Real Life

5/23/05, 12:01 AM #1

William
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Real Life

William

>Looks like the winter blahs are finally behind us. Pretty nice spring days are with us. The days are getting warmer and getting longer.

I was just reminiscing about this past week and how fast it went by and I realized I did not step a foot into the shop. Not that I did not want to! Instead, real life has this nasty habit of getting in the way. There was always somewhere to go, some mundane chore to do or some committment that required my time.

Another good/bad part of that combination is the nice days. YOu have a drop dead gorgeous day and part of you being an outside person who enjoy a great hike or walk wants to be outside, not inside.

So I was curious how some of you out there handle the summer? Is there a noticable decrease in turning time? Do you get in the shop even for a half hour or an hour? I'm lucky to have a blank ready in a half hour :9

Anyway, just curious how some of you handle real life in the summer?

William

Re: Real Life

5/23/05, 12:49 AM #2

Ed in No.VA
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Ed in No.VA

>I go to the shop and turn on the lathe and air conditioner to escape the heat and humidity of the DC area.

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5/23/05, 2:24 AM #3

john lucas
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Registered: 1/1/04

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John Lucas

>William

My only problem during the summer is standing the heat in the shop. I run fans but right now air conditioning is out of the question.

I do have a problem with all the chors getting in the way. Mowing the yard is such a waste. I'd rather be turning. Then of course there's bicycling. I love to ride the bike during the summer. Sometimes it's hard to get a couple of hours in riding and then go into the shop. I think staying in shape helps me stay in the shop longer during the days I do get to get in there.

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5/23/05, 2:28 AM #4

Carole in VA
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Carole in VA

>I'm in there until it gets too darn hot (no AC) Can't hike in the woods here in the summer. The ticks will take you away. They have gotten so they thrive on DEET (on me)and Frontline (on the dog). During the dog days of August and early September, I sit inside in the AC, mope around and wonder where the next hurricane is going to go!

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5/23/05, 2:55 AM #5

Raymond Overman in SC
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Raymond Overman in SC

>Same week, different season. Most of my turning time is one or two nights a week between 7:30 PM and 12:00 AM EST and a few hours on Saturday or Sunday anyway. Not a lot of changes for my schedule and I find I sleep so much better the nights I turn.

I've been busy roughing out blanks here lately. I'm ready for them to hurry up and dry so I can start finishing them.

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5/23/05, 5:18 AM #6

echo8287
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echo8287

>I love the daylight saving time but when it gets killer hot I am drained after working all day at my job. I don't feel like doing anything else(this is in Ga)after the humidity gets to ya. My little shop is in the basement and it still is not that cool down there since only part is A/Ced. It doesn't get that cold in winter here,so spring(pollen),winter ,and fall(bugs) are the best times of year.David

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5/23/05, 12:13 PM #7

Mike Schwing from Md.
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Mike Schwing from Md.

>During the warmer months I spend anywhere from 2-3 hours per weekday on the bicycle and up to 6 on the weekend days. This obviously competes for shop time but I'm not willing to compromise since there are many months when I can't ride at all.

Many of the ideas for the weird little things I make come to me while I'm on the bike. It gives me the opportunity for a long, uninterrupted session of creativity, driven on by sugar, adrenalin, and exhaustion. I can work on an idea and refine it over and over again while I'm trying to forget the pain of a long, hard ride. Think about how much time most of us have to devote exclusively to the creative/design process - a few hours in a row is precious and rare, I manage this almost every day!

I usually return home and sketch out what I was thinking of before I take a nap as I forget it rapidly thereafter.

Re: Real Life

5/23/05, 1:25 PM #8

Ruth Niles
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Ruth Niles

>I'm lucky enough not to be married, I can turn in the cool mornings, garden when the sun is shining, turn from 5 to 10 p.m. if I want. I don't have to stop to eat when someone else is hungry, quit and watch tv when someone else is home nor go to bed when someone else is tired! I turn all day on rainy days. Living in the mountains of PA, humidity isn't a problem. I'm very lucky.

- - -

I live in the middle of Amish farmlands in south-central PA. I started turning in 1989 on a Craftsman monotube and learned from a book in our local library. After turning for a few years, I finally saw another person use the lathe! Then I attended the national symposium in RI (2004?) and that was my downfall.......new tools! bigger lathe! Since I had to support myself, I needed to do production turning, working with contractors, antique dealers and furniture repairmen. In 2005 I got an order for 12 bottle stoppers, I had never turned one, bought the only ones available, did not like them (chrome), put one on my son's metal lathe, shaped it to my liking, took it to a local machine shop and asked "can you make this out of stainless steel?".............. the rest is history! Check out my ss stoppers on my website: <a href="http://www.torne-lignum.com" target="_blank">www.torne-lignum.com</A>

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5/23/05, 3:43 PM #9

Arch
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Arch

>Hi Ruth and William,

No Pa. spring slush or Ga. red clay here for bare feet and cars to get stuck in. Still these are the real days in S.E. Fla. We are between ice-out and black flies (ok,between no-seeums and mosquitoes). The restaurants and service people no longer gouge the winter visitors with prices we residents also had to pay and the visitors no longer inform us of better ways to do everything. The streets are safer and parking spaces are available. No shrill hurricane warnings incessantly on TV yet and plenty of downed timber to turn is left from last September's storms. The Marlins are in first place and the Heat keeps on winning. There is a respite from elections, a recess from politics and a truce between religions. These laidback and lazy days won't last and the cloud of Iraq hangs over us, but nearing 84, it's good to be alive and able to turn wood when and how I please. I am thankful and I know that I'm very fortunate.

Best to you both, Arch

Real Life

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