"Doc Font" wrote in message
...
Is there a way to determine the esthetics of a turned table leg,
banister or spoke in a wheel? Is there a mathematical formula for
proportions or is it just in the eyeball of the woodworker and
experience? Do you determine how deep a cut can be by the minimum
strength needed by the part, cut to depth and then shape the rest of the
part?

I don't want to end up with something that looks like a stack of wooden
balls. Do some of you experienced turners start with a sketch on graph
paper or something?

If I am going to make a bunch of identical parts, is it better to grind
something like a half round in a piece of tool steel so I can use it to
make the same shape in the same place each time and the parts will
match?

Has to be good enough, or maybe a bit better to do the job it's intended
for, so that's the starting point.

Though they won't admit it, I bet most people start with someone else's
idea. I know I do. That's my "pleasing" to the eye. I make my changes in
pencil, then I take it to the house critic. If Susan approves, I'm good for
modification and turning.

As to duplicating tools, it's hardly worth the effort. There are a number
of techniques from caliper and parting tool to shadows and sightlines for
near-duplication. I'm a caliper and part type, others different.