I start by telling them that I core all of my bowls. A 4 bowl set from
a 14 by 6 inch blank takes about an hour and a quarter from the time I
get it on the lathe, to ready to sand time. By coring the bowls, I save
a lot of time, not so much on the first bowl, but on the cores because
80% of the shaping is already done. A 7 by 2 inch personal sized bowl
used to take me 45 minutes plus, but I have turned a lot of bowls since
then, and have gotten a lot faster, and will get faster yet, if for no
other reason, it isbecause my tecnique is getting better, and I will be
doing less sanding. The sanding and finishing seems to take as much
time as turning the bowls.
Some time in the future, I will have a photo album that will show the
process (from tree to bowl), to go along with my portfolio.
Also, I want to get a swatch book of all of the different woods that I
have worked with so all of the woodworkers who come into my booth, can
test their knowlege. After all, at least half of the people who come
into my booth are other woodworkers. Some are professional, most are "I
do some woodworking, but nothing like this" and "I am just starting".
Another question that I get asked a lot is what kind on wood do you
turn, and what is your favorite kind of wood to turn. My usual answer
is 'firewood'. Most people get this one right away.
robo hippy