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Musing about RCW (we are tenants in common with right of survivorship)

This ng has survived some of its members going AWOL or deserting. On occasion a few graduate and rise to a truly deserved turner's fame while one or two may have fallen into rank notoriety or ersatz sophistication. Sophomoric or crude spam, obnoxious trolls, subliminal self promotion, aggressive advertising, kneekick negativity and unwitting insults don't faze us. Chicken Littles, Pollyannas, self proclaimed authorities and COCs are without honor. Boring subjects, excessive verbiage, paucity of pics, witty one liner derailments, vulgar remarks and hurtful false assumptions are not suffered gladly. Mind numbing repetition, non sharing emails, misplaced OTs and downright wrong advice happen and are ignored.

Why does this forum prosper with all its warts & blems? I'll offer some suggestions with hopes you'll add yours.

We only neglect the _rare in woodturning, so we _rarely neglect the common in woodturning. We can think outside the box, but we know the way back in. We are aware of our lack of sophistication, but we aren't much impressed by that of others. We can acknowledge other's fame and mastery of the art or craft with cheerful respect without genuflecting. We enjoy looking at well made pieces and fine art, but we also recognize a honest & helpful teaching website when we see one. We laugh and learn from our mistakes, and happily acknowledge our screw-ups. A newbie becomes an intermediate in our eyes after his first post. We relegate PC, personal pronouns, nationalism and religion to appropriate places.

We forgive, forget and hold harmless those who stray and they are welcomed back with never a sneer. We count yesterday's obnoxiously wrong guy as today's friend and co-conspirator. We enjoy and appreciate all flavors and every facet of woodturning and we are friends to all woodturners of good will. We respect other turning forums and feel comfortable in joining in. but we are not a sept of any associaton or larger group.

RCW has a place for every personality. It includes those who love the craft and enjoy gabbing about it, but have a life apart from it. Not for everyone, but some favor the privacy and arm's length of the net with no need for further socializing. We understand that there are many reasons why 'mi casa' cannot be 'su casa'.

We even forgive a COC's interminablel musing. Well, sometimes. :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

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Arch
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nicely said

Brian

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Brian

Another slow day, Arch?

I did a bit of musing on mortality today. Friend suffered a stroke. He's got twenty years on me, but we share so much that he's a friend rather than a father figure. Hate to see him hampered in any way. They gave him a CT and then TPA, so sounds like an embolus. After twelve hours, only mild weakness on the right. Angio looks promising.

Me, a guy who's lost more than one on the way to the hospital with nothing more than a bit of anger at my impotence and second-guessing of my actions. But some days it gets personal.

A bit mellower old coot today.

Reply to
George

I've been here for several years. I used to participate more heavily when time was more available. Now I'm more selective in my blather. I learned a lot here. I have met some life-long friends, a few I have even met in person. I reveived great advice, tool purchase suggestions, vendors to shop, and finishing advice.

When this group started, there weren't too many choices for internet woodturners. as the options have grown, I have always remained here because the discussion is still refreshing and I have the chance to give back.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Reply to
Joe Fleming

For what it's worth, I'll tell you my reasons for enjoying this group. First, I don't consider myself primarily a wood turner (though stray bowls and lamps covering all my tables may tell a different story) but rather a cabinetmaker and carpenter first, as that is how I earn my bread. I found the aptly nicknamed Wreck a while back, and followed it for some time. When I looked into getting my first lathe, I discovered this group, and it has most of the good features of that wild and wooly bad boy of woodworking newsgroups with much less of the bad. So these days, this is the group I follow, and try to steer clear of the other.

I've not seen any flame wars on this group, nor incessent, unending arguements about nettiquette or politics. I know I have trouble staying out of political threads, and generally end up getting riled enough about them to feel I've gone too far and need to put my foot back in my mouth- so it's very nice that this space is clear of them.

I've rarely- or possibly even never- seen anyone declare that there is only one correct way to do things here (despite my other recent post, which was more of a friendly poke than anything) and I've gotten a lot of good ideas without a lot of tearing down.

And last but not least- when I started reading the Wreck, I grew to hate my own tools. I can't always afford the best stuff money can buy, and my workshop, though now respectably appointed, was pretty sparse and cheaply furnished when I started out. Countless posts on that other group made me feel that the tools I had invested in were so unworthy as to be not only useless, but dangerous to boot. It nearly killed amateur woodworking as a hobby for me, and while I've seen discussion about the good stuff here, I never got that same sort of negative feeling about my lathe equipment from reading the postings on this group. That, perhaps more than anything else, makes this a forum worth participating in- it means (at least to me) that this group is promoting the hobby in a healthy way, and not discouraging new turners from a potentially rewarding pasttime. Makes a lot of difference in my book.

(FWIW, the Wreck is pretty good anyhow- it's about a million times better than most of usenet. It's just that this group is a rare jewel by comparison.)

Well, that's good for a guy like myself- often wrong, and usually too wordy about it in the bargin. Ah well, we do what we can, and fake what we can't. :)

I like your musing, Arch. Keep it up.

Reply to
Prometheus

Personally, this NG has changed my life... I know that sounds flakey but I've learned so much here in the last 2 years that I even consider my self a "turner" now..

I found out a lot about what to buy and how to use it..

With help from Darrell and a few others, I've learned to make a few of my own tools... and that I enjoy doing it..

I got huge amounts of personal help and advice that nobody could have bought, given willingly in a spirit of helping others..

I got talked into buying Bill G's DVD and found out that I've been holding tools wrong for over 20 years.. and got better.. and sort of learned how to turn bowls

Inspired by Bill G's page, I bought a coring system and found that I didn't really know how to use it..

I became the coring problem poster child and robohippy jumped in and answered too many emails to count, trying to help me core bowls..

Among the many friends made in the NG, Chuck has become not only my mentor on turning, but send me wonderful boxes of wood and helps me experience the full range of turning..

I got the advice that I asked for, and much more, when I had questions about selling my work..

Bottom line for me is that this NG is a twice a day webucation center and I've learned more about wood and how to turn it in the last 2 years then I did in the prior 30 years of "recreational turning"...

Mac

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mac davis

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