Architectural turning IS what most of what turners do. Not that you'd know
it by the books, websites, articles, and general discussion from the AAW or
affiliate clubs. It's not the sexy stuff that gets talked about and
endlessly debated in the USA but it's what's being done by the majority of
turners all around the world. Silently and steadily for the most part.

Now, let's define the term here so I can get an idea of what you are really
meaning. What exactly do you mean by "Architectural" ? I've seen that
term relating to woodturning as meaning anywhere from chair rails to 18' x
16" columns to some of Ed Moulthrops' hollowforms. People define it
differently so that's why I ask.

Personally, I prefer to use "structural" and the people I do buisness with
perfer it too, even the architects. g I do light structural (columns up
to 6' tall and 12" diameter; Balusters, posts, Church Spires, newell posts,
railings, etc.) and I do furniture, which I classify differently but I guess
is structural too just on a small scale (rails, legs, stretchers, knobs,
etc.) and I also have a classification of "other" that you could put in
there too. I do production runs for some companies that need specialty
parts such as handles (big ones!) for their commercial products or forms for
molding and metal work.

It's not my main job by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a steady
income and it's fun. I can't say from experience whether it's a steadier
paycheck than the crafts or arts end of the spectrum because I'm just now
getting into really pushing those things of mine into the public. I have a
few galleries in the region handling those things but it's only been about
18 months. I've sold a few things and it's nice to get that lump sum
instead of actually working for it. g Relax guys. hehe

A good person to talk with or, even better, go see and take a class from is
Ernie Conover at http://www.conoverworkshops.com/index.htm regarding this.

I can't really tell you about the earning potential as it really seems to be
very geographical. Around here (Southwest Missouri), the styles of houses,
businesses, furniture and just everything is not about being "round". It's
all square. Everything. So there's not a whole lot of potential for
woodturners like there might be in an "architecturally round" area. Just
look around at the houses and furniture in the swap meets or flea markets,
etc. See what's there and if there's a lot of "roundness" in the area. The
best place around here is Branson. Lots of big houses and large buildings
trying to look like either New Orleans or Savannah, Georgia. Quite a few
"roundness" going on there and the money to actually pay for it. I get a
lot of work from the furniture end of it around here. Reproducing
great-grandma's chair rails or making custom stools for a house renovation
where the guy is putting in a wet bar in the basement. Stuff like that.

Basically, you're going to be making custom woodworking wages. Not bad but
not a fortune either. You'll likely be producing 10's of the exact same
object. It's rare to produce just one or two of something unless it's big
(like a column). You need a well equipped shop too. More of a woodworking
shop than just a woodturning shop with a lathe, bandsaw and maybe a drill
motor for powersanding g. You're going to have to find places to get wood
stock cheap, fast, and easy. That can be harder than it sounds. We're not
talking your local Home Depot here unless you want to pay to work instead of
the other way around. We're also not talking about the sawmill down by the
river either. You need to have a steady supply of the common local woods
that is dry, clear, and available year round and in every conceivable size
you can imagine. Best to know a or have your own kiln operator. Over the
long term, you save money but it's a loss in the beginning. There's all
kinds of things and it would fill a book (I'm sure somebody has already
written it) to know what you need in this kind of production woodturning.
This isn't like production bowl turning either. Maybe you'll get lucky and
just be making one style of table legs out of red oak for the rest of your
woodturning life. Likely, you won't. You'll be making whatever comes
through your shop door and you need to be ready for it because they'll want
it yesterday ... and 50 of them .... out of cypress (which isn't even close
to local here). g

You'll want to become best friends with building contractors (these are the
people that make the call to you when needed ... not the architects),
furniture restorers/re-finishers (they don't want to mess with producing
things especially lathe items if they need it), wood suppliers from the
sawmill to retail stores like Woodcraft (not only for supplies but because
people constantly ask them "can you make" or "who can do this for me"),
small furniture makers (they get some special requests sometimes ... you'll
not get their production services most likely), and even the Home Depots
types of stores (they get people wanting things sometimes too). Try the
local cabinet shops and woodworking shops to see if they need somebody (not
likely) or might be able to contract out some work to you (still not very
likely but better).

Architects are only good when you're doing really really high-end stuff or
very specialty types of things. They normally don't get down to the level
of the person actually making the stuff. They'll be talking to the
contractors. Only when something weird comes up (a spiraling stair case
support pole that's a segmented piece with huge fluting wrapping around it
up to 12' tall comes to mind g), is when an architect might need to talk
with a woodturner about the project or hire them directly. There are
exceptions, of course, but that's been my experience and those turners that
I've talked to so far that have done this type of work.

Oh yeah, home and urban historical societies can be a good resource for work
I heard too. In areas where that type of architecture is prevalent, you can
introduce yourself to them and they'll keep your name on file for those
cases where either homeowners/buisness owners or contractors coming into the
area talk with the society for advice or to get their approval on changes.
No problem of that here but I've heard other turners talk about that in the
Eastern US.


This is just a start. Hope it goes well for you,

- Andrew



"Owen Davies" wrote in message
...
Does anyone here specialize in architectural turning? I am curious
about it as a business. Feels like it should be a steadier, more
profitable way to earn a living than most of what turners do. If anyone
could provide some insights into the market and earning potential, I'd
much appreciate anything you are willing to say about it.

Thanks.

Owen Davies