(I'm cross posting this to WoodCentral and rec.crafts.woodturning
because there are knowledgable folks who only participate in one of
these turning forums.)

When you use a tool a LOT you get very familiar with it - how it behaves
in different situations, what you need to do to get it TO BEHAVE, when
NOT to use it - and how to get it to do things it probably wasn't
intended to do.

I've upgraded my 8 year old Mac G3 to a new Mac Mini and the pseudo CAD
drawing program that I've been using since probably 1990 can't be
migrated to the new computer. With 18 years of experience with
SuperPaint I can practially make it talk - and juggle - while doing
cartwheels. If you've been to my woodworking site and poked around
you've seen some of my line drawing illustrations. While it's only a 2D
drawing program, my high school drafting class gave me enough of the
basics to be able to do 2 1/2D drawings of just about anything I can
think of - though it can be tedious and time consuming sometimes - an
isometric drawing of a through dovetailed drawer being an example of
tedious and time consuming.

So now, on the new computer, I'm climbing the learning curve of
SketchUp, which is a VERY powerful 3D program, and for turners, the
"FOLLOW ME" tool is pretty amazing, letting you "virtually turn" ideas,
quickly changing proportions and shapes - and see an idea from any
perspective. And after watching hours of web videos on how to use it,
and probably 30 hours playing with it, it's starting to become
familiar. I can go get the tool or function I need without having to
search for it amongst the myriad of menus, pop ups, pull downs and
contextual menus. And I'm starting to use keyboard shortcuts
intuitively.

BUT - here's the problem. When I go back to my old computer to use
SuperPaint because SketchUp doesn't let you combine text and graphics
very well - I find myself trying to use SketchUp keyboard shortcuts and
techniques with SuperPaint. And when I get back to intuitively working
with SuperPaint, then go back to SketchUp, I have the same problem -
intuitive things from SuperPaint either don't work in SketchUp, or do
something completely different. I can only imagine how tricky life must
be for a schizophrenic.

Here's how all that applies to turning. I've been using a small
roughing gouge, a couple of curved edge skew chisels, a spearpoint 1/4"
parting tool and a 1/16th inch bayonet saw blade I've ground to a thin
parting tool (STILL haven't put a "real handle" on it because the
wrapped paper towel handle works). I've done a LOT of between centers
stuff (every kid I know has at least one magic wand) with these tools
and five or six dozen lidded boxes, dozens of plates and bowls and MOST
of 20 or 30 small hollow forms, the inside hollowing I cn't do with a
1/2 inch skew being done with an angles carbide cutter silver soldered
into a shaft at an angle to allow undercutting.

Now I'm playing with the MiniMonster captured system. Completely
different way of doing things relative to the skew and how I used IT to
hollow. Because a captured system, by intent and design, limits
dynamically changing the angle of the cutting edge relative to the wood
it's easy to forget about that - until you go back to turning with a
skew. With a skew you're changing the cut constantly and using the
bevel to control the depth of cut. I COULD do the skew equivalent of
whistling while juggling and doing a cartwheel. But after a few hours
with the MiniMonster and then returning to the skew there's some
recalibrating necessary before I can get it to do what I want without 15
minutes of Paying Attention.

What use to be Think It - Do It is going back to Think It - Figure Out
How - Tentatively Try - Rethink It - Try Again. The flow of things gets
interrupted by all that thinking and hesitating - with results that look
like the proverbial "horse designed by a committee - the camel".

The MiniMonster is great for the inside of bowls and hollow forms. But
there's a temptation to use it for other things, probably things it
wasn't intended to do, like the outside shaping. Maybe it's an Inertia
thing - keep going with the tool at hand, even when you shouldn't. And
when you go back to using the tool you SHOULD use, some of that inertia
from the previous tool carries over and gets misapplied to the new tool.

Have you got any tips or tricks for transitioning as you significantly
change from tool to tool?

How do you avoid the Inertia Trap - keep using a tool when you probably
shouldn't?

charile b

Hi Charlie, good post. I forget who wrote "You Can't Go Home Again", but
it's often true. Your dilemma with old skews and new hollowers reminds
me of my troubles & woes with old glasses and new shoes.

I can see better with the old specs and the old shoes sure are
comfortable. The new specs are blurry and the new shoes pinch. If the
new set up really is right, the only way I know is to persevere,
forgetting an old friend and you'll soon find the new one is better and
now the old blurs & pinches ...but you already know that.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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

(Arch) wrote:

Hi Charlie, good post. I forget who wrote "You Can't Go Home Again",

Thomas Wolfe. Home left the day you did.

but it's often true. Your dilemma with old skews and new hollowers
reminds me of my troubles & woes with old glasses and new shoes.

I can see better with the old specs and the old shoes sure are
comfortable. The new specs are blurry and the new shoes pinch. If the
new set up really is right, the only way I know is to persevere,
forgetting an old friend and you'll soon find the new one is better
and now the old blurs & pinches ...but you already know that.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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

On Jul 3, 10:05 am, charlieb wrote:

SNIP

Have you got any tips or tricks for transitioning as you significantly
change from tool to tool?

How do you avoid the Inertia Trap - keep using a tool when you probably
shouldn't?

Very interesting post, Charlie. I have certainly noticed that
quandary over the years as a problem.

I have certain saws that I just simply like using more than others,
and will try to do too much with them rather than to go get the right
saw, or the saw that is set up properly. For example, I have a older
Milwaukee saw that has enough low end torque to pull the bumper off a
truck; but it does not cut as smoothly as my Makita trim saw.

It won't bog down, doesn't overheat, and it feels really good in my
hand as I have used this older Milwaukee saw and its grip design for
about 30 years. I like it; we are like old friends, and this is my
3rd saw of this particular model. But for some reason, regardless of
blade type cutting speed, etc., this saw doesn't track or cut as well
as the aforementioned Makita.

The Makita was purpose bought by me as I needed a saw to cut off doors
as needed to fit them into existing frames. Doors splinter and tear
unexpectedly these days as the micro fine veneers and the over dried
crap wood they make them off is so crispy and brittle that even
scoring the cut doesn't help.

I bought three Makitas (and returned 2) before I got the one I
wanted. It tracks almost perfectly, and with a new Freud blade in it
I can cut most doors without scoring - it is that accurate. With a
guide, it rarely leaves a score mark on the cut surface.

But I LIKE using my old faithful Milwaukee. I am remembering the days
when I didn't have enough money for two saws, and the Milwaukee was my
right hand as a beginning carpenter. So it is habit AND preference.

So... how do I remember to change? I was cutting a piece of crap door
to accept a high rise threshold I installed at a client's house. The
door looked to be in pretty good shape and I figured that I was
cutting up far enough to get away from the dried edges. I installed
the threshold and was ready to get out of there. Before I had enough $
$ to have a few saws, I used the Milwaukee for everything, including
cutting and sizing doors so I thought nothing of using it that day.
Even though I had bought the Makita and coated blades
specifically to cut doors. But when I cut this door with the MW
saw, it lifted up the veneer and tore it up. Ouch.

All along the bottom of the door I could see the score marks where the
Milwaukee had moved just a bit, corresponding to the veneer tears. I
wound up refinishing the door. All I could think about the next day
was how stupid I was for doing that as I had the damn Makita in the
truck.
If that had been an employee I would have reamed a hole in him big
enough to drive truck through.

Learning lesson #1: Laziness, old habits and silly preferences cost
me money. Not good. But I am a fast learner when it affects my
pocket book.

A few years ago I acquired a Henry Taylor spindle gouge that I just
loved. It was a strange tool as the flute was a little too deep for
most spindle work but it still worked great. But the deeper flute was
also almost a bowl gouge, but not quite. But it still worked well as
a bowl gouge.

Then I decided to go to more aggressive grinds on my tools. To that
point I had been sharpening by hand, and was pretty happy with the
work the tools did. But about '99 or so, I used a bowl gouge with an
Ellsworth grind on it. And the guy that was using the gouge used it
for everything! Wow!

I went home, ground off a quarter inch or so (seemed like it, anyway)
and had myself an Ellsworth grind. This was much more aggressive than
I was used to, so I was being careful. But it went well and my
confidence grew.

I should add here that I like to "end turn". (You can probably see
where this is going...). I was happily shaving away and the new
grind did a splendid job on the outside of the little vase. It did a
wonderful job on the first pass or two when i started to hollow it
out.

Then suddenly, I got the most bone jarring, teeth shattering catch I
ever had. It honestly sounded like a gunshot. I was really rattled,
and stepped away from the lathe as the wildly wobbling vase looked
like it was ready to fly off. I unplugged the lathe rather than to
get close enough to turn it off.

After I caught myself, I surveyed the damage. The vase? Ruined. The
lathe and chuck, OK. Kudos to VicMarc. The tool rest had a large
dent in it, but that wasn't more than I could file out. But my spiffy
little gouge? It was bent about 1 1/2" from the handle to the tip,
the ferrule was split from front to back, and the handle was cracked.

I KNEW better, but I did it anyway. No end grain turning the way I
was doing it, using the tool with the grind I had on it. But I was
having fun using my old favorite, and didn't want to get my bowl
gouge.

Learning lesson #2: Being lazy can get you hurt. Being lazy can ruin
your tools. Being lazy can cost you money to replace tools. (See
Lesson #1 about money)

Here's what I do to make sure I break the cycle:

It will sound silly, but the only way I have been able to make sure I
am on the right track with the right tool and stay there is to think
of the consequences first.

Second, and this is what carries the day for me, is to use the right
tool for the job. Sounds easy, right? Sometimes it isn't for me.

But now when I turn (or do any other multiple process tasks for that
matter), I make sure that in my mind I divide the job into processes.
When I am through with a task and its assigned tool, I switch to the
next process and its tool. I lay out the proper tools to use next to
the lathe so I don't have to take but two steps to get them. It
sounds silly, but I think the task through before starting and lay out
the tools like a surgeon before starting.

I found for me that at least part of my reluctance to change tools is
laziness. I am having fun turning with the tool in my hand and don't
want to change. But if your mind set is that you are at the end of a
"process" then it isn't a problem. You finished one task and are now
moving on to another.

So when I finish roughing, I put the roughing gouge down and change to
spindle or bowl gouge tool and mentality. When I have gotten closer
to shape, I change tools again, and in my mind I automatically change
processes.

This helps a lot when I have a decorated rim bowl, that has me go from
one type of gouge to another as in my mind I have shifted gears after
identifying the new process. I shape the outside with the bowl gouge
and then cut grooves or beads with the spindle gouge. I don't give it
a second thought.

As always, your mileage may vary.

I would be interested to see how others handle this as well.

Robert

Great post, good writing, easy reading, Robert. I bet the real estate
ads in your town brag "Built by Robert ___". Wish your company had done
my doors.

As to bowl rims, mine are mostly functional so I like them flared enough
for a good grip for passing around the table. Probably not kosher, but
I use a skew instead of a gouge wherever possible.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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

Arch,
There is one thing you can tell quickly about a true craftsman...... PRIDE
in their work. Robert, Mac, Darrell, Fred, and you speak with pride in all
you share with us. Maybe its your years of experience behind the lathe (or
other power tools) and learning from the mistakes you've made, or the
natural God given gift of turning a piece of wood into something beautiful
and desirable by others. My grand dad has that ability.
I've had the luxury of being around a few true craftsmen in my time. Their
ability to use tools was amazing at times. My grand dad for instance, could
taking a piece of baling wire and repair or build anything. When a hammer
wasn't readily available, he would use the ratchet in his hand to hammer
whatever it was into place. He could use a saber saw as most would use a
skil saw. But comfort with his tools is also his failing. 4 years ago he
managed to lay a 2X4 across his knee and saw though his leg.
I think Charlie's post falls more and more into the area of becoming TOO
comfortable with ones tools. Too often I catch myself using a tool in a way
that it shouldn't be. I haven't yet been hurt doing so, but time will catch
up with me. Learning to use a new tool is similar to using an old tool in a
bad way. Learning to use the new tool is something I dread doing. I'd rather
use the tool I'm comfortable with to do the job I know it wasn't built to
do, than to switch to the proper tool for the job. Perhaps it boils down to
being lazy, but I make excuses like the handle doesn't feel right or its too
heavy (or not heavy enough) or I can do it better with this tool.
When I do fianlly switch tools and force myself to learn how to use it, I
wonder why I didn't switch earlier. Then, when I feel comfortable with the
new tool, I find myself reluctant not to use the tool for everything. I know
it works, I know I can do it with this tool, and I can, hopefully, not lose
a finger while doing it.
Well, thats my spill on the topic.
JD

--
He that will make a good use of any part
of his life must allow a large portion of it
to recreation.
- John Locke

"Arch" wrote in message
...
Great post, good writing, easy reading, Robert. I bet the real estate
ads in your town brag "Built by Robert ___". Wish your company had done
my doors.

As to bowl rims, mine are mostly functional so I like them flared enough
for a good grip for passing around the table. Probably not kosher, but
I use a skew instead of a gouge wherever possible.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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