turning preference

Re: turning preference

Don Orr

Overall I probably do more spindle-oriented work than bowl oriented turning. As a hobbyist I don't get to do that much of either unfortunately. Recent projects have been mostly spindle but I did a run of bowls not long ago that need to get sanded soon. It depends on what I am in the mood for mostly, and what I have time for. Warmer weather takes me out of the shop and into the yard or woods or lakes and rivers.

Re: turning preference

Barry L Elder

I prefer to use a lathe that goes round and round!

Re: turning preference

john Lucas

I never have been much of a bowl turner. O sure I've turned a lot of them over the years but maybe a dozen or so a year vs hundreds of other projects. #1 I can't sell bowls around here and if I tried I'd just be competing against all the other bowl turners. The same is true for gifts. My friends and family would much prefer, Christmas ornaments, boxes, pens and of course mirrors.

Bowls and hollow vessels just never turned me on. I've turned my share of them but just don't get the same joy.

Re: turning preference

robo hippy

I love the plain and simple bowl. They were always good sellers for me, and I got to be very efficient when making them. I am expanding. Lately I have been making some scoops. I am playing with off center and multi axis pieces, a few boxes, some more 'artistic' pieces, and just about anything I can get on the lathe. Never did many hollow forms as I haven't really developed an eye for them, and they don't sell well for me, and I don't care for 'dust collectors'.

robo hippy

Re: turning preference

David Walser

I've gone through phases. At first, I wanted to learn to turn so I could make pens. I do a lot of writing for work, and I like the feel of a well crafted pen when I'm working. However, not long after making my first pens, I became enamored with turning bowls. That lust didn't last long. I still like to turn bowls, but it's no longer a passion. (The same is true of platters.)

Now, I prefer turning smaller items -- boxes; ornaments; and practical items such as screwdrivers, ice cream scoops, paper towel dispensers, etc.

Oh, I'm back to turning pens. This past year I served as the chair of a local professional association. I've given each of our monthly speakers a pen with an Arizona flag motif (because all the out-of-state speakers secretly have an affinity for Arizona's flag).

Re: turning preference

david

In Hawaii there is a rich heritage in vessels of all shapes and sizes that for the most part contain food. There are ancient examples in museums of fantastic calabash shapes made with hand tools. Lucky for me, I can turn my calabash shapes on a variable speed lathe. We also have a great variety of nice woods available. It is paradise in many respects.

Re: turning preference

John K Jordan

A really great thing about woodturning is the incredible variety! It sure would be boring if we all liked doing the same thing.

I think effectively categorizing turning preferences might be more complicated, perhaps with several independent dimensions such as: spindle/face, green/dry, large/small, hollow/solid, closed/open, "plain"/embellished, single/multi-axis, art/utility, production/hobby, etc. (Should mandrel/pen turning be in a category by itself?) With a lot of overlap of course.

I think I'm like many people - I do go through phases where I'll turn one kind of thing or two for a while then turn another kind of thing. Never get bored this way! I think this is a good way to keep all the turning skills polished too - if I don't turn an occasional bowl I'm certain to get rusty with the bowl gouge.

In general:

I highly prefer turning dry wood.

I mostly prefer spindle turning, mostly small, especially thin spindles.

I love making lidded boxes.

I'd rather turn a platter than a bowl any day.

I have no interest in hollow forms.

I do pens when someone else wants to learn/make them.

Although I've done a fair number of bowls, both green and dry, I don't find green bowl turning all that interesting or challenging although it sure is fun.

BTW, there are lots of reasons I like to turn small things: can be less expensive (less wood, sandpaper, finish), less wood storage space needed per project, can keep a larger variety of species on hand, it's safer spinning a small blank, can be healthier without the power sanding dust clouds, sometimes quicker from start to finish.

JKJ

Re: turning preference

Wayne Kuhn

Spindle turning things that are used, tool handles, pens, kitchen utensils. With that said I have three shelves of rough turned bowls waiting their turn to be finished.

Re: turning preference

Jerry Maske

Read this thread with interest and saw about what I expected. Any of us will tire of turning the same thing over and over. If you get good at one thing and stay with it WITHOUT an outlet, you wind up saturating your relatives with those pieces at Christmas and have a lot of dust catchers. Moving on is a good thing.

I figured out a long time ago that I'd get bored just turning bowls. Not much to a bowl, so I looked for other options. Wound up in Segmented Shapes and had a great time with them. Moved on to Stacked Laminated bowls, and they'll make you say things you haven't said since Boot Camp.

My current interest is Basket Illusions. They require dry hard wood, to take the beading. Then there's the sanding. Then you get to worry about the inside; hollow form, open form or platter. Then you get to think about the design on the outside, do some wood burning, make a tip to work because no one makes them commercially, and then find India Ink pens and brushes to put on the colors. Alcohol based pens, like Sharpies, are NOT color fast in spite of what they say.

Having said all that, one final category I find tremendously fulfilling to do is one we ALL work with; Problem Solving. When things go wrong, they need to be fixed and analyzed. I may do something wrong that needs fixing, but I don't want to do it wrong again. So I take time to sort it out and modify what caused the problem so I don't do it that way again. And that pleases me when it works.

So, what kind of turning preference do I have? Anything that I can do on the Lathe.

Jerry

Re: turning preference

richie croce

Well said Jerry.You hit the nail on the head. It seems you practice 1 project till you get good @ it, then bored of it. I have a box of captured ring goblets to prove it. One good thing is your always searching for the next new project to make. It keeps my creativity going.

Re: turning preference

Tom Albrecht

Very shortly after getting my first lathe about 40 years ago, I was in the local lumber yard when another customer came in holding a finial from a coach house corbel. She said that she needed to have 10 of them duplicated and the salesman couldn't find anything like it in his catalogs. I stuck my nose in and told them I could do it. I had never made 2 identical pieces of anything before, so that was a real learning experience that has not ended. It was also the beginning of a part time job that had me turning architectural spindles, finials, newels, and rosettes for several local shops, homeowners, and contractors. I did jobs from 1 duplication to as many as 60 or 70, and pieces that ranged in size from tiny drawer pulls to 36"column bases to 5' long posts.

Now, all I want to do is bowls and face plate work.

Re: turning preference

Jack Guzman from Maine

Spindle turning.The only turning I do is making parts for chairs. That is the only reason I own a lathe. It is the only power tool I use on a regular basis.---Jack