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Isn't It Ironic?

Isn't It Ironic?

Turning may be the most dynamic branch of woodworking' - during the making of a piece - the wood spinning, the tool moving and rotating. Ironically, the results are almost always static. There is often visual implications of movement - swirling grain, a line evoking a curling wave, a sweeping curve inspired by the path of a dancer's hand, a series of beads reminiscent of a ripples on the edge of a pond, spirals carved into a form - intentionally - a little whirlwind in wood, a piece precariously balanced - about to fall over?

BUT - the majority of pieces are static, stabile, inert - sitting on a pedestal or a shelf or table - the viewer being the dynamic part of the interaction, changing his/her vantage point, or better yet, picking up the piece to explore it - visually and tactually. The piece itself remains a static object - unchanged and unchanging from the time the maker finished it.

A while back I turned a lidded box with what I thought was a flat spot on the otherwise rounded bottom, a small bead separating the round from the flat area. I discovered when I set the finished piece down that the "flat spot" in fact wasn't flat. The box rocked and seemed to be falling over - then righted itself and wobbled towards tipping over in the other direction. It continued to wobble and rock for another second or two before coming to rest ALMOST vertical. I'd stumbled on what kayakers and canoeists (?) know as Primary and Secondary Stability - something that's tipsy but won't fall over - especially significant if you're sitting in it and you and it are on the water. People seemed to enjoy playing with this piece because it was dynamic and they seemed to like it better than nicer turned lidded boxes it was with.

I recently stumbled on the ball and socket / swivel joint. Now I'm experimenting with articulated joints (previous post Where Do Ideas Come From - Creativity or Synthesisity). What if one of those pieces you've seen with things protruding out of it - or one of the eccentric turnings

- had parts on it that would move as you touched or handled the piece? Tilt it and the look changes. Spin it and the look changes. As you grasp it things move under your touch, the piece changing as a result of your interacting with it.

I think it was an Arch Musing that suggested integrating methods, materials and techniques from other disciplines with wood turning. Machinists make all kinds of things to allow two parts to move relative to each other. Could some of them be adapted to turned wood pieces?

Does adding actual, as opposed to implied, movement to some pieces seem a good idea - or just a gimmick?

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb
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I like stuff that moves. When I was a child, tops were favorite toys. Then gyroscopes. Then in my first 'real' art class, a mobile. I particularly like stuff that moves without human intervention, like mobiles and wind chimes and something like your rocking box, if it is light enough to be set in motion by the breeze from a passing person.

Can it start moving without your help?

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

Interesting idea. Hope you share when finished.

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

Yes - but I live in earthquake country. I imagine that a machinist could make a piece whose balance was so precisely positioned that the piece could be set in motion by the breeze of someone walking by it. But wood being wood - probably not. It's not homogenous and not dimensionally stabile enough. But in a room with hardwood floors, especially once with a little "bounce" that might do it.

I'm playing with a pendulum idea using a ball jointed finial for a turned lidded box. The box would use the low primary stability high secondary stability idea. As the box tilts and wobbles, the finial would remain upright.

0 | finial on ball joint | ( 0 ) / | \ + X + x = counter weight | | | | + + \ / +-+

This ball swivel idea has possibilities.

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb

Recall that the first clocks were wooden, and many mechanisms were almost all wood; grist mills, boats, and coaches.

If you like wobble shapes study up on boat design's 'metacenter', which is what makes primary stability work and is the reason rocking chairs don't instantly flip over (secondary stability comes from flotation).

Finally, for intentional, and very wobbly shapes, turn a Super Egg. This is the

3D version of the 2D super ellipse by Danish mathematician Piet Hein.
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Dan
Reply to
Dan Bollinger

"Dan Bollinger" wrote: Recall that the first clocks were wooden, (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yes, and segueing into clocks, and related to the balance and motion theme, there were clocks made with the clock face on the front of a pendulum bob. The clock movement was concealed inside the bob, and as it ran, it caused the pendulum to swing. The motion of the pendulum actually regulated the clock, even though it was not mechanically tied to the escapement.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Have done some illustrations of two ideas using the ball joint.

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Showing a dynamic piece with still photos is not to good. Mpeg files get pretty big. A GIF animation might do it. Will see what I can come up with. charlie b

Reply to
charlieb

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It's all about keeping the center of gravity of an object inside the range of its contact area/point with whatever it's sitting on (or in). Will be studying the ideas of "metacenter". Thanks for providing a term I could google search for (www.allthe web.com is another slick search engine).

have been bracketing what turns out to be a Super EGG. I'd been using a bead near the rounded bottom to prevent the piece from tipping all the way over. With a Super Egg, that bead isn't necessary. Thanks!

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb

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