How many of the pieces that you start do you finish all the way?

[George Overpeck]

Just a question that I was wondering about at the lathe the other day - do most people push all the way through to a market or gift ready state for each piece that keeps it's structural integrity?

I'll start - I am going to guess I'm on the low end of that with my finished production being about 25% of what I mount. I source all my wood locally for free or trade, so I have mainly time invested in it, rather than having purchased a blank. I seem to have a lot of work that has piled up with the sanding done and just needing the foot touched up which I am not excited about finishing.

Usually it's a combination of sentiments that keeps me from working on them - not excited about the form, too similar to piece I've already done, I have another one that I'm actually excited to finish off, not eager to deal with the potential catastrophes of reverse chucking, the need for special attention to bits of tear out. And I bet you also have a bunch of HFs in the shop that have cracked but could still benefit from some inspiration. All my work gets compared to the best work that I'm doing and of course, what I'm about to do (which is always going to be great!).

I'm asking more because I'd be interested in hearing what other turner's ratios are like, rather than it being a problem to me. I enjoy design on the fly, I like the process of making my entire work incrementally better by my own standards, I like to work with very iffy highly spalted wood, and I love to show up at the shop with the intention of making a knockout work rather than sanding. How about you?

[Dennis Ford]

I have similar issues but my percentage is higher (I am guessing 60%). Some of that is finished after quite a while, once in a while I work just on finishing up pieces that are piling up. Reverse turning is not much of an issue for me but sanding and finishing a piece that is not quite what I expected is an issue.

[George Overpeck]

Some of that is finished after quite a while, once in a while I work just on finishing up pieces that are piling up.

That's a good point. In the space of "quite a while" I could get a lot done, I just seem to always prioritize new work.

[Chip Sutherland]

I'm guessing about 80% are completed albeit so will take longer. Last year, I noticed my WIP shelf was overflowing with 22 pieces. Most were ones that encountered either turner flaws or design flaws and I did not have the patience or skill to resolve them. The oldest piece being about 5 years old. So about this time last year while on hiatus from graduate school I started working through the 22. It took about 3 months but I resolved 17 of them and none went into the burn box. Of the 5 remaining, 2 are currently sitting on my bench completed and getting finished applied and will be donated to Empty Bowls for 2014. The remaining 3 have cracks which need some mending but are still very viable pieces.

HOWEVER.....I have added to the WIP shelf over this past year.....9 more so this year's completion rate is down to about 50% since I have not turned as much.

4 of 5 chucks each one holds a WIP...I didn't count those...as they are waiting for me to hook up the vacuum pump and/or the carving vise to be freed up. These will be done by Thanksgiving...delayed because I have a final and paper to write. A nd I have one piece on the lathe, too.

[Brian Kent]

If it does not fall apart or create a risk to do so, I finish all of them. One other category is the rough - turned wet wood that is placed in bags of its own shavings. Then I finish later as long as it has structural integrity. I am a learner, and learning to finish is as important to me as learning to start.

[charlie knighton]

i visited one turner that had the spaces between the floor jiost filled with roughed out bowls, he held them up with wire fencing, i was amazed and impressed
he had hundreds, for any local auction he donotes, they call, he finishes one up, really cool

myself , i learned to do hollow forms because i did not like waiting for bowl to quit moving

usually about 90% of stuff started finished, not saying i like all of them

[John Keeton]

I would put my percentage at 100%. I do one piece at a time, and take it to a finished state prior to starting another. I do have about 8 bowl roughouts in the drying stage. This is the first time I have done wet roughouts and left them to dry. However, I don't do a lot of bowls, so those will not get finished for some time, I suspect.

[Roger Chandler]

I would estimate 85% of what I start is finished. The ones not finished are usually because of some issue with the wood itself.........you know, you get into the wood and find something that you did not expect, like abundant worms or even cracks that did not show up initially but as wood turned away they got revealed...........

If structural integrity is compromised, then usually it gets put on the firewood pile..........on rare occasions I might use tape or wrap to hold something together. I have only lost one roughout that was bagged.........decided it was not worth further work.

I don't post all my pieces here or on other forums..........depends on the mood I am in at the current moment! ;)

[Paul Williams]

I'm like Brian if it is holding together in one piece I finish it. I figure the practice is good for me. I also tend to do one at a time from start to finish, although I have 4 or 5 rough outs that are dry enough to finish.

[Robert Henrickson]

Maybe 10-20% at most, I suspect. That might well be an overestimate. I enjoy turning, working out how to do something, seeing it come together. I don't enjoy fancy finishing. I turn, sand completely, put on at least a coat or two or more of finish, and then usually move on. Perhaps one or two more coats of something and they'd be sales floor 'finished'. I finish some for gifts, or for fund raisers. Since I prefer to treat turning as a hobby rather than a business, I'm not worried about 'completion'. I'm doing what interests me, as far as it interests me. Some types of things I do almost always are fully finished (e.g., lattice screens and 3D spindle constructions), but these involve larger amounts of time and are a particular interest.

[John Beaver]

Very interesting thread George.

My work is very specific so I don't usually proceed with a piece that isn't just right. I may learn this in the roughing stage, or when re-turning a previously roughed blank. That isn't to say that sometimes they still don't quite work, but generally my percentage of finishing pieces that are started with good intention is very high.

What I find more interesting is the amount of work people put into "saving" a piece. I often read here about people trying to fix cracks, or trying to save mistakes. It seems we're a rather tenacious bunch when it comes to avoiding throwing a started piece away.

To a point I understand this, but I am always curious why people spend so much effort on the "save." Is it for the gratification of "winning" or just maximizing the time already spent? Sometimes if a piece isn't quite right I do find that I can still learn something from it, either by practicing my turning skills (how thin can I go?) or maybe just playing with a new texture or cutting it up to see if it leads to a new design. I also do a lot of experimenting and prototypes (usually with reject wood) before attacking a new concept, so these are never meant to be finished

[George Overpeck]

Thanks for replying, it is interesting to hear about people's production. I definitely have a theoretical agreement with Paul and Brian, that learning the final stages well is as valuable as learning shaping and cutting, I'm just not practicing that theory. It does bite me once in a while - like I say reverse mounting is has always been a chore for me and an opportunity to destroy something great. I think I'm going to get past that though, since I went from a machine with a high low speed to the pm3520 with low low speed and reverse. And a vacuum chuck. Lots of new toys here. That may be a little workflow bump for me to feel my way around. A lot of the work that I haven't finished from last winter (I'm a seasonal turner) is stuff that I would have been really happy with at the time I was making it but my ideas on shapes changed a bit. Also my standards on visible CA marks or slightly broken bark on NEs, etc..

In practice I work like John and agree that you can learn a lot from not following through on every piece. I spend a lot of time reflecting on intangible qualities of the work that I haven't finished - "Why is this not lovable to me?" Also I always have a sacrificial piece around if I want to experiment with color, finishes, dynamite, etc.

Speaking of lovable, here is a bad picture of 4 out of a 5 bowl set, from the same log. Plenty happy with these intangibles, I knew when I popped them out that I would be running the whole way with them. There was some tearout, as you can imagine.274166

[Scott Hackler]

I am in constant experiment mode so, some of the "creations" are terrible and get thrown on the shelf to remind me what NOT to do or as a guide towards what I had in my head to start with. Now with the proven forms and items I have done similar, I do finish them completely. I have woodworking ADD though and usually have several items in various stages of completion. Since I don't have a ton of turning time, I like to maximize shop time and as soon as a coat of finish goes on one piece I am turning another or sanding something or pyro work or piercing......

[Brian Kent]

Wonderful bowls, George. What kind of wood is that?

[Paul Williams]

Re: John's point about spending time on a save. I like to finish what I start. Not sure if it is the challenge or what. I glue and fill small cracks but toss large or structural defects. So I don't think I spend an inordinate amount of time on a save, but I won't toss a piece just because I don't like how it is turning out, or because of a visual defect. While it is not my style I do see the appeal of some of the pieces people post with major cracks that have been filled so as to emphasis the crack.

[Russell Neyman]

I in the 90% category, but some things are (as Hackler noted) experiments and I really don't intend to complete them. Sometimes I'm just spinning -- turning a random piece of wood to pass the time -- and I usually give them away to a passerby or friend unsigned and with a minimum of finish.

Having ample projects really helps. I have four chucks and half a dozen faveplates, allowing me to set things aside, mull over a decision, and come back to complete it.

[neil mackay]

I often have several designs wandering around in my head or on paper. But finish rate would be a round 98% the remaining 2% are those that have thrown up some unusual problems that require some thinking to get the best out of the remaining piece .

[Mike Peace]

I am in the 90%+ category as well. I have been turning for some time and generally know what I am going to turn and how to do it. I am careful in my wood selection and don't turn crappy wood. I check it for cracks so generally don't have surprises. I love the process of turning but generally have a goal to complete something. If I see a bad outcome coming such as unexpected cracks or punky wood, I cut my losses. I am not going to waste a lot of time trying to fix something that would look like a repair job. If I am doing a new design or concept, I generally plan it with sketches if necessary so I know where I am going. On the other hand, if I go to a workshop and don't complete something, due to time constraints, sometimes what I bring home does not get completed.

[kevin nee]

I am in the very high finish everything group. I finished one the other night right thru the bottom.
Cleaned up the rest and will glue something on. Design opportunity in Mother-in-law gift. We had
a big name turner doing a demo and he said "I don't fall in love with every piece of wood" I wish I
could adopt that attitude. Sometimes I just waste time being stubborn.

[George Overpeck]

White Birch - I turn lots of White Birch and the local variant, Kenai Birch.

[Dale Gillaspy]

I would put myself in the 90% category. The only time I don't finish a piece if when the form is so bad that I wouldn't dare put it out with my name on it. Then it becomes firewood. Otherwise, I will stop several times during the roughing process and really study the form to make sure it is what I want. I will often complete several before I reverse turn the mounting point off, just because my creative side comes in spurts, and I get on a roll. That being said, sometimes pieces will sit 1/2 finished on a shelf for several months when I know something isn't quite right and I just can't place it, but eventually it will get finished.

[Matthew Little]

Even though I have been turning for about 4 years now, I still consider myself to be in the learning stage. With that said, I try and finish every piece that I can. I think of the flawed ones as an opportunity to learn. I may not like the form, but perhaps I have never finished that type of wood before, so I will go through the finishing process just to see what will happen for a future reference. I seem to be constantly changing my finishing process until I find something that I am satisfied with. I probably finish about 95% of the pieces I start.

[terry mccammon]

I am very much in the learner stage and turn only found/tree trimer wood. I start a project and when/if it goes bad/wood is bad/etc. I throw it in the burn barrel or set it on a shelf to remind me of what not to do next time. I decline to invest in finishing materials unless I really like something and want to see the total end product. My friends and family are saturated with "gifts" so no pressure to produce. I like to turn and don't really care about production rates. Having said all that, I do get a huge kick out of contributing output to charity.

[Col Smith]

All of mine are finished.

Most finish up on my display shelves....the other finish up in the wood-burner.:eek:

But they are all finished

Col

[robert baccus]

I like Georges ideas. Do to returning and a love of variety my shop has 60+ blanks curing or ready. They sooner or later catch my eye and inspire me to do some finishing work. I seem to always get in a production line thing with 6-8 pieces in a circle. I usually mount pieces with a glueblock mounted on a steel dovetail ring or single screw. Makes it easy sand one, shoot lac, final cut another, SS on the next and by then the lac. is ready for another coat. This only works because the chuck ring and single screw can be released with one hand while I support the piece with a finger on the inside of the lip. Allows some operation on a dozen pieces per hour and drying time is not wasted. My turning time is dictated by bad knees so I try to use it effeciantly?? He who dies with the most wood wins.

[Mike Cruz]

I would say that I finish about 95% I'm saying that because I can think of only about 5 pieces that were epic failures...ones that could not make it all the way. And I'm going to guess that I've turned 100 pieces. I may be WAY off (in either direction) on how many turnings I've done. But the point is that almost all get finished to completion...

[Rex Guinn]

I do one piece at a time finish complete. So I would say 95 percent.