We are Different

[Gary Max]

I never plan what my finished project will look like. I look for what's in the wood.
Here's this mornings fun-----Black Walnut----aka---Firewood

[Dale Bright]

Gary, that is a pretty piece of walnut, one of my favorite woods. I am about half and half with the planning thing. Sometimes I plan out my turnings and somtimes I just put the wood on the lathe and start cutting. I enjoy both methods.

Dale

[dan carter]

Lookin good. Better get back out there and hollow it out. Will be a beauty when you get it done.

[John Keeton]

Gary, thank goodness we are all different!! This world certainly would be boring were that not the case!

You "found" something very nice in that piece of firewood - love the effect of the knot in the side. This is going to be a very nice piece when finished out.

[Gene Howe]

What a gorgeous piece this will be!
Great save!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is going to be a excellent piece. Really nice piece of walnut.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I like seeing air dried walnut. The steam in kiln drying ruins all the reds, yellow and purple streaks. I hope the inside turns out well for you. The form will compliment the beautiful walnut. Looking at your lathe it has a lot of experience. Mine is still yellow but it's just a "pup".
faust

[Phil Townsend]

Dang Gary, I've got to come raid your wood pile. Beautiful as always

[Tim Thiebaut]

That is some beautiful wood there, and love the vase! I was talking to my Uncle back home in maine the other night, he is going to send me a box of sugar maple from the family farm...aka "firewood", but he was telling me that last summer a walnut tree blew down and he burned the entire tree in the wood stove! Broke my heart when I heard that.

[Jim Burr]

It is a good thing we are all different Gary...if we weren't, you'd be Portuguese! Sure glad you rescued that piece from the ash maker, it's going to be great when it's done!

[Roger Chandler]

Yes we are all different [unique, individual gifts, talents and weaknesses] Great piece of walnut there Gary! Now a question for all the posters, about results related to our approach to turning...........

Who do you think on average gets the best results from their approach.........the turners who plan from the beginning, or the ones who just turn and see what is there? [we might call it design on the fly]

In the posts and personal experiences, which approach yields the greatest results?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Gary - going to be a beautiful piece once finished! Looking forward to seeing it!

Roger - sounds like you need to start another thread... or a poll!

[John Keeton]

...which approach yields the greatest results?Roger, I doubt there is a quantifiable answer to your question. The term "results" must take into account self satisfaction, utility, art, intended purpose, etc. An interesting query, no doubt. But, as to an answer, I doubt one exists.

For the most part, I would think that "planned pieces" would be more artsy, though Gary's piece is certainly an exception. For those that do artsy stuff, the portion of the populus that is interested is minimal, and of those that are, only a portion will like his/her particular style. Of those folks that do utility pieces, even some of which could easily be planned, the results would need to include usefulness for the intended purpose, satisfied customer, self satisfaction of simply doing the piece.

And, then, there is apparently a huge contingency that simply enjoys spinning a piece of wood and having curlies fly off!! While I do understand that, and appreciate that, as I have stated before, turning for me is a means to an end. But, for those that are so inclined, the "results" could be as simple as peace of mind.

So, I think I would have to conclude that the results are all great, and of equal value to the turner.

[bob svoboda]

Beautiful wood. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Thom Sturgill]

Part of the planning process (at least in my case) *IS* looking at the piece of wood. In some cases, I come up with an idea and hunt for the right piece to turn. For example, when I wanted to do a square bowl, I hunted for some wood that would emphasise both the squareness and the curves. And when I saw the blank, I knew that I had the right piece.
And when I wanted to do embellishment - I looked for a hard wood with a plain grain that would not conflict with the embellishment.
With that piece you turned, I would have looked for what would display the grain from the knot and worked from that, and probably come up with something similar to what you did.

[Gary Max]

It really has a couple of knots and a crotch----- it's off the lathe now and all is well. In a week when I shot a batch I will post a pic. Right now I am working on getting some stock replaced.

[David E Keller]

Looks good, Gary. I'm not much of a planner either.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, I doubt there is a quantifiable answer to your question. The term "results" must take into account self satisfaction, utility, art, intended purpose, etc. An interesting query, no doubt. But, as to an answer, I doubt one exists.

For the most part, I would think that "planned pieces" would be more artsy, though Gary's piece is certainly an exception. For those that do artsy stuff, the portion of the populus that is interested is minimal, and of those that are, only a portion will like his/her particular style. Of those folks that do utility pieces, even some of which could easily be planned, the results would need to include usefulness for the intended purpose, satisfied customer, self satisfaction of simply doing the piece.

And, then, there is apparently a huge contingency that simply enjoys spinning a piece of wood and having curlies fly off!! While I do understand that, and appreciate that, as I have stated before, turning for me is a means to an end. But, for those that are so inclined, the "results" could be as simple as peace of mind.

So, I think I would have to conclude that the results are all great, and of equal value to the turner.

Well, that takes the wind out of the sails of that question! :D I have attempted on several different occasions to get at the bottom of this issue...........and it always seems to come back to the same result.........the answer is subjective.........different for every turner......maybe I just need to let it go, and be content that any turner can define success any way he/she wants at any particular stage in their turning career, and use any standards they decide are relevant to them. Hummmmmmmmmmmmm............:rolleyes::D Maybe that is the answer, and the Allure of this VORTEX!!! ;):D

[Roger Chandler]

Roger - sounds like you need to start another thread... or a poll!

Steve,

It is probably a thread that will eventually lead to nowhere! :eek::D probably more like opening a can of worms, getting a 100 different opinions from a 100 different turners!

[Roger Chandler]

Well, that takes the wind out of the sails of that question! :D I have attempted on several different occasions to get at the bottom of this issue...........and it always seems to come back to the same result.........the answer is subjective.........different for every turner......maybe I just need to let it go, and be content that any turner can define success any way he/she wants at any particular stage in their turning career, and use any standards they decide are relevant to them. Hummmmmmmmmmmmm............:rolleyes::D Maybe that is the answer, and the Allure of this VORTEX!!! ;):D


After a little more thought on this issue of results, approaches, etc..........I guess most turners would define success differently...........however, I wonder what professionals like Bill Grumbine, Mike Mahoney, Stuart Batty, Malcolm Tibbetts, Richard Raffin would say about how they define success? I wonder if there would be a lot of differences, or a lot of similarities in the way they define results and approaches and how they define success?

How many of them ever read this forum? I know Malcolm does on occasion...........it would certainly be interesting to hear their take on approaches and the results you get................Hummmmmmmmmm............

This might be an even bigger can of worms :eek:

Great initial observation by Gary...........it started the wheels a turnin'........

[Jim Burr]

I think success could be qualified by if the turner/client likes the results. On a really nice piece of wood, I like to start with an idea...but sometimes it's just that...and then it moves on

[Roger Chandler]

I think success could be qualified by if the turner/client likes the results. On a really nice piece of wood, I like to start with an idea...but sometimes it's just that...and then it moves on

I like your criteria, Jim..........good answer!

[Lee Koepke]

I tend to read alot and listen to other people .... but dont always agree. I have seen many times to not let the wood dictate the turning. In some cases that MAY be true, but I am working with a sycamore bowl now that I changed my mind, turned a tenon on the other end and flipped it around.

From what I am seeing, the inside should finish out with some nice features ... hard to tell until I sand it. For me, its about the wood, so sometimes the wood 'speaks to me' and I try to show others what I see in it by working it a certain way.

[Thom Sturgill]

I like your criteria, Jim..........good answer!

I would modify that slightly, *IF* the piece is intended for a specific recipient, then success (possibly financial success) is whether the recipient likes the result, even though the turner may feel satisfied with the piece. Sometimes the recipient will like the piece *MORE* than the turner, and that goes to the fact that the artist alone knows what the desired goal was and how far from that goal the piece is. And to the fact that communication between people is always imperfect.

[Michael James]

Well, that takes the wind out of the sails of that question! :D I have attempted on several different occasions to get at the bottom of this issue...........and it always seems to come back to the same result.........the answer is subjective.........different for every turner......maybe I just need to let it go, and be content that any turner can define success any way he/she wants at any particular stage in their turning career, and use any standards they decide are relevant to them. Hummmmmmmmmmmmm............:rolleyes::D Maybe that is the answer, and the Allure of this VORTEX!!! ;):D

Roger, PM me with an email address, if interested, and I will forward you a neuro-linguistic-programming (NLP) outcome specification sheet that you can use for any behavior. The analytical part of you will love this as it's very practical!
mj

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, PM me with an email address, if interested, and I will forward you a neuro-linguistic-programming (NLP) outcome specification sheet that you can use for any behavior. The analytical part of you will love this as it's very practical!
mj

MJ,

I just figure that each person will use their own experience and perspective and what they have seen from others that they consider a success in formulating their own conclusion as to how the work they did rates. Personal experience, perceptions and initial expectations all figure into the mix, which makes a question like mine so subjective as to each persons reasons for how they view their own success.

For a beginner, what you or I might consider an average turning, they might hold in very high regard and wish for the time they can achieve what they saw, so I think that each person is on their own individual journey, and while we can gain from what others do, and make some assessment of where we are on the continuum, each ones initial expectations should be colored and affected by their own experience level as well.

I don't think I want to go any further in trying to pshyco-analyze this issue.........I like studying human reasoning and behavior, but I will leave it where it is, but thanks for the offer! :)

[Michael James]

MJ,

I don't think I want to go any further in trying to pshyco-analyze this issue.........I like studying human reasoning and behavior, but I will leave it where it is, but thanks for the offer! :)

Roger,
No problem, and for the record there is nothing psycho analytical about the worksheet.
mj

[Baxter Smith]

Beautiful piece of wood Gary!

[David DeCristoforo]

"It is probably a thread that will eventually lead to nowhere..."

And exactly what is wrong with going nowhere? Personally I think "nowhere" gets a bum rap...

Look at Krenov's work. He always "made it up as he went". Look at Sam Maloof's work. He always planned out his pieces first. Who's work was better? Dumb question... right? The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Boy, talk about hijacking a thread! Gary just wanted to show us his turning! Which, BTW, is very nice. It's amazing what you can find inside a chunk of "farwood". Especially when it's walnut!

[Roger Chandler]

"It is probably a thread that will eventually lead to nowhere..."


Boy, talk about hijacking a thread! Gary just wanted to show us his turning! Which, BTW, is very nice. It's amazing what you can find inside a chunk of "farwood". Especially when it's walnut!

Yeah David, I kinda felt a bit bad about that, but could not find graceful way to back out of it........my apologies to Gary, no offense intended for sure! His statement "we are different" was I thought in the first place a bit of a followup on the discussion I was having on another thread about planning vs. designing as we go.......:o;)

[Chris Stolicky]

Hey Gary, how about a different question? Okay, well, another one since that was technically a question....

Just curious, what did you use to get through all of the bark - bowl gouge, custom bar with a cutter on the end (Olend style? - forgot name right now), chainsaw, something else...?

[Gary Max]

After it is mounted on the lathe--- I locked the spindle and got out my trusty hachet and peeled the bark off. Less then 5 minutes and better than getting hit with bark trying to turn it off.

Pics are from 3 sides

[John Keeton]

Sure is some purty wood!!! I bet a drawknife would work well to debark, too.

[Michael James]

I would not have recognized this as walnut.... inetersting piece. 10-4 on the dodging bark...been there with cottonwood.