these are the reasons and sensibilities that lead to my choice to predominantly Blind Hollow, but I recognize they are not always going to be the reasons and sensibilities of others. For some, hollowing is just an unfortunate task in the making of a object. It may be frustrating because of a lack of skill, or because it is time consuming, or simply because it so little contributes to the artistic sensibilities of its maker. For these people, why shouldn't they use every means possible to move quickly through this (for them) secondary or tertiary task? It may even result in a consumer who doesn't care about these things being able to obtain an artistically satisfying object for lesser cost.
To me, the artistically honest thing to do is to identify the means of production. Somehow I can't imagine I'm going to get folks to identify their work as "hollowed with laser guidance" (who knows, it might really appeal to a few "techy type" buyers), but I would encourage those of use who predominantly Blind Hollow to educate the purchaser about what this means, and to proudly identify our hollow forms as Blind Hollowed. It will mean something to some collectors, just a hand carved means something to many buyers.
A shorter set of thoughts on the equipement itself. Hollowing is possible with really a spectum of equipment, and than any clear categories (not that I didn't create them for the Survey). We don't just jumb between free hand turning to laser guided turning. There are tools used free hand that have fully exposed tips, tools used free hand that have guarded tips (that lessen the possibility of a catch), free hand tools used with arm braces and/or pin rests and hollowing gates, torsionally restrained systems used without lasers, and torsionally restained systems used with laser guidance. Laser guidance almost always found combined with a torsional restraint system to maintain the necessary perpendicularity between the laser point and the periphery of the vessel wall. Thus while laser guidance is best suited for the equipment that most mechanically assists the turner in hollowing, there are clearly many other gradations of assist (such as a tool rest gate) that are often employed when hollowing. It gets silly for anyone who isn't using a laser guidance system to come across as too purist, unless they are going be doing blind hollowing with their fingernail. On the other hand, it is incorrect IMO to imply that skills required are even comparable, though in talented hands, the results may be.
A final note to Bill in response to his original question. I think a laser guided system makes a lot of sense for the approach to turning you have followed. I will be so bold to suggest you will do better to reconsider how much money it is worth to you to obtain a laser guided hollowing system. You have twice purchased high quality lathes to do the work you do. You know their utility, and their long term value, and the function and reliabilty they have added. I suspect for you to be truly satisfied with a laser guided hollowing device, you will need to aquire something of comparable utility, capability and constrution quality. I think the device that is most consistent with your choice of lathe and style of work is the Keith Clark System available from the OKSPINDOCTOR web site. Expensive, yes. But also of production quality and a wide range of capability. I have my early comments on it in the Survey at the link below, and I will have a full review on it in the upcoming months. If maximal capability is desired, nothing exceeds the Clark in my opinion, and it is almost unique in its ability to all your choice of:
horizontlly guided, torsionally free with or without vertical restrained;
or
horizontally guided, torsionally restrained with or without vertical restraint;
with an optional laser and tip set up that can be used for either normal forward or reverse turning. Furthermore you can use almost any tool tip in it, obtain custom bar lenghs, and have the support of the manufacturer for other custom modifications. It's expensive, but IMO it and the Donald Derry provide the best value of all restrained hollowing systems currently available.
Opinionated Survey of Hollowing Tools
