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  3. A mixed dozen of myths, verities and illogicals. You decide which.

A mixed dozen of myths, verities and illogicals. You decide which.

  1. I can tell when my gouge is as sharp as it can be by how well it is cutting. I need to resharpen to find out because I can't compensate for a borderline tool by good technique.

  1. I can assure better quality by paying more. It's true, I usually get what I pay for. Quality doesn't cost, it pays, ...blah, blah!

  2. I can produce a better finish by cutting than by scraping. Scraping is for beginners and the faint of heart. To scrape when I could cut is an admission.

  1. Eating salad from a bowl with the wrong finish might poison me. Carried to an absurdity nothing's safe. Why should I care about my customer's safety, I'm not their keeper. It's only for legal reasons that I make objects that are foodproof, fireproof, childproof and idiotproof.

  2. I can learn to turn without practicing. Books, tapes, lessons, the net, demos etc. are all satisfying and fun, but really aren't necessary for me to learn to turn. I don't need some expert insisting on his way.

  1. With woodturning lathes, weight is always better, regardless of the blank. There isn't a workshop or studio size lathe that's too heavy. Keeping my auxiliary mini is a waste of space.

  2. Cast iron is cast iron and hss is hss, no matter what part of the world it comes from and Sheffield and Bethlehem steels are relics of past glories. Balancing price and utility, M2 is the clearly the best steel for my woodturning tools.

  1. I can produce turned wood art without bothering to learn turned wood craft. A plain well turned and finished bowl is passe'. I must have a gimmick or add embellishment to succeed in today's marketplace. All 'Names' were once 'No names' like me and since there's no such thing as a talent for turning, hard work will assure my success.

  2. I turn whatever I please for my own satisfaction and I really don't care what others think about my work. Peers don't influence my choices. Looking at outstanding turnings often depresses me.

  1. I don't smoke and I'm not allergic to any timber, so I don't need to worry about dust. Too much caution is unnecessary and ruins the pleasure of my hobby, plus it slows production.

  2. After treating 17 NIP blanks by the xxx method none cracked, so I'm sure xxx works and no's.18 or19 won't crack. 'After that, because of that' makes good sense.

  1. I can't be doing much turning if I'm constantly posting to forums. It's hard to tell 'turning know-how' got by turning from 'turning informaton' got by reading. Book learning is better than so called practical experience gained by making the same mistakes for years.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Arch
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Arch,

Great list. No disagreements here. And a few more.............

Sharpening jigs slow me down. They might improve my grind a little, but they take too long to use to be worth the effort.

Sanding papers can be reused successfully over and over and over as long as you keep the gunk cleaned out. They don't get dull - just clogged.

The thinner the better. Only really thin turning shows your mastery of the craft.

My face shield is more of a hazard than a safety device because it has too many specs of CA, dirt and grime that just won't come off. Its safer when you can see more clearly.

Critcal comments about my work are unnecessary. I know when my piece is good or not and I know why it is so. Public discussion adds no help so keep the ctitiques to yourself.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Reply to
Joe Fleming

SNIP as there's a real possibility of "I" strain.

Subjectivity seems to play a large role in art. Maybe that's why artists are stereotyped as difficult (COCs?). Of course, part of this difficulty is that they never admit the possibility of error on their part.

Craft has to speak for itself, sometimes even through a design which only its creator could love. Errors are generally pretty obvious. The craftsman will learn from them. The artist will not, of course, preferring to brand those who see such things as error cretins.

Worst part about it - there are people who, in their eagerness to prove themselves art lovers, will buy the crap, both product and pretension.

Reply to
George

Illogicality: This one is asking for hurt eyes, or worse. I have a cracked and dented faceshield to prove you wrong.

But, I admit to putting the faceshield away when the roghing and the heavy work is done, and the dust becomes a problem.

Illogicality. Good for you.

Bjarte.

Reply to
Bjarte Runderheim

I always love this concept. Price has something to do with quality, for sure, but good shopping is the best strategy. I will gladly pay for a truly excellent tool, but I would much rather get it on sale or from a pile of tools that I purchased in a box from a garage sale.

Caveat Emptor.

Mark

Reply to
Mr. Moose

============================== The worst part of this scenario is that they go around bragging about it !!

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

Reply to
Ken Moon

Or not.

I have 25 years of turning with glasses to match your mask. Of course, it's because of the way I turn, where I never stand in the throw zone, drop, don't launch shavings, and gave up quickly on techniques of roughing which involved spur centers.

People who talk about needing a tight collar on their clothes to keep shavings from going down their necks puzzle me as well. I only know a couple of ways to do that, and both of them make for lousy cuts.

Visibility is less distorted, that's for sure, and you can have any dressing on your salad that you care to without gagging.

Reply to
George

Would I be wrong in guessing that you have nail holes in your hands and feet? No mere mortal can be this perfect.....chuckle As to the shavings "dropping".... I looked at some of your postings. I see one heck of a lot of shavings "dropped" randomly on the back wall behind your lathe.......Hmmmmm Guess I was wrong about the nail holes after all......

Reply to
M.J.

All it takes is One. No matter how many years preceded it. I never stand in the throw zone, etc, etc, but a couple years ago I had a bowl blow up on a hidden fault in the blank. Since I was turning at a fair clip, pieces flew all over the shop - including one that caught me right at the top of the mask and left a gouge in it.

Oh, and I also wear seatbelts.

Reply to
Lobby Dosser

Well, you might want to consider what happens when a shaving drops on the inside of a bowl. Flings that puppy out the back. That's why I like the lathe up against the wall.

I know where your holes are, that's for sure.

Reply to
George

:> But, I admit to putting the faceshield away when the roghing :> and the heavy work is done, and the dust becomes a problem.

: Visibility is less distorted, that's for sure, and you can have any dressing : on your salad that you care to without gagging.

I was at a demo by Chris Stott a few years ago. He was turning a piece of wet acacia, pretty even grained. In the finishing stages the bowl came apart, and a piece was hurled 20 feet from the lathe and bounced off the wall behind me. The piece is best described as a shard -- very pointy. I kept it as a reminder to use my faceshield with any piece of size.

-- Andy Barss

Reply to
Andrew Barss

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