I think you should try to do your best all the time. People have different
levels of skill and one should work with in that range occatioally pushing
your self to advace, but that is not on every job or project. I have have
been working in my job occupation for a long time. When management wants
something fast and you throw it together or you repeatedly have to redo
things your craftmenship starts to slip and your work goes down. It has
happened to me. That gets to be the norm and you have to push yourself to
get back in the groove. I now try to do the best and temp work I make look
like temp work so it has to be redone. At the end of the day you are the
one who has to look at it and be satisfied.

Bruce
"Arch" wrote in message
...
Excellent work doesn't arise 'de nouveau'.
Fine turnings result from hard work and attention to detail. At least I
think that's true. Question: where is it written that to advance, we
must always do the best we can? Answer: Everywhere.

Almost every instructional demo, article or posting admonishes us to
turn at our max and strive for even higher, no exceptions. It appears
that anything less is anathema and the attitude of a flawed woodturner.

Reasonably good but less than best may be unacceptable, even for
production work, but this isn't about turning 50 fine bannisters or a
superior one-off object. It's about sloppy turning, happy and
unfettered. Is it wrong to just have fun with no need to eternally reach
for unattainable perfection?

Forget art vs craft, grind vs hone, peel vs punch, and all that;
carefree vs compulsive is the debate du jour. If there are no rules, no
always, no nevers and no turning police, am I a heretic for not trying
for my best at the lathe every time?

Is this a fault of one carefree underachiever or are there other
part-time slobs out there? If so, can the compulsive overachievers ever
understand us? Moreover, who cares?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



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