Turning Newbie With Questions About A Very Surprising Video

[Dom Garafalo]

I'm very new to wood turning having just recently purchased and set up a Jet 1221VS lathe. I'm trying to get some hands on experience turning laminated pieces of pine and some cherry as well as learning to sharpen my lathe tools.

I plan to inquire with the local wood turners chapter about starting to attend some meetings but in the meantime I'm doing some things by trial and error along with looking information up on various techniques on the internet then trying them on my lathe. I thought I was making some progress with sharpening and turning square pieces into spindles and making rough blanks I cut on my bandsaw round on the lathe using roughing gouges.

Then I came across the Fine Woodworking video (link at the end) by Richard Raffan who is roughing a cherry bowl blank and said to myself I better give up turning now because I'm light years away from the ease and speed in which Richard is roughing the outside and inside of that blank. Not only is he shaping the outside in one fluid motion but his cuts appear to be one long continuous ribbon of wood which is nothing like the small curly pieces I'm slicing off as I attempt to round and size a piece of wood.

So I have to know, is he a Pro who has turned a gazillion bowls in his lifetime or is he turning green wood which peels off in continuous ribbons? Or both? Or do I simply have a awful lot to learn?

I welcome your comments

Thank you

http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodturning/video/how-to-turn-a-basic-bowl-part-1.aspx

[Justin Stephen]

So I have to know, is he a Pro who has turned a gazillion bowls in his lifetime or is he turning green wood which peels off in continuous ribbons? Or both? Or do I simply have a awful lot to learn?


Both. I would have guessed from the first look at the blank that it was more or less dry but he rough turned it and threw it in the microwave so it was obviously green.

Raffan is a very showy turner. He moves fast and makes it obvious that he is doing something he has done many thousands of times before.

[Roger Chandler]

I think you could safely call Richard Raffan a MASTER TURNER........I don't think you would find disagreement from anyone! ;)

[Scott Hackler]

Yep, Richard Raffan is a true Master Turner in every sense of the word. That skill, confidence and ease comes with decades of turning. Between him and Glen Lucas or Mike Mahoney or even Stuart Batty... you can see how the professional / production turner... does this craft. They make it look simple and just in their cases, it gets easier the more you do it. But it is a whole lot easier and more enjoyable if you get an advanced turner to get you started. Then you can skip all the ooops (or a bunch of them) and attack the wood with the correct tool presentation and techniques.

Take it from me (not a master turner), I wish I would have had help starting out so I could have skipped all the hard lessons from being self taught.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

On one of his tapes, Raffan demonstrates how to turn a scoop. While doing so he mentions that he made a living turning these during the 1970's. He "supposes" he made 25,000. His speed and confidence was gained by lots experience.
You learn how you can do it and at your won pace. You will be happy you learned.
faust

[Jason Edwards]

Watching Raffan turn is like watching Clapton play guitar. Both intimidating and inspirational to the beginner.

[Thom Sturgill]

Yes to all three. He is one of the top masters of the trade and has done a gazillion bowls, scoops, etc. He is working with green wood - it was a prepared wax covered blank - the wax keeps the moisture in. And unless you've been turning for decades you (and I) have a lot still to learn. Many of the techniques he demonstrates come from years of production turning and few master them.

[terry mccammon]

And one more point. If you read his books he talks about the several injuries that he has received including, if I recall properly, a large sharp chunk sticking into his upper arm. Slow down, read the books, look at the videos and get with more experienced turners. BTW, if he happens to be demoing near you, go. He is a blast to watch, listen to and visit with.

[Wes Ramsey]

Don't let a pro discourage you. Your form and muscle memory will improve over time, and where you are right now on the learning curve is the most frustrating and exciting time for learning any skill. You make mistakes and learn from them. Your skills may improve a bit every couple of hours and you may learn something new every time you watch another turner, where a pro like Raffian may have to invest tens or even hundreds of hours before gaining any noticeable improvement or learning something new because they've invested so many hours to get to their current skill level. Best advice I can give you is to watch some of Robo Hippy's youtube videos. He covers every facet of woodturning and they're such a great resource for us noobs. You will learn tons from him without even touching your lathe. And if you come to a roadblock or are having problems figuring something out, post a question here. These guys are great at helping fellow turners improve their skills.

[John Sanford]

Watching Raffan turn is like watching Michael Jordan drive to the basket, Jeremy McGrath take the holeshot, Laird Hamilton dropping in to a barrel, or Ed Miculek shooting anything. Poetry in motion, humbling and inspiring at the same time.

[Michael Mills]

What the others had to say about Raffan. His first VHS video for sale (that I know of) was about 1985; about the same time as Del Stubbs.
If starting out I would highly suggest three videos by Stuart Batty on stance. Even in Raffan's 1985 video he dedicated time at the start of the both the spindle and bowl section to cover stance.

Here is a link to some of Batty's. They are in alphabetical order, just look for Stance (three of them on page 2).
https://vimeo.com/woodturning/videos/page:2/sort:alphabetical/format:thumbnail

[Dom Garafalo]

As Jason Edwards stated -
Watching Raffan turn is like watching Clapton play guitar. Both intimidating and inspirational to the beginner

Thanks everyone for setting me straight. I suspected the answer to all of my questions when I drafted the thread and you've all confirmed it. There's obviously a long challenging learning curve to wood turning and I've barely begun.

I have already started looking at videos on the internet, including Robo Hippy's, to learn as much as I can about all aspects of turning. I'll also look for opportunities to connect with experienced turners in my local area including the local turning club.

Hopefully, as I run into difficulties and challenges along the learning curve I can present them in this forum.

[Ian Robertson]

Ditto to all above. A very skilled and fast turner I have had the privilege of watching many times. I am an Australian.

A few suggestions if I may:
1: Join a club or get personal tuition. It will save heaps of time in the long run.
2: Learn spindle turning first, it sets you up for bowl turning because you learn the angles needed.
3: Have a look at these videos, particularly the safety ones. https://www.youtube.com/user/Ozwoodturner1
4: ALWAYS keep safety at the front of your mind. If it feels unsafe, it probably is.

Robbo. "we do good turns every day.

[Richard Carner]

Raffan is a great teacher. I learned a ton from his videos and book over 25 years ago. That said he is a production turner and works primarily with green wood. Working with green wood is like night to day when working with seasoned wood. I am not a production turner (except for a 10 year stint where I made bud vases). So, from an artistic sense I was not influenced by Raffan. Still, he is a great person and is fun to be around. I attended the now famous 1985 wood turning conference titled: Woodturning: Vision and Concept at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. All the heavy hitters were present: Moulthrop, Ellsworth, Del Stubbs (who also is an excellent teacher) Al Stirt, Dale Chase, and the Linquist's - father and son. It was rather amusing to witness some of these characters with their over inflated egos. Ed Moulthrop was not one of them. He was as down to earth as they come.