how much time do you spend turning a week?

[patrick michael stein]

just wondering how much time people here spend turning a week? seeing the work on this forum it seems some people spend alot of time in the shop.






patrick:)

[Sean Hughto]

In a good week, I might get 5 to 6 hours total at the lathe. Most weeks, more like 3 to 4 hours. Just too much else to do.

[Roger Chandler]

Some weeks I don't get to turn at all... just way too busy. Sometimes 2 or 3 hours, usually at one setting. Sometimes I may start a turning one night late [9 p.m.] and then finish it the next evening.

Sometimes that leads to cracking wood too! :eek: I have learned to wrap an unfinished turning in a plastic bag overnight, and it usually helps a great deal.

[David E Keller]

I usually get 6 or 7 hours a week in the shop, but I occasionally get a weekend like this one where I get 10 or 12 hours to piddle.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Not enough.

[Greg Just]

normally 3-4 - more in the winter when the weather is cold

[Scott Hackler]

Here lately I'm at -15 hours a week. :( Just havent gotten to spend any time lately in the ole shop.

[Matt Ranum]

I think I get about 3 hours a month lately :eek:

Better times ahead though.;) Pesky bills seem to have to get paid which requires this thing called work which gets pretty busy this time of year.

[Jim Underwood]

Not nearly as much as I'd like. Of course if you wanna donate an A/C unit, I'd be happy to spend more time in my shop. :D

[Aaron Wingert]

I'm getting a good 10 or 12 hours per week in the shop, and probably half of that is spent turning. Churning out as many turkey calls and duck calls as I can, but I occasionally get distracted and make a jig or fixture or something else on the lathe.

[Allen Neighbors]

Sometimes I spend as much as 30 to 40 hours in a week in my shop. But a lot of the time, I'm doing other things besides turning... If I were to venture a guess, I'd have to guess about 20 to 25 hours a week... I'm retired, so some weeks I miss the shop entirely... gotta play with the grandkids sometimes... :D

[Alan Trout]

Some times of the year I get a lot of time. Winter is my slow business time some I might get 15 or 20 hours a week. In the summer it might be weeks before I get any time at all. But in August in South Texas at 4:00PM you do not want to be in the shop very long unless your shop is air conditioned.

Alan

[Jason Clark2]

I've averaged 15-20 hours per week in the shop for the last year, 7 days a week. My last "day off" was August 18th 2009.

I'm in the final 3 weeks of a year long project to do something woodturning related every day. Once that's complete the first thing I'm probably going to do is take a week off.

Jason

[Norm Zax]

About 6 hours ... but only once in three or four weeks. (Before you sum and calculate averages, suggest you split into three categories: retired, working at home/self-employed, working "at work".) :(

[Thom Sturgill]

I seem to be toward the high end so far - I spend a couple of hours weekday evenings. The college is on summer hours now so I work 4 ten hour days. That gives me most of Friday and Saturday at the lathe and half of Sunday. That CAN be as much as 24hrs if my legs will stand it. Once we go back to 5 eights, I lose the Friday, but get more evenings as I am not as tired.

[John Keeton]

About 6 hours ... but only once in three or four weeks. (Before you sum and calculate averages, suggest you split into three categories: retired, working at home/self-employed, working "at work".) :(Norm has a good point. I still work, but usually not on Fridays, and I am self-employed which means if I don't have a lot going on I don't hang around the office.

My schedule is erratic, and some weeks I may get 3-4 hours a day, plus a lot of weekend time. But, in the summer, there are a lot of outside chores to be done, and that cuts into shop time. Winter is better.

Also, I don't really enjoy "just turning" to be turning. My preference is to develop a project mentally, and then work on it until it is finished. The projects I enjoy most are the ones that have some spindle work involved, and consist of 3-4 actual turnings. I like to finish turn each component in one setting, so I may not go to the shop unless I have that much time in one block.

[Fred Perreault]

I work part time out on a golf course in season, operate bulldozers part time, and spend the rest of my time in the shop/turning/cleaning/turning and occasionally do some flat work. In the winter it is 6-8 hours a day shop/turning/cleaning, 6-7 days a week creating inventory. Spring, Summer and Fall it must be 15-20 hours a week. And some of the time is actually spent effectively :)
Interestingly, when I did just flat work largely as a hobbyist until a couple of years ago before I started turning, I would like to work in the evenings and other odd hours, and enjoyed it. Since I started turning more regularly, I just don't seem to get into weird hours in the shop. I am not sure, but maybe turning is more tedious, tiring and stressful. Could it be that a lot of flat work involves a little surface planing, some measuring and marking, cutting and dry fitting, all the while stepping back to look over the slowly evolving project?
And that a lot of turning involves trying to chuck up a heavy, irregularly shaped piece of tree, then jamming a skinny, sharply pointed tool into this rapidly rotating potential projectile.... and holding on for dear life until it becomes somewhat more balanced? Then taking this object down until one can almost see through it, all the while hoping it does not become a projectile of a different shape. Now, does that seem like a stressful or tiring couple of hours? :) And that is just for a possible utility bowl. What of some of the art that is created by some of the Creekers? Just viewing that stuff on the forum makes me tired..... and scared. Boy, I hope I grow up to be like some of those guys.

[Jonathan Harvey]

40+ hours a week most of the time. The last few weeks have been less as the kids are out of school so I usually pick one day and take them to the beach. My wife works on the weekend so I can't turn then and I have to take care of our seven month old baby boy.

Most days are eight hour days in the shop, it all depends where I am on a piece and if I'm working green or dry wood.

[Keith Burns]

I typically average about 20 to 25 hours a week. Typically every weeknight for an hour or two or three, then most of the day Saturday and Sunday. I do work full time, 40 to 50 hours a week.

[Bill Bulloch]

I am in my shop working on something everyday -- seven days a week. Some of you guys need to get your priorities straight.. Quit that stinking job and spend more time recreating. Some of the advantages are:

1, It's a proven fact that the process of planning a project keeps the mind busy.. and this may help slow the oncoming of that dreaded "Old-Timers" desease.

2. When you complete a project that is up-to-par of your expertise level -- no matter what that level is -- you will achieve a sense of pride and self-worth. If you do "real good" you might even be hard to live with for a few days.

3. When people appreciate your work enough to make complimentary comments -- this will boost your self-esteem, sometimes one or two hat sizes.

4. The more you turn the more you are drawn into the "vortex" -- soon, like Alace you'll: "not be in Kansas anymore".

5. The deeper you are drawn into this "vortex", the more you'll support the economy -- give enough turners enough time and we could reverse this recession.

6. Sawdust is a good sourse of polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are known to stimulate intestinal peristalsis reducing the need for other sources of bulk, roughage in your diet.

[Paul Douglass]

I get about 1 or 2 actual hours of turning, and it depends on a couple things, first I spend way too much time on the computer on forums. I quite watching TV thinking I would get more things donem but in it's place I get stuck on the computer. Now I have stop that. And second it depends on if the wife is home or not.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

These days I am getting about 75 minutes 3 sometimes 4 times a week. But lately it isn't turning that I am doing. I am trying to reconfigure my shop enough so that I can actually do some work out there. I have too darn many tools and just not enough space. I haven;t been able to move around out there for a long time. So I am working on correcting that bit by bit.

The main reason for 75 minutes I get from 7am to about 8:15 before it becomes too darn how to work outside. I found a mini split locally but couldn't come up with the space for it and a few issues with the house prevented me from buying it. As a result thing are getting miserable pretty early and staying that way all day. I am really hoping to get my shop ready with this effort so that once the cooler mornings and evenings of fall arrive I can get some more real fun time in around work and family time. I miss the actual turning but have found recently that with all the heat I can take up some of my "wood working" time with watching DVDs and reading books on wood turning.

One of these days I will get more shop time. Hey it is after all, only 25+ years to retirement. ;)

Joshua

[Jim Silva]

I probably average about 15 to 20 hours a week on the lathe but that's almost always work related. Turning for pleasure? One, maybe 2 hours a week if I'm lucky.

[Scott Lux]

It varies widely of course, but if I get 6 hours shop time in a week, that's a good week. Usually it's one or two a week. Of course I'm spending a lot of time wading these days. In the winter I'll turn more.

[Allen Neighbors]

I found a mini split locally .....
One of these days I will get more shop time. Hey it is after all, only 25+ years to retirement. ;) Joshua
Joshua, (I love that name) what is a mini split?
Hang in there, retirement was once 40 years away for me, but it finally came around... You'll make it... :D;)

[John Hart]

Lately? Zip. I tried yesterday, but I was so excited to be turning, that I broke everything I touched. :(

Tonight though, by golly, I'm going to turn something that won't break. Try to build up a little self-esteem.:o

[Mike Peace]

I know I spend much more time on turning related activities such as reading about it, going to chapter meetings ( 3 clubs), doing a chapter newsletter, keeping up with turning forums on the internet, preparing wood stock for turning and finishing items turned then actually turning at the lathe. Plus I am retired so everything seems to take longer.


... gotta play with the grandkids sometimes... :D

And Grandkids trump turning every time!

[Jon Lanier]

Not even close enough time.

[Matt Hutchinson]

Right now I am in the shop about 40-50 hrs a week, but that is not typical. Usually am at around 20-32 hrs a week, and that's pretty much all turning related.

Hutch

[Neil Strong]

About 20 hrs per week.

I'm retired.... so it's more of a preoccupation than an occupation.... would do more hours if health permitted.

I also put a day and a half aside each week for my grandchildren... at least while they still think it's fun to come over!

.....

[john taliaferro]

were are working the fair, 10 hr days times 4 mini lathes times a top a min. :D no kid under 80 goes past our booth with out a top . wood turners of southwest missouri