Utilizing our talents? (another long musing)

Arch · 2004-02-27T21:21:48+00:00

Leslie G got it right. For most of us, rcw is both educational andentertaining. For now I'll ignore whatever else it may be. What entertains this ng varies with the person and his/her breakfast.Some love to engage in or precipitate disagreements or even dog fights.Others enjoy doggerel, bathroom jokes and broad puns. Some try, andsucceed or not, for true comedy (yep, all very autobiographical). Oureducational posts are more clearly defined. They seem to divide into"this is the way I do it or I think it is or it should be" versus"this is the way things are and have been proved to be". I'm musingabout the latter. What are your ideas for increasing rcw's alreadyexisting importance to woodturning?RCW is loaded with a group of talented and knowledgeable people who aregood teachers and know how to relate their particular expertise towoodturning. I wonder if we fully use this pool as a contribution tothe craft? We have metallurgists, chemists, physicists, engineers,machinists, artists as well as experienced turning experts who canteach. I am a list maker and the list goes on.I have a vague and poorly thought-out proposal for your thumbs down, orif thumbs up, ideas for a more balanced and useful ng, At intervals,have a planned no-nonsense in-depth seminar type thread chosen from aprepared list of subjects not well covered by the usual woodturningsources. Open to all, but expressions like " I disagree", "In myopinion", 'I've heard that", "It works for me" would be discouraged.Distracting cute asides or even serious diversions from the topicwouldn't be encouraged, either. Leave :)'s for our frivolous fun posts,which we ought to have and enjoy without guilt. However, rcw does havesome obligation to its charter. People who know a given subject shouldbe the contributors to these threads. Archived, these threads would bean authoritative collection of subjects for woodturners, but not aboutturning wood. Confused? Me too, but I mean a series of discussions...

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Joe Fleming 22 years ago

All,

Here are my thoughts.

Publicize: YES! I am giving a demo at our March meeting on what internet resources are available to woodturners. Instead of making shavings at your next club meeting, do the same. If I can drive there from here (San Diego), I'd be happy to offer the presentation to your club.

Google: Very deep resource, but sometimes difficult to find the nuggets. So, how about we start an FAQ? I used to frequent the misc.consumers.house forum and someone over there used to publish an electrical FAQ about once a month. They collected all the group's knowledge and put down answers in a text document that was just republished once a month. If we generated a list of those questions that many of us have answered 50 times, wrote down answers and put them in a combined post, we could avoid the usual Newbie questions. What beginner lathe? what lathe for under $xxx? What chuck? What is a good set of tools? Do I buy a set or individual tools? How do I mount a bowl blank? How do I reverse turn a bowl's foot? How do you use xxx finish? What about LDD? (did I type that last one?) Where can I internet shop? What brands of widget are good/best/to be avoided? What are the differences in tool steel as they relate to woodturning, and which to pick? What grinder do I buy? What speed grinder? What sharpening jigs are available? How do I position my toolrest? How do I hollow with a gouge? How do I back hollow? What angle do I hold my scraper? What is scraping vs shear scraping? Burr or no burr? At what angle do I sharpen my gouge? What books/videos are good for: beginners, boxes, hollowing, carving, etc.? Should I bolt my lathe down? Is pine a good wood to turn? Etc.

If this document was written with enough "IMHO" applied to avoid religious confrontations, and posted once a month, then we would have a forminable FAQ. All of us could offer modifications, or could offer to write sections. If a religious war broke out on any one topic, we could choose to leave it out and let that question be addressed in this forum conventionally.

I'll bet that we wouldn't have to write too much if we go Googling ourselves. Since we are the authors of these words of wisdom, we are better able to find the nuggets quickly and offer updates to the text.

Arch, I volunteer you.................... (that was the humorous part of my post).

Joe Fleming - San Diego ===================================

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Arch 22 years ago

Thanks all. Mike and Joe, I agree with all you suggest _except your last sentences. I may have some _spare time but who knows how _much time. :( Anyway, I would pry up our malcontents, plus not be good at taking an unbiased position. Leo, Vic and Kevin are right in that RCW isn't broke and fixing it might, as Martha S. would say, "not be a good thing". Arch

Fortiter,

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Joe Comunale 22 years ago

I use guitar strings. A pack of good ones costs less than $5. Each guitar string is about 24 inches long (or more), and they are various diameters. You can burn thin lines or thick lines.

As for speeds - I use high speeds, keep the guitar string steady - and you'll get a nice defined burn line.

If you want to get fancy - make some wood handles for them. It's also a bit safer.

Leo Lichtman wrote:

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Maxprop 22 years ago

What a bonus idea. I've always thought there should be some use for those old used strings.

Max

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Reyd Dorakeen 22 years ago

for BIG lines bass strings

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Kevin 22 years ago

Great idea Joe.

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George 22 years ago

Try defining your line with a score with the tip of your skew. Wire won't wander, and the burn'll round it out. You wrap a bit more for lower speeds, if you don't have an instant change capability.

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AHilton 22 years ago

I've not used the ebony scraps (although it's a good idea) but I do use a piece of bent over (so it doesn't catch on the piece) nail set into a small wooden handle. I used to use the wire but found that it's limited in application and uses. The wire can't be used on many forms (such as on platters and other pieces where you've got a sharp curve) and I've found it difficult to get a sharp, crisp line every time. With the nail, I can get exactly what I want everytime and at every angle ... even on the inside of forms.

- Andrew

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Joe Comunale 22 years ago

Sounds like a great improvement idea! Thanks!

PS: Kevin - I can't claim I invented it, I picked it up somewhere on the internet. I have also used copper wire, and it works good as well - just could never get the width (i.e. diameter) that I wanted.

I DEFINITELY DO Recommend affixing wood handles to the guitar strings or wire - if that gets caught - you don't want it taking your fingers with it!

George wrote:

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Utilizing our talents? (another long musing)

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