rocks, broken fingers and turning with them

[dkulze]

Got it. I did a similar thing 3 years ago. Deep inside a 17" tuliped bowl. Finished a long cut, stood up and started to draw the tool out. Touched the inside with the tip. Smacked up and down twice then onto my fingers. Real lucky they missed my knuckles cause I'd have lost some use of that hand. As it was, it hit across bone on the first joint down from the hand. Still hurts when I bend those fingers.

Glad a break was all ya got.

Dietrich

[DaveZ]

It is a 1 inch radiused skew and because I am good with it. Unlike many would be turners who get fixated on bowls and the gouge I practiced my skew technique every day for months until I was far more than profiecient and that was even before buying a gouge and still practice technique every day. Many say my skew technique is hardly distinguishable from that demonstrated by richard raffan, while I say I am not that good I did model my technique on his

WOW! Did you really say that? I've been reading all the forums for goin on 2 years and I gotta tell you that, that statement is the most arrogant thing I've ever read.

Unlike many would be turners

Do you know how many people here you just insulted, or just how many of us here, fit your criteria for "would be turners" ?

If your that good, how about showing us or helping us? That would be more positive than belittling us.

[WoodBoy]

>Do you know how many people here you just insulted, or just
>how many of us here, fit your criteria for "would be
>turners" ?

Actually I should have said would be bowl turners, I am sure many of the pen turners have very good skew technique. But of the hundreds turners who do nothing but bowls and the like I have met, very few I have seen or listened to the complaints of on various forums lack any profieciency with a skew. It seems to me most bowl turners are in such a hurry to make bowls when they start turning they never learn how to turn in an orderly step by step fashion that allows them to master thier tools and techniques. For these would be bowl turners they jump right into bowl turning without picking up any kind of skill other than sanding to remove their mistakes and and cover up bad technique. Sure you can make a good looking bowl by sanding it into perfection, but there are very few who have mastered a skew so they don't have too. Simply put a gouge will never give you the type of clean smooth cuts on the outside of a bowl you can get from a skew. I choose to be a master of the skew rather than merely compatent with sandpaper. If it sounds arrogant for me saying that, so be it, because it leaves me in the company of many exceptional turners I have met who say the same thing.


>
>If your that good, how about showing us or helping us? That
>would be more positive than belittling us.

Asking how other tunrers handle problems even if i don't take their advice or disagree with it, is what makes me better. If you felt belittled before, it was not my intention. In time I may well show you how I do it, and I have offered much advice to others querries, if you didn't find it helpful, then so be it.

[Randy Privett]

:(
Sigh...

[DaveZ]

I'll assume you are the WoodBoy that posted this thread about 5 months ago, maybe your first post?

http://www.woodworking.com/dcforum/d...um=DCForumID13

Your question was about how to prep a pen blank, which I would assume would be a pretty rudimentary skill for a Raffan class turner. Have you evolved that much as a turner since then. It's only been 5 months. Has your business plan changed, I think you spelled it out on how you would get the wood for free, make like 60 blanks an hour, with profit of 47 cents per. Is that happening for you? Is your website done?

BTW, I asked around at the other forums and nobody's ever heard of you. Is your name actually Woody Boyde like it says in your profile?

[WoodBoy]

>I'll assume you are the WoodBoy that posted this thread
>about 5 months ago, maybe your first post?
>
>http://www.woodworking.com/dcforum/d...um=DCForumID13

I asked because I am not a pen turner. I still don't turn many of then though I am pretty good at it, they just don't make much money at the craft shows in comparison to other things.

>Have you evolved that much as a turner
>since then. It's only been 5 months.

Yes I have evolved that much since I took it up this again at the begining of the year. Classes and 40 to 60 hours a week in front of a lathe will do it and a lot of one on one lessons have done me good. I did have some serious turning time in a number of years ago before I took it up again, I wasn't bad before, but dedication and countless hours have really perfected some of my techniques.

>Has your business plan
>changed, I think you spelled it out on how you would get the
>wood for free, make like 60 blanks an hour, with profit of
>47 cents per.

I quickly moved beyond that. It paid for the things I intended it for, then I moved on to other things. I still get plenty of free wood, and am far better at getting it now than I used to be in fact. but now I keep it for myself. Does anyone give their real name online? It isn't very smart practice in my opinion so the answer to your question is no, but my middle name really is woodrow.

[dicklaxt]

I told Gladys when the post in question was posted that it was going to start some chit. When one holds them self aloft and openly admits to it ,it is not to well accepted. I think it was all in poor taste
whether meant to be or not . I'm out of this conversation.

dick

[KWGeorge]

I really had to think about if I even wanted to post to this thread but I find myself confused. Woodboy you stated that the piece you were turning was one quarter of a 47” wide tree. Now I am making an assumption here but that would lead me to believe that the piece you are turning is in excess of 2 cubic feet. I may be way off but since you intend to leave a 5” object inside of it I will settle for that assumption. Now the weight of wood varies greatly from species to moister content and so on but as a general rule wet Oak weighs in at about 48 pounds per cubic foot. Which would mean the piece you are turning is about 96 pounds give or take 10 pounds. Now according to your posts on the AAW forum on 08-23-2004 you own and are using a Harbor Freight 34706 lathe. This is a ¾” HP 12” lathe with a movable headstock. Its shipping weight is 184 pounds. Now obviously you cannot turn something this large between centers on this lathe! Oh wait! You said you were spinning it in “spindle orientation” Ok, so it must be long since it is going to be a vase. But with a 5” object inside with only a 6” between bed and center of spindle, humm confusion starts here. Now you said that you used a Skew to do you external work on the bowl and have patterned your technique after Richard Raffan and that people who have seen you feel you are as good as he is with it but again on the AAW forum you had not decided to go to the radius grind until at least 07-25-2004! So basically you are saying that from the end of July until now you have mastered the radius ground skew far above the abilities of any “Would Be Turner”? And in this short time you are assured that your work “ought to fetch a hefty price from a gallery”? You also confuse me as I feel that you are telling everyone that uses a gouge instead of a skew that they should consider themselves “Would be Turners”.

I apologize to the members of this forum and to its moderator Woodmangler but this thread and its creator have really pushed the limits of believability.

[Bill G]

Dick just bowed out of this conversation, but I am jumping in with both of my big fat "wood be" bowl turnin' feet.

Wood Boy wrote:

"Sure you can make a good looking bowl by sanding it into perfection, but there are very few who have mastered a skew so they don't have too. Simply put a gouge will never give you the type of clean smooth cuts on the outside of a bowl you can get from a skew."

This is incorrect. In the first place, sandpaper is a tool just like any other tool. In the second, a side ground bowl gouge will give you a fantastic surface. In the third place, skews have no place on a bowl for anything other than scraping, putting in the odd groove or two, or doing a few decorations on the bottom.

I also would really like to see some of your work if you are as good as you say. When do we get to see some pictures? I'll put up a few of mine if you like. Of course, I did use sandpaper, so maybe they don't count.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. When I'm not sanding bowls into submission I turn spindles for furniture parts. I also teach classes on the skew, things like pommel cuts, beads, grooves, even some shallow coves with the skew. But it sounds like you have me beat hands down. I would really like to see some of that work.

And the only time I have ever hurt my fingers was sanding a natural edged bowl on the lathe. Maybe I should have been using my skew. In fact, it was this bowl here.

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/cherryburlbowl02.jpg

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/cherryburlbowl01.jpg


Tell me Wood Boy, where would you use your skew on this one?

Edit in. I almost forgot completely about the hefty price. I normally do not post prices of what I get for my pieces, but in this case I will make an exception Wood Boy. This piece is approximately 12" long and 7" across the widest part of the short axis. It is approximately 3" high. I turned it on a Thursday, finished it on Friday just in time for a show on Saturday. It was one of the first pieces to sell that day, and it fetched $300. Is that hefty enough for you Wood Boy?

ANOTHER EDIT: I give my real name out all the time Woodrow. In fact, I have had hundreds of people come to my home from this forum and others every year, most of them at one time. What is it that worries you about giving out your real name?

[WoodBoy]

> I really had to think about if I even wanted to post to
>this thread but I find myself confused. Woodboy you stated
>that the piece you were turning was one quarter of a 47”
>wide tree. Now I am making an assumption here but that would
>lead me to believe that the piece you are turning is in
>excess of 2 cubic feet I may be way off but since you
>intend to leave a 5” object inside of it I will settle for
>that assumption. Now the weight of wood varies greatly from
>species to moister content and so on but as a general rule
>wet Oak weighs in at about 48 pounds per cubic foot. Which
>would mean the piece you are turning is about 96 pounds give
>or take 10 pounds. Now according to your posts on the AAW
>forum on 08-23-2004 you own and are using a Harbor Freight
>34706 lathe. This is a ¾” HP 12” lathe with a movable
>headstock. Its shipping weight is 184 pounds. Now obviously
>you cannot turn something this large between centers on this
>lathe! Oh wait! You said you were spinning it in “spindle
>orientation” Ok, so it must be long since it is going to be
>a vase. But with a 5” object inside with only a 6” between
>bed and center of spindle, humm confusion starts here.

You are making quite a few assumptions here so let me set the record straight. I have never said anything about the lathe used on this project. There were in fact two lathes used The original block was nearly 16 inches at its widest and mounted on an 8" face plate and rough turned on a friends jet 1642 with a step down spindle adapter to accomodate my 1"x8tpi I started with it on my lathe at just over 11" and 17" long. wqhich is considderably less than 2 cubit feet but still a pretty hefty piece at 600 rpms on my lathe, but certainly not to much for it since it was prebalanced. I am only assuming the rock is about 5" based upon curviture of what i can see and's location it could be smaller or larger.


>you said that you used a Skew to do you external work on the
>bowl and have patterned your technique after Richard Raffan
>and that people who have seen you feel you are as good as he
>is with it but again on the AAW forum you had not decided to
>go to the radius grind until at least 07-25-2004!

I said i patterned technique not used the same tool. And for someone who was already very good with a straight grind going to a radiused grind was very easy to master, though i doubt the reverse would be true of someone who started with a radiused going to a straight grind.


>And in this short time
>you are assured that your work “ought to fetch a hefty price
>from a gallery”?

I said if I could do it right. Even a novice turner can make a gallery quality piece if they are carefull and use good technique. I am not trying to be a gallery artist but I no with patience my skills can produce a work good enough to be in a finer gallery.

>You also confuse me as I feel that you are
>telling everyone that uses a gouge instead of a skew that
>they should consider themselves “Would be Turners”.

I didn't say that at all. Since a good portion of this was done with a 1 1/4 roughing gouge and a 1/2 bowl gouge with a serious fingernail grind. I did say most bowl turners that I have met, who do little else have very little skill/ competatence with a skew because they rushed into bowl turning instead of learning how to make a multitude of objects while learning the skill and techniques of each tool. There are the would-be turners who know only one thing and then there are those who have mastered many skills. I am somewhere in between at the moment as far as exerience and tecniqhue goes, but the real difference between me and many would be bowl turners is my skills grow as an all around turner, and those who can't see manking anything but a bigger bowl will most likely never really grow as a turner.