Our Turning legacy

[Roger Chandler]

Not to be morbid in any way, but I was thinking about the legacy we leave behind us............now granted there are so many more important things in our legacy than turning wood, or wood turned items..........things like character, integrity, faith and so on..........

That being acknowledged, I wonder how our turning/woodworking and the projects we leave behind us will play into our legacy. Will our efforts in this field become part of it, and will it be an important part? I wonder if they will make those who come behind us have regard for the craft we have pursued...........and will the items we turned be cherished, and will our memory in their minds be cherished even more because of what we left behind?

One of the reasons I took up woodworking to begin with is to leave behind me beautiful things .......some perhaps that speak to the desire I always had to make things better........to fix what was broken, and help make things the way they ought to be.

For some slow hot summers day [it is 105.2 degrees here at my house at the moment] I thought pondering this in our minds might cause some of us to share our hopes about our legacy in this craft and how it might play into the larger statement of what our life was about........hummm.........:)

[J.D.Redwine]

My turnings will likely be dumped in boxes and placed on the curb. I hope someone driving by finds something they like.

[Steve Vaughan]

It's a great thing to consider I think. While it may not be such a big deal to some, that's exactly why I sign and date everything I make - flatwork or turned. I think that's a big attraction for a lot of people knowing that you signed and dated the piece. And for me at least, I love being able to see the furniture my uncle built for a living, and seeing his signature and date the piece was made. There's a lot of pieces around here that my kids will get, and while they're not so important today, I feel certain that there will come a time when they will cherish it. It allows a person to point to a particular time too that I think folks appreciate.

[Rick Markham]

My turnings will likely be dumped in boxes and placed on the curb. I hope someone driving by finds something they like.

That made me laugh J.D. I hope that doesn't happen ;)

I've pondered this a bit, it's an interesting thought to be creating something that people appreciate and enjoy, and will likely get passed along through generations. It's one of the reason's I think it's important that we consider what we finish our turnings with, longevity/repairability of finish are important factors that we should consider. It's kind of neat to think that it's a real possiblity that some of our creations may survive for several hundred years. (I hope so) It's interesting to think someone down the line might just be wondering who scratched their initials on the bottom :D

[Michelle Rich]

I'm taking mine with me..I might need them !!! :-)

[Allen stagg]

Someday, fine turnings could be mass produced machined pieces and have no special meanings and looked at like.....Oh look,ma wooden vase, and not a piece of art. But hope that doesn't happen. I have wondered the same thing.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger I have thought about this at times to. Wondered where some of my stuff would be in say in years down the road. I sign and date all my woodwork like Steve hoping someday someone will smile when they look at one of my pieces. My sister has some bowls my great granddad made many years ago and are neat to see. These are rough with tool marks, etc but my grandmother told me they weren't meant to be pretty but useable. Maybe some of my bowls, plates, etc will be around that long. Doubt it but who knows. Great post Roger. Be interesting to see others thoughts.

[Curt Fuller]

I expect that someday one of my turnings will show up on the Antiques Roadshow with the appraiser telling the person that brought it in that the $5 he paid for it at a garage sale is probably more than it's worth.

[Mike Cruz]

Roger, I find the best thing any of us can do is give a heartfelt, handcrafted gift to every family member we can. ESPECIALLY the little ones. They will cherish them. They will carry them from move to move, from college to first apartment, to first house, to wherever. I gave my neice a jewelery box for her, I don't know...4th or 5th birthday...walnut with burl inlay...the works. I told her parents that I will literally KILL her if ONE sticker gets put on it! She is 13 now. Her parents must have told her what I said, because, through 2 moves and MANY "lost" items in the moves, she still has the jewelery box. Every once in a while, she even talks about it. I KNOW she appreciates it. She always will...

Of course the other side of the coin is my nephew that broke something I gave my mother out of carelessness...nothing is ever his fault. Neither was the broken stool I made for him out of cherry and walnut. Think he is getting anything else for a while? :rolleyes: :mad:

[Wally Dickerman]

Some time ago a guy emailed me a photo of the bottom of a bowl. It had my name and 1987 on it. He seemed happy when I acknowleged that it was one of mine. He had paid $5 for it at a yard sale.... I don't know what I had sold it for in 1987 but it was a lot more than $5. Seems it had depreciated some....:eek:

My daughter has a veritable museum of my work dating back 40 or more years.

[Mike Cruz]

Sounds like your daughter is selling off your stuff at yard sales, Wally!

Great story. The important thing is that the buyer was happy. Hope you told him what your stuff goes for now! Kinda like an Antiques Road Show moment. No disrespect or age joke intended. Rather you are THE authority on that bowl, and you had the info on it's "value" in today's market...

[Baxter Smith]

My turning legacy??? Are you talking about the boxes of roughouts I may never get around to finishing?:)

[Tim Rinehart]

Mike Mahoney did a wonderful demo on creating heirloom items, and he talks about classic lines, functionality, finish choices and such. The pieces that someone can and will use, with enough durability to withstand the inevitable drop or six and a finish that is easily repaired like the walnut or mineral oil finishes will stand better tests of time. I think only a handful of all that I've done falls into that camp, but I do think about it especially when making a piece for family and friends.

[Mike Cruz]

Baxter, I've been thinking about your answer all day (yeah, odd, I know). Honestly, if any of your kids appreciate woodworking (even if it isn't turning right now), a box of rough-outs is actually kind of a cool legacy...or at least something cool to leave to your kids. I mean, if they ever did finish turn them, each time they mounted one on the lathe, a piece of you would be there. Kinda cool in my book...

[Baxter Smith]

.... Honestly, if any of your kids appreciate woodworking (even if it isn't turning right now), a box of rough-outs is actually kind of a cool legacy...or at least something cool to leave to your kids. I mean, if they ever did finish turn them, each time they mounted one on the lathe, a piece of you would be there. Kinda cool in my book...
Mike, that is somewhat true. You never know where it might lead. When my fathers closest friend passed away about 15 years ago, I bought his lathe from his widow. There were also some NE roughouts from a butternut tree my father had planted and later cut. Those roughouts sat in boxes for a dozen years until I decided I would try to finish some of them in December 2009(for christmas presents). It was my first foray into faceplate work. Live has never been the same.:)