wrote in message
oups.com...
Arch wrote:

I even wonder if too much dogmatic
turning advice could sometimes hinder our progress and ruin our fun?

You pegged my turning club. They turn bowls. Then for fun, they turn
more bowls. Then they talk about bowls. The consider form, shape,
technique, finishing, wood selection and anything else that could
pertain to ...... bowls.

They will not experiment, nor will they try new things. We had a great
demonstrator come to the meeting last time, and by gawd, I thought he
would be a slam bang hit. You see, he turns bowls. BUT.... he
decorates his bowls. He dyes them; he carves on them; he even put gold
leaf on one that night. The group couldn't wait for him to leave
because he didn't turn bowls the way they think they should be done.

Thin walled, shiny finish (necesary to brag about how many coats of XXX
you put on and how you sanded to 12,000 grit) and not useful in any
respect. The perfect bowl.

Their minds are closed, and their imagination is shut down. I turn
bowls, boxes, lamp finials, fan pulls, mushroms, ornaments, an
occasional pen, gavels, carving mallets, some treen ware and anything
else that catches my fancy.

I make some of my own drive madrels, some of my own tools, I experiment
with things like forced spalting, and make all of my own finishes.

But I will definitely be the outsider at the club meeting Thursday
because when show and tell comes... I won't have a bowl.

I guess the good news is that there will be plenty of them there to
look at as the rest of the club thinks that is all there is to turn on
a lathe.

Robert
===========================

That's really a sad, SAD story! So much more they could be doing to expand
their capabilities.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.