re:turning on apple corer was rigid lathe

Excellent post! For the past 13 yrs. I've maintained that it's you and the tool. The lathe is a spindle turned by some source of power. You are not going to produce better shaped bowls if you have a variable speed switch!

Yes, the new lathes with all the bells and whistles are terrific to play with and are sturdier.

If you need a loaf of bread and you drive a 10-yr. old pick-up truck, you get that same loaf as the guy driving a new Jaguar........ he just has more fun getting to the store!

Now, there are definitely safety issues that a lot of people will chime in with here, but all the guys driving Vintage autos don't have air bags or even safety harness belts. (disclaimer of sorts!)

Hope everyone has the best year of their lives in 2004 ....... I sure hope I do!

Ruth and The General

Woodturners Logo My shop and Turnings at

Happy New Year Ruth, it's good to hesr from you. Dave in Fairfax (still driving my HF w/o regrets)

I don't know Eric but I wish him well. I haven't come to grips with today's prices, but I know that the wealthy are not like most of us. Am I alone in my wonderment and mixed feelings about his getting $15,000 for the piece, even if using 3 hp?. What was the buyer's motivation to buy? Surely not due to Eric's "incredible cutting technique" alone. Appreciation of outstanding fine art? Hopes for increase in value ? Tax considerations? Idiocy?

Who bought Eric's piece? Wealthy collector supporting an emerging art form? Museum in a smaller city reaching for recognition? Nouveau riche assuming instant culture? Clueless bureaucrat spending tax dollars on mandated art? Myopic self aggrandizer who doesn't see the deserving kid needing a leg up to become somebody? Cheating CEO? Lottery winner? Hard working self-made man with a new trophy wife? Pitiful inheritor of wealth whose genes have run out? Teen age computer zillionare? Over-paid underachieving professional athlete? (I won't risk mention of a rich and strange pedophile/phobe or a diamond studded fake evangelist) Bloated TV pundit pandering to the far up or down, right or left?

Whatever; I am glad of those who buy high and well. I applaud Eric's talent, work ethic and good fortune, and I thank him for advancing woodturning. My apple corer was never a little gold mill at the bottom of the sea, but if it had been, I'd sure own an 'Eric'. (no 'G' intended) These musings are not hangover driven. It's just good to make it to '04 and get back to the reality of being rcw's COC. Arch

Fortiter,

Ruth, Have a happy new year! What did you get the General for Christmas? After playing with the newer, slimmer, prettier toy, the General is probably feeling insecure and maybe a little jealous. Ken Moon Webberville, TX

Strange you should mention safety issues. Did an eleven-pencil cleanup in the shop, and finally pitched the cage and split acrylic window guard that came with Ol' Blue. Never put it on, must have moved it fifty times in the last fifteen years.

Arch wrote: (clip) What was the buyer's motivation to buy? (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^ Happy New Year, Arch. With this post you are off to a great start.

Hey! He's not bloated any more since losing a lot of weight on the Oxycontin Diet Plan.

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

Somebody's jealous....

I wish I could drive a new truck..... (79 Bronco 4x4) BUT! I really like the cheap insurance and taxes...plus its built like a tank too. Dropped in some new running gear last year, (engine, trans and drivetrain) and its like new. I'm in Atlanta, but Jag's don't do well in snow and ice...

They say tomato juice with a splash of angostura bitters will do the trick...................:-) Barry

I'm still hoping this will be the year I'll sell a "piece" for more than $20.00. I'm feeling lucky already and its still January 1.

Barry

Well I love the comments on "Old Faithful" and how the lathe doesn't make that much of a difference, and to a degree I agree.

The point is though, that a really good turner will get great results on any machine, they understand the mechanics of turning, and can adapt techniques according to the power and behaviour etc of the lathe on which they are working.

A lesser turner however, may never exploit the full benefits of the best machine, but will undobtedly produce better results if a large number of the mechanical factiors (poor rigidity, vibration, loose bearings , flimsy tailstocks, and lack of power) are taken out of the mix.

I fit into the later category of turner, I am a hobbieist, who has limited time to turn each week, and wasting time fighting with an inferior machine detracts from the enjoyment, and makes things take a lot longer. I do not possess the skills nor have I perfected the techniques to get around this. I purchased a variable speed unit for my TL1200 18 months ago, and it amde a new lathe out of it. Now I can step the speed up a little to get out of that annoying vibration speed, I can easiily vary the speed for sanding different diameters so as to ensure I don't over heat stuff. It makes turning a pleasure.

Hopefully, one day my skills will be such that it won't matter what type of lathe I am on, my skills will carry the day, but today, let me have the best I can afford and it removes a few of the things I can't control with my tool skills.

Hope 2004 is a goody for you all

Cheers from New Zealand

Get more than $20.00??? I am still new enought that I am happy if it comes off the lathe in one piece and dosn't deserve the fire place.

.............yeah, and that, too.

That $20 barrier is still somewhat of a pipe dream for me. $18 after the shop's commission is my current record sale. (Those suckers make more money than I do and they don't do any of the work!)

A lot of my work goes back to "from whence it came", i.e.. firewood................:-)

Barry

All of mine so far. I need a wood stove.