Demo Deception

Perhaps "deception" isn't the right word - "misleading" is probably a
better term. But Misleading Demo just doesn't have the flow of
Demo Deception. Please excuse my taking Literate License with
the language - and please read on.

If you've watched a demonstration by semi-well known, or well known
turner,
especially at a woodworking show and even at a half day or full day club
demonstration, you're often impressed by the speed at which a
demonstration
piece is turned, both in terms of rpms and elapsed time.

For a newbie, turning at 2000 or 3000 rpms seems intimidating as hell.
Now don't get me wrong - it would be intimidating as hell - and pretty
damn crazy - to mount a big rough chunk of wood and spin it right up
to 2 or 3 grand. But once the piece is roughed to round, speed in terms
of rpms is actually a good thing in terms of the ease and quality of the
cut. Seems counter intuitive - but it's true. The tool has less time
to
travel into the space between wood contact so your hand doesn't get
beat up - as much - AND the tool's bevel is in contact with the wood
more
often, giving you better control of the cut and more cuts per second.

But it's not the rpms that is deceptive - it's the elapsed time from
start to finish that I think is deceptive. You get the impression that
a nice piece should be able to be done in about an hour, an hour and
a half at the most. And given that the demonstrator is keeping up
a running verbal description of what is being done and maybe why,
along with pauses to show something critical, it seems obvious that
the demonstator could turn the piece, start to finish, in well under
an hour. So when you compare the three, four or maybe six hours
it takes you to turn a reasonably nice piece with the 45 minutes to
an hour the "pro" takes to turn a nice piece its understandable that
you feel just a wee bit inadequate.

However, you must realize that the demonstrator has turned either
the exact same piece, or something very similar, several times, and
maybe dozens and dozens of times, prior to the demonstration you
sit through. The demonstator has selected the stock to be used
prior to the demo, has worked out the size and proportions well in
advance and knows pretty much exactly the tools to be used and
the order and operations required to make the piece. And depending
on how candid the demonstator is, you may or may not be aware
of the finesse things they do for their best pieces, which are skipped
completely, or rushed through due to time and attention span
limitations imposed by a demonstration.

What you miss is the time spent in internal dialogue and the
agonizing over critical decisions - and critical cuts. Depending
on whether the piece is started with a specific shape/form
and size in mind and stock is selected that best suits that
piece, or the piece is started with the wood and the shape
/ form and size is, to a large extent, dictated by the wood
- hours, maybe days, might be spent before the first cut is
made. And as the piece develops there may be periods of
time spent considering alternate paths towards the finished
piece. What is done with one or two cuts in a demonstration
might, on a fine One Off piece, be many many "sneak up on
it" cuts, the last one or two made On The Edge of Disaster.
The time involved in doing a piece with crisp clean precise
details and perfect smooth transitions from curve to curve
are not things done in minutes - or done effortlessly.

The time difference between making an Ah piece and an
AH! Piece is often far more significant than implied by a
good demonstrator turning a nice demonstration piece.

While speed, both in terms of rpms as well as the rate
at which an individual piece is made, are important to
a production turner, it's far less important to a One
Off turner who turns for collectors rather than buyers.
The latter are after utility and price is significant.
The former are after uniqueness and quality - with
price being a rather minor part of the process. The
former buy, the latter acquire - two distincly different
purchasing decision making processes.

So the next time you attend a demonstration, keep
in mind that you're getting the Readers Digest
condensed version. The unabridged original took a
lot longer to "write" and is the full six or eight
course meal, not the MacDonald's fast "food" "meal".

Don't fall into the trap of Speed At The Expense Of
Thought And Good Execution. An airline will get you
"there" a lot faster than driving - but the trip probably
won't be as interesting.

charlie b
still turning variations of Nude Dudes for the November/
December turning club President's Challenge.