>Occasionally, I remove the crud from the ways and hit them with WD-40. Oil this or that. By no means OCD about my lathe.
I've been known to demo that the back end of a gouge makes a great mallet for a 4 prong center, even though the handle was bird's eye maple. Certainly not OCD about my tools, unless you count sharpness. Then I get religious...
I turn just about any kind of wood. Spalted, buggy, falling apart, so soft you could break it off with your hands wood... so I'm not OCD about the wood either I suppose?
Do I have too many tools? Nope, or I wouldn't have made them.
I get what you mean, but I don't think I fit the description. I know folks who alphabetize their woods by genus and species, but I'm not like that...
I guess it's a question of Return On Investment. In the case of sharpening, it's not a linear thing - spending twice the time doesn't produce a cut that's twice as good - for very long.
Let's just look at a really sharp edge. Not just one that'll shave hair off your arm - but REALLY sharp. And then let's look at how long you can expect it to stay THAT sharp as you actually cut wood with it.
Turning a 1" diameter spindle, spinning at a reasonable 1500, rpms comes out to about 400 feet per minute of cut. With just a 1/4" wide shaving, that's the equivalent of a paring chisel cut 1/4" wide off a board a foot wide and 8 feet long (8 sf of wood surface removed). That's no big deal.
Now cut the same 1/4" wide shaving off something 12" in diameter - spinning at the same 1500 rpms. That comes out to a tad over FOUR THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED - FEET - PER MINUTE - the equivalent of a paring off the surface of about three 4x8 sheets of ply - in just the first minute. At 1675 rpms it'd be - literally a Mile A Minute of cutting.
Now granting that cuttng continuously for a full minute at a time might be a little unusual - as a single cut - but no cutting edge material - I can afford to buy - will hold a REALLY sharp edge that long - even assuming that the wood is flawless - and has no abrassive inclusions.
So after the first 10 seconds of turning on the surface of a 12" diameter piece spinning at 1500 rpms - you're back to just a fairly sharp cutting edge. At that point would you really stop and do what's needed to restore that REALLY sharp edge?
But if you started with just a fairly sharp edge and hjt the grinder - or whatever - for ten seconds or so - and went back to turning - would you notice any significant differences between the results you'd get - vs the results you'd get if you REALLY sharpened the cutting edge every 10 seconds? What's the Return On Investment - and is it really worth the additional time and effort?
The quest for perfection is not linear. Up to a point it appears to be linear - double your time and effort and you get twice the reward. But the curve flattens out more and more as you approach perfection. To get that last 2% typically requires 5, 10 or a hundred times more time and/or effort than getting to 90 percent of perfect.
On small diameter spindle type turning REALLY sharp may be worth the addition time and effort. And on a final finishing cut on a larger piece it probably would be worth the effort. But to only turn with a REALLY sharp edge - all the time?
If you look at the mechanics of cutting wood - what's happening at - and immediately in front of - where the cutting edge interacts witht the wood - and how the "chip" behaves as it clears the cut is far more important than the edge itself. With a handplane, a tight throat opening means that the plane's surface holds the fibers down while being sheared off at the cutting edge - not lifted up and splintered or torn off. We don't have ANYTHING in front of the cutting edge to hold the wood fibers down. THAT means depth of cut - and therefore bevel control - is THE critical factor determining whether we get a good clean cut - or not. And THAT takes developing an essential skill that no jig or machine or sharpening method will compensate for if it's lacking.
Turning is a complex process with a huge number of variables - some we CAN control - and some we can't. So we play a balancing act - working at getting good - for some - really good - at the really important things - the right tool for a particular cut, a decent cutting edge - and maybe a polished bevel - not cutting "up hill"- and tool control - especially bevel control.
In the end, even the best technical turner - who can make The Perfect Cut - in every situation - but hasn't developed a good sense of shape and form and proportions, mass and balance - and what makes a "fair curve" rather than a curve that's Not Quite Right - will probably never turn an AH! piece.
I'm an admitted Tool Phreak - and of the Buy Once, Cry Once school. And I'm not proned to Sticker Shock either. I got to play with a Festool DOMINO for about a minute - then forked over a grand for one and the accessories that go with it. Had only an inkling of what I'd do with it - but I recongnized a revolutionary woodworking tool when I saw one. It has well exceeded my expectations - and a half dozen woodworkers I've shown it to and let play with it bought one.
But this micro sander - for $185!? THAT I'd have a hard time justifying. Clearly it meets a very specific need that you have - and does the needed job better and easier than alternatives like a flex shaft with a smal penicil sized quick change handpiece - which isn't as maneuverable due to the attached flex shaft. I assume of course that you have a Foredom, with a solid state, full wave rectifier foot speed control - or equiavelnt - and handpieces for it.
Maybe, like the DOMIO, which looks like a MUCH less expensive biscuit cutter, this thing's appearance may be deceptive - plastic looking parts - a clunky, not very ergonomic looking body - and little nylon looking plastic tips. But if it does the job - and holds up to the work it's to do - it probably is a real deal.
Thanks for the pointer to it. Think I'll pass on this one - for now.
>Charlie - this tool is very well made and does the job of sanding in tight spaces better than anything else I've used. It's earned its keep a thousand times over on my latest project. It's worth every penny I spent on it and I'd buy a replacement i a heartbeat if this one ever fails. I'd love to have a carver that fits in my hand in a similar fashion.
I do have a variety of sanding mandrels for my micromotor carver. They work well, but this micro sander puts them all to shame. No competition at all!
Discussions are good things - and exchanges of ideas can be helpful - to the participants as well as observers.
What I was getting at with my original OCD post was how easily it is to lose sight of the actual turning experience - given all the "voices" trying to get our attention - and money - and time.
A person with skills and abilties can overcome most shortcomings of tools and machines - and can exploit what they have to work with - be it tools, machines or wood. But a person lacking skills and abilities can seldom make up for their shortcomings by purchasing what they don't know or can't as yet do. The "newest", most expensive tool can't make you a better turner. It may allow you to turn something you couldn't turn before - adequately - but probably not REALLY well. You can't buy skill - or ability.
You are absolutely correct about the value of using sharp tools. Continuing to turn when a tool has gotten too dull is a path to frustration. But it's a matter of degree I'm noting. When you have to lean into it - and force an edge to continue to remove wood - well after you should stop and sharpen you're wasting your time - and can screw up the piece you're working on - or hurt yourself. On the other hand, spending 90 percent of your shop time sharpening and only 10% actually turning something doesn't seem like a good idea either. Striking a balance should be the goal while focusing almost obsessively on just one element of the things probably isn't a good way to go- especially for OCDers. The fact that people want to sell you things that may or may not provide any real benefit - as opposed to perceived benefit - doesn't help OCDers.
If the idea is "I want to make THIS and I've got THESE to wok with" - HOW is get there is less significant that THAT I get there -by whatever means. If I never get THERE - because I'm constantly "fixin' to", to use a southern phrase, is that really turning?
>When your hands are swollen and hurt from sanding and carving all day, you find, buy or build a tool to help remove the stress on the body and speed up the production. Duh!
The micro sanders have been around for decades in the model boat builder's world because we wanted to continue to build things without having to take so much anti-inflammatory meds!
And certainly, you aren't complaining about finding and using tools to help with your work, are you?
>Definitely not - in any way against any getting any tool that'll make something I'm already doing, but at a price - cramped fingers, sore hand and/or forearm - easier and painless.
It's also no big surprise that other hobbies/interests have developed special tools to meet their special needs. Finding out about stuff that's out there already and been around for a while - but not showing up in sources for turners or furniture maker is a problem which the web and forums like this are solving. Dissemination of information is one of the great strengths of the internet.
The danger - for me - is a modified version of The See Food Diet -See Food - Eat Food - Gain Weigh.
In my case it's Sea Tool - See Tool - Buy Tool - Figure Out What To Do With It Later (if ever).
I've got a baker's dozen of full size turning tools - and use THREE normally - and a couple occassionaly. The rest - well they were shiny and called to me "BUY ME!
>And proud of it ! If what you describe is your definition of an OCD turner then I am it. I have acquired most of what you described and all for a good reason. When I want to do a particular job or process I want the tools available and not have to go out or send away for them. I just completed a second vacuum chuck system with a bigger pump-5.5 cfm. My other one only does 1.5 cfm. My bandsaw was one of my earliest purchases when I started turning. Use it all the time. I love having all my tools and I use them all at one time or another. And I do make things too. I was taught to leave time for clean-up in shop class and still do it. My wife busts on me about spending so much time with my shopvac. A clean shop is a safe shop. I take care of my tools and equipment but I don't work in a NASA clean room. I also know where things are because I put them back after use.
Wanna call me OCD ? - I consider it a compliment !
