...........and if "old Richard" did actually use his "car keys" as turning
tools, at least two of the big name companies would be offering similar "car
keys" in several varieties of stainless steel and powdered metal within a
month.............Barry



"Harry B. Pye" wrote in message
groups.com...
OK, so here's the question - did you ever develop beyond the ordinary by
following conventional wisdom? Can anyone? Is it only design that
allows
"style," or can there be personal styles of tool use?

I think Richard Raffan is a good example of this. He spent a few years
teaching himself to turn. It appears that in addition to just plain
technique, he worked hard at improving his efficiency. I have three of his
videos and firmly believe he would use his car keys to turn if it helped
getting the job done better and faster. His (well not really his) method
of
back hollowing is an example of going against conventional techniques. In
his bowl turning video he uses both a skew and a spindle gouge.

In fact, I'm not sure his videos are the best for beginners. His
techniques
and abilities are so far beyond most of us that is impossible for the
beginner to emulate him. Best to start with sound methods and then advance
to what works best for you. You can't learn higher mathematics without
understanding arithmetic.

Harry