Practicing while you turn
john Lucas
I often tell new turners to do practice project that you never plan to finish. Just pick up a stick and turn beads and coves, or take a bowl blank out of cheap wood and turn it until it's gone practicing the starting cuts at the lip that always give you problems or practice that cut from lip to center, over and over.
Nobody does it. Or at least very few do. Well here's what I do. When I'm turning a project I practice on the areas that don't matter. OK in reality all areas matter but here's what I'm talking about. Last week or so I've been turning clocks out of different woods. I haven't turned those woods in a while. I turn the back first. Now most people would not care about the back but this is where I practice for the front. While I'm wasting away wood I will take a few light cuts to see what tool and technique will cut the cleanest on that wood. Or I might try a few experimental cuts. Maybe a new grind on a tool or different cuts with a Hunter tool or hollowing tool. Once I'm done playing I will have discovered a lot of things about that particular piece of wood. I can go ahead and finish the turning.
Now comes sanding. Again some people might not sand the back to the same level but here's where you learn what that wood needs. It also lets me play with my sanding technique. Maybe sanding in reverse helps, maybe not on this wood but I can experiment and see.
Now that your finished playing you can go to the front side and proceed with confidence because you've learned how to use a certain tool or other technique to get a really clean cut. You also know how and what grits to use for sanding. Did I mention finishing. I also test the finish on the back. I'd rather screw up the back than the front.
I might do the same on spindles. If I haven't turned beads in a while with the skew I will turn a few beads on an area that may be a cove. That way if I screw them up while practicing I'm going to cut the wood away at that point anyway.
Hope this helps someone. I still thing one of the best things you can do is turn a piece of scrap until it's a toothpick and toss it. You learn so much when your not afraid of ruining a piece.
