Lots of road kill timber of various species on my street lately due to
pre-hurricane clean ups, so I turned several weed pots. On some I
drilled a 5/8" hole, on some I drilled a hole large enough to hold a 1
3/4 X 6 in. glass olive bottle, others were in between. On three I got
carried away and hollowed them out to about 3/8 in. walls.

The pots all differed in weight relative to size and form, depending on
the species, how wet and how hollow. I asked friends to predict the
relative weight before picking them up and in particular note if there
were any surprises re what was expected before the pot was held and
caressed. Also if the surprise was pleasing or not. There was no
consensus at all, not even a trend. Certainly, "too heavy" wasn't
suggested any more often than "too light" or vice versa. Actually, very
little was mentioned about either.

We turners somehow believe we can predict and we know we can feel any
esthetic disparity or discontinuity in what we expect the weight of a
turned object to be. This was a very flawed experiment and maybe many
people can surmise by intuition. Do we predict the weight by having
lifted hundreds of vessels and recognizing the density of a timber?
Maybe because the smaller the opening usually the lighter the
vessel...or do we just believe that we are clairvoyant?

I'm sure you have all picked up a vessel and been unpleasantly surprised
at its weight, whether high or low. Could you have predicted it? I
wonder how? OTOH, what has been your experience re the public's
recognition of this discordance and do they care very much?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Hi Arch

I am surprised by the weight of wood frequently, not that it is too
heavy or too light, but by the difference of what I expected the wood
would weigh. G

Then there is that one time in particular where the weight of a hollow
turning was disconcerting and my reaction to it, My LOML and I were at
a artist house with whom we had traded a painting for a turning and she
had a very good looking hollow form turning in her collection, and of
course I had to pick it up, and my flippant reaction of "Oh no it's too
heavy".
The hollow form had a very nice shape, and the openings edge was quite
thin and the form was finished well, so I expected the form to be
mostly thinner, however when I lifted it up I felt all this weight in
the bottom half of the form, it just felt bad.

My experience is that most people are more often discomforted by too
light than too heavy, they will be afraid of breaking something if it
is very light, and seem not bothered much by a turning that could be
lighter than it is.



Arch wrote:
Lots of road kill timber of various species on my street lately due to
pre-hurricane clean ups, so I turned several weed pots. On some I
drilled a 5/8" hole, on some I drilled a hole large enough to hold a 1
3/4 X 6 in. glass olive bottle, others were in between. On three I got
carried away and hollowed them out to about 3/8 in. walls.

The pots all differed in weight relative to size and form, depending on
the species, how wet and how hollow. I asked friends to predict the
relative weight before picking them up and in particular note if there
were any surprises re what was expected before the pot was held and
caressed. Also if the surprise was pleasing or not. There was no
consensus at all, not even a trend. Certainly, "too heavy" wasn't
suggested any more often than "too light" or vice versa. Actually, very
little was mentioned about either.

We turners somehow believe we can predict and we know we can feel any
esthetic disparity or discontinuity in what we expect the weight of a
turned object to be. This was a very flawed experiment and maybe many
people can surmise by intuition. Do we predict the weight by having
lifted hundreds of vessels and recognizing the density of a timber?
Maybe because the smaller the opening usually the lighter the
vessel...or do we just believe that we are clairvoyant?

I'm sure you have all picked up a vessel and been unpleasantly surprised
at its weight, whether high or low. Could you have predicted it? I
wonder how? OTOH, what has been your experience re the public's
recognition of this discordance and do they care very much?


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Hi Leo, Thanks for responding. Although your friend is an artist and not
typical of the general public, I would like to know if she felt the same
as you did about the disconcerting weight of the piece. Probably not or
it wouldn't be in her collection...unless perhaps for the maker's name.
Not a Vanderloo, but right up there.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Hi Arch

Yes she knew, but loved it for it's looks, apparently she got it from a
turner she knew and the price was right also.

Maybe it was something like, if you like a painting, do you not like it
when the back of the frame does not look right ???

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


Arch wrote:
Hi Leo, Thanks for responding. Although your friend is an artist and not
typical of the general public, I would like to know if she felt the same
as you did about the disconcerting weight of the piece. Probably not or
it wouldn't be in her collection...unless perhaps for the maker's name.
Not a Vanderloo, but right up there.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings