(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