How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro) *LINK*

Eduardo Sarmiento Hall-Lima Peru

>well yes at least I work more than 12 hours and some times more too,I usually turn 4 to 6 vessels and the same in boxes only in free form pieces It takes me longer ED


http://www.esarmiento.250x.com

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

tdaniel

>Tony, it depends on how I feel, how the allergies are doing, how cold the shop is, and how far behind I am. I am not very disiplined. Sometimes I may rough out pieces all day, sometimes I use up all my chucks getting oil on vessels and then I go to faceplates and rough out. I try to complete at least one nice piece each week and a couple of less significant ones. If only I had started younger.......

TD

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

RonZ

>I don't know if this will help you but this is what I do. First of all, I find it best to do several of the same thing in one shot i.e. pen day, bowl day, box day, etc. This gears you up to be a lot more productive. Lets say it takes you an hour to make a bowl from start to finish but if you do a bowl day, you can get maybe 4-5 done in three hours. If I'm doing a run on pens for instance, I cut all blanks, drill, glue, etc. all at once.

If I get bored/tired of doing just one thing I'll do a box or a bowl just to break the manotany [sp?].

I also work until my feet hurt and then rest by the computer and do what I have to while I'm there or watch a woodturning video.

Last but not least, besides the day of rest, I try not to let a day go by when I at least turn something and after a period of time, I make sure I do a one of for myself.

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Mac

>If you had started when you were younger,Calvin Coolidge could have been a customer.....

Calvin who?

tdaniel

>

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

tom libby

>That's not "manotony", it's "mahogany"

Yours,

Tom

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Hi Tony

I never seem to get as much done as I want to do in a day, but SWMBO is constantly telling me I have unrealistic expectations. I try to pace myself. No matter how hard and fast I work, I am never going to catch up on everything I have to do, so I take it easy. I try not to loaf (too much, anyway), and like Ron says, it helps to focus on a certain aspect of the process.

For example, if I go out to the field and cut a bowl blank, bring it into the shop, get it on the lathe, so on and so forth, it can end up taking a very long time to produce one bowl. However, if I go out to the field and cut up a bunch of bowl blanks, I can cut four or 10 or whatever in not a lot more time than it took to cut one, and I have economized my time spent in getting the saw and all its associated stuff out.

On the other hand, if I spend a bunch of time cutting wood with the chainsaw, I should not expect to see finished bowls by the end of the day, and sometimes I need to remind myself of that. When bowl finishing day comes though, I also need to remind myself that those bowls were not produced in that day alone, they were finished as part of a process that began a while ago.

I hope this helps you out some. It can be easy to get depressed thinking nothing is getting done. We just have to sit back and think about it for a while - but not too long, or nothing WILL get done!

Bill

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL

>Just remember that famous saying from Emo Phillips "the soon you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up"

Mark

Emo Philips

Tony Costine

>Thanks! I hadn't thought of him for years! I love him!

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Tony Costine

>Thanks Bill.

Yeah, I know. But cutting up a bunch of blanks and then bringing them to the bandsaw wind up taking the better part of the day, and then it looks like there's nothing done.

But I do know what all of you guys are talking about. And really, it only seems like nothing's getting done (mostly!)

Best,

--T.

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Tony, what all of these other guys have said. Plus.

I find it comforting when I think I'm not getting anything done to grab something small off of the roughing shelf and finish it. I still have lots and lots of little bowls that I roughed on my old lathe. I can finish turn and sand them in about an hour. So when I feel like I have nothing to show for my efforts, I look over that shelf and pick something up. I just get one coat of oil on it, I can set it aside and look at it as something that got done. I know what you mean though, I can have a whole stack of freshly cut blanks sitting on the tablesaw...er...anchorsealing table and feel like I got nothing done.

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

David

>There seems to be another aspect to how you do it - and that is equipment. You must have jillions of chucks, etc., to keep work going in different stages.

Do you have favorite finishing techniques that get you to project finish "quickly" (in the production sense)?

Re: Emo Philips

Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL

>A couple of my other favorites is Steven Wright:

1. I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

2. Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.

3. All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise my hand.

4. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

5. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

6. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

7. Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.

8. Hard work pays off in the future - laziness pays off now.

9. I intend to live forever -- so far, so good.

10. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

11. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.

12. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

13. Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film!

Mark

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Barry Irby

>It might help if you redefine your goals. If your goal is to make a thousand bowls and sell them for a thousand each and be a millionaire, you may not make much progress, especially if you find you can only sell them for a hundred each.

Try setting a goal of prepping ten blanks in a morning. Anchor Seal nine of them by one and rough the other one by two. Whatever it is, break it down into manageable chunks. Then when you think back on the day, you can pat yourself on the back for hitting the marks rather than dogging yourself for missing some vague probably impossible goal.

Don't stop pushing. Once you prep ten blanks in a morning, try for twelve. Or try to skip the Anchor seal step and rough ten in the afternoon.

Develop good work habits. Things that add to productivity. If you take something out of a chuck, put a mark on it that allows you to put it back the exact way it came out. Take time to work IN the shop and ON the shop. For instance, why can't you cut twenty blanks in a morning? Could you if you had a better chain saw bench? Or maybe a cant hook or peavy that let you move the logs more quickly.

I'm not a pro turner, but if I were I would take the time to figure out how to work faster, smarter, and safer. Nobody cares if you cut your blank with a chainsaw, a band saw or a laser or dynamite for that matter, do it the way that is best (easiest and fastest) for you.

Re: How do you guys do it? (pro and semi pro)

Tony Costine

>good questions!