While I'm a regular reader and infrequent poster over at the rec.woodworking
news group. I'm a newbie here.

After years of asking me "Why don't you get a lathe?" my beloved bride took the
problem into her own hands. There was a Jet JWL-1642-2EVS under the tree.

Well, sort of. It is supposed to be delivered in a week or so. I can hardly
wait. I've always been interested in turning, but thought I had enough to learn
in the flat arena.

Thanks in advance for all the advice I'm going to get here, and thanks for
putting up with a double gloat (lathe and bride).

-- Doug

Doug:

There may be a method in her madness. Flatwork requires a fair amount
of stationary equiptment which, in turn, require a fair amount of floor
space. Then there are all the hand held power tools AND hand held hand
tools. And flatwork requires a lot more wood than turned work (she
apparently isn't aware of the need for piles and piles of drying logs
and logettes and "turned green waiting to dry for final turning) - along
with space to store it. Then there's the noise and sawdust issue -
turning is quiet - relatively speaking (turn on a planer or router).

You'll soon discover that turning is the Crack Cocaine of woodworking
- relatively inexpensive, almost instant rush (relative to making a
dresser or credenza), an infinite number of possibilities. So coat
your other stationary tools with cosmoline because, other than your
table saw a miter saw, they're going to be sitting unused for a while.
And that 4/4 and 3/4" maple, mahogany, ash, beech etc. wide boards
you've got stashed away. They'll get cut up for turning blanks and
segments of segmented pieces.

Be prepared to justify a second, third and fourth scroll chuck - AND
all the "extra - when your bride asks "You've already got a chuck. WHY
do you need another one?" And be prepared to answer her other
question "You've already got more turning gouges and chisel than any
person would ever need - so WHY do you "need" another one?".

Now if she's already asking "Why are you starting another project
when my coffee table isn't done yet?" expect her to ask similar
questions about all those "turned green and drying" pieces sitting
on shelves everywhere and the piece you're working on at the moment.

Oh - and if she was less than pleased with all the sawdust and chips
flat work generates - she's gonna love the copious quantities of
chips and curlies that turning generates. With flat work maybe 10
percent of what you started with ends up as scraps and sawdust.
With turning, 90 to 95 percent ends up - all over hell.

If she's already noting finish and stain stains on your shop clothes,
she's REALLY going to notice them once you start finishing your
turnings. Finishing with the piece turning at 500 to 1000 rpms
can fling the finish a LONG ways - all over hell.

I'm betting that with flatwork, you've never glued two or more
of your fingers/thumbs together. That will change once you start
using CA/Super Glue. Try and look helpless and pitiful when you
do that. Better to go for sympathy than ridicule / hysterical
laughter.

Woodworking has so many slippery slopes. Turning is the steap,
Teflon coated slippery slope. Enjoy the exhilerating ride - and
know there is no bottom of this slope - it goes on FOREVER!

charlie b

Welcome, Doug, to the zoo. Remember , "My anme is Doug and I have a
problem...."
Seriously, this is the most addictive form of wood working ever. However, a
welcoming word while you wait for the lathe. It needs tools and they need
sharpening more than any others in the shop. I have seen me sharpen a gouge
every minute for a plywood bowl (notice I hardly ever turn plywood?) The
sharpening technique is different than that of any other tool in the shop.
While you wait for the lathe, make a sharpening jig. Trust me on this one.
Keep your wife happy by not having her listen to you complain about the
butcher job you do on your new gouges. We have all been there. Come on over
to the site and make the jig. I have nothing to sell, but there is a free
video. http://www.aroundthewoods.com/sharpening01.html
Have fun and keep us posted on the new lathe.
Happy New Year

--
God bless and safe turning
Darrell Feltmate
Truro, NS Canada
http://aroundthewoods.com
http://roundopinions.blogspot.com
"charlieb" wrote in message
...
Doug:

There may be a method in her madness. Flatwork requires a fair amount
of stationary equiptment which, in turn, require a fair amount of floor
space. Then there are all the hand held power tools AND hand held hand
tools. And flatwork requires a lot more wood than turned work (she
apparently isn't aware of the need for piles and piles of drying logs
and logettes and "turned green waiting to dry for final turning) - along
with space to store it. Then there's the noise and sawdust issue -
turning is quiet - relatively speaking (turn on a planer or router).

You'll soon discover that turning is the Crack Cocaine of woodworking
- relatively inexpensive, almost instant rush (relative to making a
dresser or credenza), an infinite number of possibilities. So coat
your other stationary tools with cosmoline because, other than your
table saw a miter saw, they're going to be sitting unused for a while.
And that 4/4 and 3/4" maple, mahogany, ash, beech etc. wide boards
you've got stashed away. They'll get cut up for turning blanks and
segments of segmented pieces.

Be prepared to justify a second, third and fourth scroll chuck - AND
all the "extra - when your bride asks "You've already got a chuck. WHY
do you need another one?" And be prepared to answer her other
question "You've already got more turning gouges and chisel than any
person would ever need - so WHY do you "need" another one?".

Now if she's already asking "Why are you starting another project
when my coffee table isn't done yet?" expect her to ask similar
questions about all those "turned green and drying" pieces sitting
on shelves everywhere and the piece you're working on at the moment.

Oh - and if she was less than pleased with all the sawdust and chips
flat work generates - she's gonna love the copious quantities of
chips and curlies that turning generates. With flat work maybe 10
percent of what you started with ends up as scraps and sawdust.
With turning, 90 to 95 percent ends up - all over hell.

If she's already noting finish and stain stains on your shop clothes,
she's REALLY going to notice them once you start finishing your
turnings. Finishing with the piece turning at 500 to 1000 rpms
can fling the finish a LONG ways - all over hell.

I'm betting that with flatwork, you've never glued two or more
of your fingers/thumbs together. That will change once you start
using CA/Super Glue. Try and look helpless and pitiful when you
do that. Better to go for sympathy than ridicule / hysterical
laughter.

Woodworking has so many slippery slopes. Turning is the steap,
Teflon coated slippery slope. Enjoy the exhilerating ride - and
know there is no bottom of this slope - it goes on FOREVER!

charlie b

On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 11:00:24 -0600, Douglas Johnson wrote:

While I'm a regular reader and infrequent poster over at the rec.woodworking
news group. I'm a newbie here.

After years of asking me "Why don't you get a lathe?" my beloved bride took the
problem into her own hands. There was a Jet JWL-1642-2EVS under the tree.

Well, sort of. It is supposed to be delivered in a week or so. I can hardly
wait. I've always been interested in turning, but thought I had enough to learn
in the flat arena.

Thanks in advance for all the advice I'm going to get here, and thanks for
putting up with a double gloat (lathe and bride).

-- Doug

WOW.. quite a newbie lathe, Doug!

My brother just moved up to that same lathe from his 1442VS, which is the lathe
that I use...
He really likes it and it should be very good to you... have a ball, just be
safe, ok?

Oh..
welcome to the addiction......


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Dec 26, 12:00*pm, Douglas Johnson wrote:

After years of asking me "Why don't you get a lathe?" my beloved bride took the
problem into her own hands. *There was a Jet JWL-1642-2EVS under the tree.

-- Doug

Hi Doug, I say send er back. (the lathe not the bride)
Call up tomorrow and cancel that order. Once you start woodturning the
woodworking will take a back seat.
Just today I pulled out a shaker clock that I started building 8-9
years ago to see what I needed to finish it up. It's the first flat
woodworking I've done in all this time. Well except for building
stands for my lathes, shelves for blanks and racks for turning tools.
Tomorrow I'm going to set the clock back in the corner where it's
spent the last 9 years because I have woodturnings I want to work on.
The upside is the clock will be an antique by the time I finish it.
You've been warned! :-) Bob
http://www.outofcontrol-woodturning.com