What Is It About Turning?

[Richard Madison]

Follow up to Allan's question. What is so compelling about turning that it attracts you, sometimes to the exclusion or reduction of other forms of woodworking and other activities?

Not sure about self, but I like the almost instant response to inputs, positive and negative, ability to quickly improve a slight mis-cut, to judge and approve or improve the work in "real time", as it were.

So howcum you dig the "vortex"?

[tim mathis]

relaxation, it just makes me feel better .

[michael gallagher]

To me, it's a lot like golf. I'm not sure why I like the game, because I two or three putt here and there, top it /slice it / duff it the other. But it's that one great drive or succession of holes where you just kick butt that makes you come back for another round.

Same with turning. I throw a lot of boo-boos (I say boo-boos because this is a public forum, but 99% of you say exactly what I wanted to type) either in the trash can or the box for my smoker. However, it's that one great "aha" moment or piece as you create or learn something new.

Then again, I can find 30 minutes here and there to sneak out to the shop and make a mess. It's a lot harder to find a complete morning or afternoon to play golf.

Turning is more expensive than golf, much to my chagrin.

You asked-

Michael
Lost in the Houston suburbs

[Judy Kingery]

Richard, to me it's easy - no measurments! Just mount it, turn it, balance it, presto or something. I don't know, have liked it since I was a kid. But it does have to do with no measurements. Balance, sure. But not precise measurements. So that's probably the best answer I can give you for me anyway. Best wishes! Jude

[Brian Brown]

All of the above, plus it's nice to come home from a bad day at work, and know when I put a sharp tool to the wood, maybe, just maybe there is something during the day I'll actually have some measure of control over... even if it's only making a big mess on the floor! Like they say, " a bad day at the lathe, is better than a good day at work".

[Jon McCoy]

Nearly immediate gratification.

I only get to play in the shop on Saturday, and it takes me a bit longer to make furniture than Norm seems to crank out. Two cherry nightstands took 18 months, who knows when the matching bed frame will be completed. But between lunch and dinner, I can make a dozen tops, a bowl or three, and maybe a small tool for SWMBO's fiber studio.

It's also easier to take pieces to the office to show off. Photos of a dining table isn't nearly as impressive as a bowlful of tops, or a banksia weedpot you can pick up and fondle.

-jon-

[David Wilhelm]

Simple, you can't get what we make at Walmart, then again you can't get what we use at Walmart either LOL

[John W. Willis]

Maybe it's that feeling of destruction with chips flying and the speed and/or the control over when and where the cut will be made, knowing that in the end that destruction is for the purpose of creation.

[robert hainstock]

I have always been a woodnut, and seeing the magnificant beauty that the creator hides in the wood is my reward. :D:D:D
Bob

[Scott Lux]

It's a subtractive process. We take away the stuff that doesn't look like a bowl (pen, top, birdhouse, spoon, etc.). We don't need to measure, mess with compound angles, or clamp. We spin and go. We can do all those things, and get cool results, but we don't have to.

And it is (as Jon says) instant gratification, at least as compared to other woodworking.

[Bernie Weishapl]

For me it is the fact I can have a horrible day at work, go home to the lathe and within a minute or two I forgotten about what has happened. Also instant gradification of the piece.

[Paul Douglass]

Common people be truthful, the real thing about turning is you get to keep spending MONEY! there is always more tools, more attachments, than upgrades, than more pen kits, more material.......more ... Spend spend spend! :D

And the mess you get to make and track all over the house, love it!;)


Other than that, I love to do it, maybe it is the quick gratification (so far I turn little things). And in my case, no two things I make are even close to being alike, no matter how hard I try!

[Don Orr]

Creativity outlet-not that I'm very creative.

Constructive use of my free time-keeps me out of trouble.

Working with an incredible medium-wood !

Lots to learn about-wood, tools, steel, finishing, sharpening, sanding, machines, design, etc.

Instant gratification-I have a short attention span.

Great people-in clubs and on the Web.

Tools-I really like tools !

I very much enjoy the whole process from chainsaws to finishing. There are so many varied aspects to turning to keep me interested. And so many different things to try. I have not even scratched the surface of things I want to try yet.

Great thread-thanks.

[Nancy Laird]

For me, turning is relaxing, as well as the "instant gratification" aspect. Being able to turn a plain piece of wood into something useful and beautiful is the best thing of all.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I think for me too it's the instant gratification. But deep down I think the really fun part is just the cutting of the wood with the tools. You're actually doing something all the time with turning; you're always applying a tool to wood and changing its shape. Now I have to go to my turning shrink to see what I really mean by this, deep down inside. :D

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

After making a lot of furniture, I was attracted to the "immediate gratification" benefit. Then I drifted towards segmented turning and started very ambitious projects that required weeks of work. Now it’s the immense satisfaction of occasionally conquering a self-imposed challenge. And, of course, it’s always an “ego boost” when someone pays the ultimate compliment of “cash”. :)

[dennis kranz]

I can't cut a straight line in a piece of wood.
Dennis

[Jim Becker]

A large part of the compelling aspect of turning for me is the instant visualization of art creating before my eyes. Once you start shaping something, it's darn hard to stop until you are "done"...including ever-so-small tweaks to form, etc., to get them "right". It's also a form of woodworking that one can do complete projects, start to finish, in a very short period of time, including in one sitting. Perfect for the time-challenged!

[Glenn Hodges]

Also:

I Would like to leave something of quality with my name on it that says I was once on this earth.

and, oh yea, I like making something beautiful out of what others consider trash.

[Dennis Puskar]

I agree with everbody who said it was relaxing.

Dennis

[Andy Hoyt]

I just like making a big stinking mess.

[Allen Neighbors]

I'm a curious person. And it's amazing to me, to find out just what God has put inside some of our trees... a hollow form in this one... a bowl in that one... a coffee scoop.. a ring keeper... wonderful! I'd rather turn than eat! And getting to do what I love to do, any time I want to do it, is an outright blessing!
Good thread!

[Richard Madison]

Thank you all for your replies!

Didn't really think about "control" in my original post, but it's good to have control in some area of life, however small, as there is so much we can not control.

Also did not think of satisfaction at successfully completing a new, self-imposed challenge, perhaps at different levels for different folks. Guess I have a little of that too, sometimes. Many different kinds of turning to try, and very satisfying to be successful at a thing, and move on to try the next thing.

Thanks again, y'all.

[Curt Fuller]

One of the remarkable things about wood is its self expression. Whether as a handle of a tool, as a dead stump, or alive in a forest where every branch is a record of the winds that blew, it is always telling something about itself. That is why man has an affinity with wood not only as a mere material, but also as a kindred spirit to live with and to know.
--Eric Sloane, A Reverence for Wood



This quote says a lot about why I'm attracted to turning. Turning involves more than just making something. From collecting the wood, looking for the most unique parts of the tree, all the way through the process to the the soft, smooth feel of a nicely sanded and finished piece. it's all a process I enjoy.

[Mark Hix]

There are alot of reasons I turn: it is theraputic. It is easy to get lost in the project. The sense of accomplishment on a completed project. It can be as simple or as complicated as you want. I just started segmented bowls and numbers 3 and 4 were not bad after disasters on 1 and 2. The learning curve is fast.......
But mostly, it is just fun.

[Joyce Baldauf]

I have always loved wood and could never understand why people painted beautifully grained wood. I always had a strong desire to do something creative with wood but never had the opportunity till I retired. My husband, who retired at the same time, was buying woodworking tools and I mentioned to him that I thought have a lathe would be a great way to involve myself in woodworking. He bought me a lathe. I immediately fell headlong into the abyss.

Aside from having limited patience for and knowledge of flat work I absolutely love the evolving beauty of the wood on the lathe and the wonderful surprises inside a seemingly plain piece of wood. Then again there is the almost instant gratification factor.

BUT, it's a great diet! I actually forget to eat sometimes. Who knew there would be such a fringe benefit!:D:D:D:D

[Eugene Malone]

Hi All, to me it is LIFE, I'm 69 and healthhas been a problem for 4/5 years . Three years ago I tried my hand at woodworking but I could not make a joint so Adirandac chairs seemed the answer,however they were heavy and awkward so I tried a small lathe and found something which I seem to have a natural feel for.
In 7 months I've had three lathes I still have two and every morning the sun seems to be shining.I have somewhere to go where I can turn out a masterpiece {to me and her self] at least. Someone said it's cheaper than golf I played golf for 33 years off a single figure H/C between 4/8and in that time I changed sets of golf clubs 73 times. I've already had three lathes my god is it going to be the same? I think not! A friend of mine after listening to me for some time said" it seems to me to be better than sex is it" I said I dont remember, It's a great thread I hope I havent messed it up .Regards Boysie.

[Mike Henderson]

I do turning for furniture, such as table legs, which I find to be useful. But when I turn small bowls or other small things, all I can do with them is give them away to friends - after all, how many of those things can you put in your house?

Maybe I'm missing something and, if so, I'd appreciate if someone would explain it to me. Other than furniture making, it just seems useless.

Mike

[Brad Knight]

I haven't been turning for very long at all...

... but for me, the night I got my lathe home, I set it up and made a pen. I can easily see myself a couple of years from now learning how to turn something else.

It's one of those things that you can always learn a new trick on, figure out a new project to do... something, while it's also something I can do today, less than a week into my learning process.

It's not a lot different than a lot of other tools, but you don't see an entire segment of woodworking revolving around tablesaws.

[Andy Hoyt]

.... it just seems useless. Mike I quite disagree, Mike.

One of my greatest joys (after making the aforementioned mess, of course) is to look the recipient of one of my bowls right in the eye as he/she handles it for the first time. The resultant emotion is priceless - for both of us.

In those eyes I see the wonder and awe of "how'd he do that?" combined with genuine thanks for now possessing something that's been hand made by me just for him. It says of me - I spent numerous hours crafting this from a lump of wood. Those hours were spent in quiet contemplation of you and our relationship, one that I value. This bowl is a manifestation of that relationship.

I could have googled bowl and chosen one of the 87,456 that were made by someone else and all I did was click, spend, and arrange direct shipping. What does that says about how I feel about my recipient?

[Doug Reesor]

For what seems on the surface to be such a limited and specialized form of woodwooking, turning never ceases to amaze me in the art and craft revealed in each piece I turn or see. I particularly enjoy segmented making segmented pieces because the design is also created, whereas I find within the solid pieces I turn a new beauty revealed within each new attempt. Bowls draw people to them and almost ask to be caressed. After a relaxing day making a mess and forgetting about time as others have mentioned, I frequently sit back and wonder how I did it myself.

Y'all produce some amazing pieces!

Doug

[Nancy Laird]

I quite disagree, Mike.

One of my greatest joys (after making the aforementioned mess, of course) is to look the recipient of one of my bowls right in the eye as he/she handles it for the first time. The resultant emotion is priceless - for both of us.

In those eyes I see the wonder and awe of "how'd he do that?" combined with genuine thanks for now possessing something that's been hand made by me just for him. It says of me - I spent numerous hours crafting this from a lump of wood. Those hours were spent in quiet contemplation of you and our relationship, one that I value. This bowl is a manifestation of that relationship.

I could have googled bowl and chosen one of the 87,456 that were made by someone else and all I did was click, spend, and arrange direct shipping. What does that says about how I feel about my recipient?


Andy, you would have enjoyed my reaction when I opened the package that came from you of the piece you placed in the auction (aside from laughing about the Moxie!!). When I opened that box and took out that little vaaase, I was speechless for a couple of minutes (not a regular occurrence, I can assure you)--and I think that's the kind of reaction you like to see when you present one of those pieces--that's the kind of reaction I'd like to see one of these days.

You couldn't have said it any better----good show!!!