Big John wrote:
All interesting comments. From my corner of the shop. I once started
carving shore birds and ducks as a hobby in my leisure time --loved it--
had the house full, gave them to all my friends who expressed an
interest, then one day someone said "what would you charge to make me a
pair of these". OK, seemed fair enough, then it was "I need three of
this and so, and I want them for Christmas presents (it's 15 November)".
suddenly I was overwhelmed with commitments I didn't want to meet, it
became a chore, I got grouchy (I'm told), and finally my wife said "I
think you should just quit the bird business.

Bottom line, I haven't carved a bird in 5 years, except in secret - and
to meet my specs and on my schedule. Commercializing ruined a good hobby
--took all the fun out of it!!

jrw


mac davis wrote:

On Wed, 25 May 2005 15:33:06 -0500, "Kevin" wrote:


I'd like to thank all of those who responded with comments. Many were
confirmations of what I already thought while others brought to mind new
ideas. Having a hobby transform itself over time into a job may work
in some
cases, that is, still remain enjoyable. I do like the idea of
donating to
churches and such for the purpose of raffling. I did have an idea of
turning a few dozen candle holders and giving them to my church for
gifts to
parents of the newly baptized. I suspect that before we have to rent
storage for the bowls and other output I will have ample
opportunities to
give away/donate items. Now if some of the folks would like to
actually
purchase, well there is that new bowl gouge I saw on the Packard site
....

thanks,
-k


IMHO, that's a good choice...
The thing that I hope that I never give up is not only the enjoyment
of turning,
but the freedom to take as much or as little time on a turning as I
want to..

I just don't think it would be much fun to be "on the clock" and be
worrying
about spending too much time on a bowl or something to be profitable..
YMMV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing
I do sell my work but I do not take orders for special items and I turn
only what I want to. I did take an order once but I did not like the
deadline commitment nor turning some design that I was not to fond of
doing. I may not make a living this way but I'm happy with what I'm
doing and I get a bit of extra cash for wood, tools and such things.