Today I feel like the guy who innocently starts an argument then moves
to the end of the bar, quietly sips his beer and watches the fight. Of
course that's not true, I'm too young to be served beer in a bar.


Anyway here's some perennial turner's differences and personal wisdom
for y'all to fight over. Meanwhile I'll just sit & sip a cold bud. If
only Robert were here, we'd have barbecue with our beers and shoot nails
instead of darts since neither of us is doing any turning these days.
Dang!


How come it's ok to bang the knock-out bar hard to get a stuck Morse
taper out of the spindle, but banging a spindle blank onto a spur center
is a big no-no and supposed to hurt the bearings?


Do hollow turnings really need to have skinny thin walls? How does a
customer or giftee know those are gossamer walls when the piece is up on
a shelf too high to reach? Does she care? Most turners seem to care a
lot, but get around it by calling their thick walled pieces "bud
vases". Sometimes (most) I don't care either.


What about bottoms? (the bowl's, not the customer's). Do they need to
be smoother than an infant's bottom and decorated like a Roman fountain?
Real turners think they do, real customers don't seem to care that much.


Perfect tool bevels sure look nice, but funny how those ugly facets and
cross grinds will cut pretty well so long as the edge is sharp and it's
a good turning day.


Didja ever warm up before starting on an expensive exotic blank by
turning coves and beads on a chunk of scrap and wind up making of the
best pieces you ever turned out of that scrap.


Used sandpaper might not cut, but it sure seems to finish & smooth
things up. Well, sometimes it does. I use sandpaper like it's a toxic
loan. The best quality and lots of it was forced on me. Yeah, sure!


They say close only counts in horseshoes, but dontcha think maybe
sometimes close is good enough. Must we always sand to 3000 without
skipping a grit? Of course, I always do. Sure, again!


Ain't it ok to tarnish a turning's golden ratio on occasion? A perfect
10 is nice for women, but a lovely personality wears better. Usually the
same thing is true about a bowl with perfect curves, but the salad keeps
falling out.


Small feet and narrow ankles may be good to look at, but a tippy bowl is
an abomination. The turner's an agent of the devil and ought to be shot.
So say we all.


A high gloss finish may be about as natural as a vinyl rug, but most
people do like a shiny bowl. If truth be told most of us do too. I
prefer the natural look of wood so I hide my can of gloss lacquer.


A pristine shop and a gleaming lathe are a sure sign of an armchair
turner with dull tools and a storebought salad bowl.


A sad sight is watching a local expert
show you how to sharpen your brand new bowl gouge as your expensive
steel is rapidly disappearing as he pontificates.


Like trying to keep squirrels from getting to the bird's seeds, no
matter what you do some bowls are going to crack. We all know which ones
or we soon will, but hope springs eternal and we keep on calling our
cracked abortions fine art.


Maybe some day we can change lead into gold, but there will never be a
stain that can change slash pine into pink ivory or even black walnut.
Maybe cheap ebony, if you can stand the smell of vinegar and iron
filings.


Do people really pay that much for some of the work I see priced on some
web sites? No turning can be bad enough that someone won't buy it, but
the price just might be bad enough to break that rule. Clunky
candlesticks live under the banner of pricy shabby chic!


I've almost finished my beer, but I'll throw one more splinter in the
fi To paint, fenestrate, scallop, add metal, waterboard and
generally wreak acts of torture on a bowl is against international
law, even if the poor thing is released and later on terrorizes a museum
or results in a sale.


My beer bottle is empty and I'm running for cover. Oh, BTW, if you turn
a nice exotic wood beer or wine bottle it's ok to paste paper lables on
it. That's real art.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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

"Arch" wrote in message
...


Today I feel like the guy who innocently starts an argument then moves
to the end of the bar, quietly sips his beer and watches the fight. Of
course that's not true, I'm too young to be served beer in a bar.

That's known as "Let's you and him fight. Here, I'll hold your coat."



Anyway here's some perennial turner's differences and personal wisdom
for y'all to fight over. Meanwhile I'll just sit & sip a cold bud. If

Bud? I thought you said Beer.

only Robert were here, we'd have barbecue with our beers and shoot nails
instead of darts since neither of us is doing any turning these days.
Dang!

Pellet gun and a bunch of plastic milk cartons full of water. Can't imagine
what the recyclers think when they get those riddled bottles.



How come it's ok to bang the knock-out bar hard to get a stuck Morse
taper out of the spindle, but banging a spindle blank onto a spur center
is a big no-no and supposed to hurt the bearings?

Different end, Arch. Be like brushing your teeth with a Fleets.



Do hollow turnings really need to have skinny thin walls? How does a
customer or giftee know those are gossamer walls when the piece is up on
a shelf too high to reach? Does she care? Most turners seem to care a
lot, but get around it by calling their thick walled pieces "bud
vases". Sometimes (most) I don't care either.

Never got to 'gossamer'. Got close to real thin once and it broke.



What about bottoms? (the bowl's, not the customer's). Do they need to
be smoother than an infant's bottom and decorated like a Roman fountain?
Real turners think they do, real customers don't seem to care that much.

I see a lot of real customers looking at the bottoms, but I think they're
either looking for the price or the 'Made In China' stamp. I usually shut my
eyes and run my fingers over the bottom (the bowl's). My fingers can tell me
a lot more than my eyes sometimes. Was an apprentice safe cracker in high
school - about 55 years ago (why'd you have to bring this up). Used to be
able to pop the combination lock on any locker in about 30 seconds - or
maybe a minute ...



Perfect tool bevels sure look nice, but funny how those ugly facets and
cross grinds will cut pretty well so long as the edge is sharp and it's
a good turning day.


Didja ever warm up before starting on an expensive exotic blank by
turning coves and beads on a chunk of scrap and wind up making of the
best pieces you ever turned out of that scrap.

P A I N T

That ought to get Somebody riled ...

"Arch" wrote in message
...


Today I feel like the guy who innocently starts an argument then moves
to the end of the bar, quietly sips his beer and watches the fight. Of
course that's not true, I'm too young to be served beer in a bar.


Anyway here's some perennial turner's differences and personal wisdom
for y'all to fight over. Meanwhile I'll just sit & sip a cold bud. If
only Robert were here, we'd have barbecue with our beers and shoot nails
instead of darts since neither of us is doing any turning these days.
Dang!


How come it's ok to bang the knock-out bar hard to get a stuck Morse
taper out of the spindle, but banging a spindle blank onto a spur center
is a big no-no and supposed to hurt the bearings?

I have an automotive back ground, may I suggest that banging a Morse taper
out of spindle causes an immediate release when it comes out. Typically for
me a single slap of the rod does the trick. Additionally the roller
bearings and races move away from each when force is applied in this
dirrection. You don't turn with pressure applied in this direction so the
normal critical surfaces are basically not touching each other. Roller
bearings tend to be a bit loose fitting when not under operating pressure.
Grease or some type of lubricant does what you would expect and keeps them
quiet, and keeps them from rattleing.
OTOH if you bang the spindle blank onto a spur center the spur center is
transmitting lots of force/energy, way way more than normal, from the
banging directly to the bearing. This time however you are applying
pressure from the banging in the same dirrection that normal operating
pressure is applied and the bearing's roller bearings and races are
violently forced together over and over until you are content with the depth
that you have reached. Doing this can cause tiny tiny indentations in the
roller bearings and races that will eventually cause premature wear.

Now then, I have referred to the bearings as having roller bearings. Roller
bearings could be round cylinders, needles, or balls. Bassically they all
roll.




Do hollow turnings really need to have skinny thin walls? How does a
customer or giftee know those are gossamer walls when the piece is up on
a shelf too high to reach? Does she care? Most turners seem to care a
lot, but get around it by calling their thick walled pieces "bud
vases". Sometimes (most) I don't care either.

Hey I am just a beginner at this, I think going for thin walls is just
showing off. :~) Huh Robert? LOL Hopefully one day I too will want thin
balls, uh er walls rather.


What about bottoms? (the bowl's, not the customer's). Do they need to
be smoother than an infant's bottom and decorated like a Roman fountain?
Real turners think they do, real customers don't seem to care that much.

See above answer immediately above, first sentence.



Perfect tool bevels sure look nice, but funny how those ugly facets and
cross grinds will cut pretty well so long as the edge is sharp and it's
a good turning day.

Is there a question?


Didja ever warm up before starting on an expensive exotic blank by
turning coves and beads on a chunk of scrap and wind up making of the
best pieces you ever turned out of that scrap.

NO! Are you suppose to warm up????



Used sandpaper might not cut, but it sure seems to finish & smooth
things up. Well, sometimes it does. I use sandpaper like it's a toxic
loan. The best quality and lots of it was forced on me. Yeah, sure!

I notice this more when using "Garnet" paper. As it wears out the natural
minerals break down, become sharp again but smaller and produce a finer
finish. More of the moder papers will last longer but will dull and not cut
well at all when they are worn.



They say close only counts in horseshoes, but dontcha think maybe
sometimes close is good enough. Must we always sand to 3000 without
skipping a grit? Of course, I always do. Sure, again!

If you don't skip a grit, sanding through to the final grit will go faster,
you don't spend excess time removing scratches from a previous grit.
Basically you are asking the paper to do too much work to remove the
previous grit scratches if you skip.




Ain't it ok to tarnish a turning's golden ratio on occasion? A perfect
10 is nice for women, but a lovely personality wears better. Usually the
same thing is true about a bowl with perfect curves, but the salad keeps
falling out.

Dang! You can do bowl's on a lather????? More to learn, more to learn.


Small feet and narrow ankles may be good to look at, but a tippy bowl is
an abomination. The turner's an agent of the devil and ought to be shot.
So say we all.

If you can't sit on when you are finished it is too weak. I test all mo
furniture this way. BIC FOT FEET MON!



A high gloss finish may be about as natural as a vinyl rug, but most
people do like a shiny bowl. If truth be told most of us do too. I
prefer the natural look of wood so I hide my can of gloss lacquer.

I think women prefer shiney objects and I would say women use what we turn
more than what most men do.



A pristine shop and a gleaming lathe are a sure sign of an armchair
turner with dull tools and a storebought salad bowl.

No worries there.



A sad sight is watching a local expert
show you how to sharpen your brand new bowl gouge as your expensive
steel is rapidly disappearing as he pontificates.

You can get some one to do that for you????? Daaaang!





Like trying to keep squirrels from getting to the bird's seeds, no
matter what you do some bowls are going to crack. We all know which ones
or we soon will, but hope springs eternal and we keep on calling our
cracked abortions fine art.

I'm gunna say, The crack was ardy there, I made the best of it.



Maybe some day we can change lead into gold, but there will never be a
stain that can change slash pine into pink ivory or even black walnut.
Maybe cheap ebony, if you can stand the smell of vinegar and iron
filings.

How bout Paint?



Do people really pay that much for some of the work I see priced on some
web sites? No turning can be bad enough that someone won't buy it, but
the price just might be bad enough to break that rule. Clunky
candlesticks live under the banner of pricy shabby chic!

I know they do when I work with boards to make square stuff. I sold a maple
jewelry chest for $1200. ALTHOUGH I did not place it on a web site.


I've almost finished my beer, but I'll throw one more splinter in the
fi To paint, fenestrate, scallop, add metal, waterboard and
generally wreak acts of torture on a bowl is against international
law, even if the poor thing is released and later on terrorizes a museum
or results in a sale.

Are you talking about what we in the furniture building business refer to as
"distressed furniture"?



My beer bottle is empty and I'm running for cover. Oh, BTW, if you turn
a nice exotic wood beer or wine bottle it's ok to paste paper lables on
it. That's real art.

I caint disagree!

"Leon" wrote: (clip) banging a Morse taper
out of spindle causes an immediate release when it comes out. Typically
for me a single slap of the rod does the trick. Additionally the roller
bearings and races move away from each when force is applied in this
dirrection. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
There, Arch! I'll bet you didn't expect such a cogent answer. And I bet
few of us could have come up with one so logical.

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:19:33 -0400, Arch wrote:

I've almost finished my beer, but I'll throw one more splinter in the
fi To paint, fenestrate, scallop, add metal, waterboard and
generally wreak acts of torture on a bowl is against international
law, even if the poor thing is released and later on terrorizes a museum
or results in a sale.

I agree, but a lot of folks in the turners club I belong to think it's
just fine. A couple just use turnings as an adjunct to carvings and
sculptures. Different strokes ...

--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

I like my bottoms elegantly plain (on my turnings of course). They
must have a nice shape but not too much ornamentation. Most people
don’t set them upside down on the shelf.

Some of my best work takes place like candid camera, when I least
expect it. Sometimes this happens when I am just practicing but most
of the time it is when I am not under the gun trying to get a specific
kind of piece turned.

My shop always looks like it is being used. That is because it is
always being used. My dad once told me that a messy shop is a sign of
genius. If that is true then I have a higher IQ then I thought.

I have had three beautiful turnings crack on me this week. I looks
like two of them will be able to be filled with a contrasting colored
wood dust and glue. These will be sold as art. The other one will be
helping me roast hotdogs in the fire pit this summer.

I like some of my turnings to have a little heft. Make them too thin
and it seems like people are not getting my money’s worth.

The rest of the saying is, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand
grenades.” I used to sand to 600 or 800. I have found that most of
my customers are more than satisfied with 320 grit. They like the
look and feel of wood. That is why they buy from me instead of the
guy making pottery.

Shiny finished wood is not always useable. Lots of my customers want
to be able to use the piece they buy for something. How much shine I
put on the piece directly depends on the purpose of the piece. I get
lots of customers telling me that they want their wood to look like
wood, not plastic.

Just some thoughts,
Ted J
thelatentlog.com

How about having the grain perfectly centered in the bowl? I won't
waste a good piece of wood just to center the grain any more than I
will cut a bowl in half to see how consistant my wall thickness is. No
one really cares, and you won't get that Taco Bell neck crook if the
grain isn't centered.
robo hippy

On Apr 23, 11:09*am, Ted wrote:
I like my bottoms elegantly plain (on my turnings of course). *They
must have a nice shape but not too much ornamentation. *Most people
don’t set them upside down on the shelf.

Some of my best work takes place like candid camera, when I least
expect it. *Sometimes this happens when I am just practicing but most
of the time it is when I am not under the gun trying to get a specific
kind of piece turned.

My shop always looks like it is being used. *That is because it is
always being used. *My dad once told me that a messy shop is a sign of
genius. *If that is true then I have a higher IQ then I thought.

I have had three beautiful turnings crack on me this week. *I looks
like two of them will be able to be filled with a contrasting colored
wood dust and glue. *These will be sold as art. *The other one will be
helping me roast hotdogs in the fire pit this summer.

I like some of my turnings to have a little heft. *Make them too thin
and it seems like people are not getting my money’s worth.

The rest of the saying is, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand
grenades.” *I used to sand to 600 or 800. *I have found that most of
my customers are more than satisfied with 320 grit. *They like the
look and feel of wood. *That is why they buy from me instead of the
guy making pottery.

Shiny finished wood is not always useable. *Lots of my customers want
to be able to use the piece they buy for something. *How much shine I
put on the piece directly depends on the purpose of the piece. *I get
lots of customers telling me that they want their wood to look like
wood, not plastic.

Just some thoughts,
Ted J
thelatentlog.com

Oh boy - he's gone and done it now!

Arch wrote:

snip

How come it's ok to bang the knock-out bar hard to get a stuck Morse
taper out of the spindle, but banging a spindle blank onto a spur center
is a big no-no and supposed to hurt the bearings?

At least with my JET mini - the knock out bar has a plastic ball on
the
end so I can't wack it with a hammer or a mallet - like I can driving
the
wood onto a drive center

Do hollow turnings really need to have skinny thin walls? How does a
customer or giftee know those are gossamer walls when the piece is up on
a shelf too high to reach? Does she care? Most turners seem to care a
lot, but get around it by calling their thick walled pieces "bud
vases". Sometimes (most) I don't care either.


Well, if the little micro-bot you're going to use to have it waddle
away
when startlet has a small carrying capacity - then weight - and
therefore
wall thickness is important.

If there's a chance of the piece cracking due to moisture changes,
thinner means the amount of dimension change is smaller.

For me, a bud vase/ weed pot just has a small hole drilled in it to
stick
a weed or flower stem in. Inside wall is straight - not following
the
outside of the piece's profile.

What about bottoms? (the bowl's, not the customer's). Do they need to
be smoother than an infant's bottom and decorated like a Roman fountain?
Real turners think they do, real customers don't seem to care that much.

Maybe it's like buying a used car. Some look only at the paint job,
and
some examine the upholstery carefully and the miles on the odometer
may or may not be important.

I look in the engine compartment and under the car. If I see a lot
of
crud or evidence of fresh fluid leaks . . .

Perfect tool bevels sure look nice, but funny how those ugly facets and
cross grinds will cut pretty well so long as the edge is sharp and it's
a good turning day.

A relatively smooth bevel can affect the surface of the cut - since
it's the bevel riding on the just cut surface that controls the cut.
A smooth bevel will burnish the wood smooth. The corner of a facet
will leave a groove.

Didja ever warm up before starting on an expensive exotic blank by
turning coves and beads on a chunk of scrap and wind up making of the
best pieces you ever turned out of that scrap.

I don't buy expensive exotic blanks so there's no need to do a warm
up piece first. But I do seem to take a chunk of wood, mount it
between centers intending to just rough it to round and use it later,
then just keep going - with no real idea of where.

Used sandpaper might not cut, but it sure seems to finish & smooth
things up. Well, sometimes it does. I use sandpaper like it's a toxic
loan. The best quality and lots of it was forced on me. Yeah, sure!

A sanded finish can seldom produce a burnished finish - unless you
go all the way through the grits to 220, or sometimes 320, making
sure each eliminates the scratches from the prior grit. And I sand
as if the paper is free. (continuing to use paper after it has become
"loaded up" creates more problems than the worth of the paper)

On woods that are prone to tear out - the 80 grit "gouge" is the
only way I can get the shape and surface I'm after.

They say close only counts in horseshoes, but dontcha think maybe
sometimes close is good enough. Must we always sand to 3000 without
skipping a grit? Of course, I always do. Sure, again!

Well, up to 220 - or maybe 320 - skipping ahead sort of defeats
the purpose - the intent being to get a scratch free surface that
an application of a finish, or a good burnishing with shavings, will
bring to a nice semi-gloss look.

Ain't it ok to tarnish a turning's golden ratio on occasion? A perfect
10 is nice for women, but a lovely personality wears better. Usually the
same thing is true about a bowl with perfect curves, but the salad keeps
falling out.

You turn things that are actully going to hold other things - some
with
a high water content or that exude fluids?

Small feet and narrow ankles may be good to look at, but a tippy bowl is
an abomination. The turner's an agent of the devil and ought to be shot.
So say we all.

For functional turnings - wider is often better.
For non-functional turnings - aesthetics trumps practicality.

A high gloss finish may be about as natural as a vinyl rug, but most
people do like a shiny bowl. If truth be told most of us do too. I
prefer the natural look of wood so I hide my can of gloss lacquer.

If I wanted the look and feel of plastic - or glass - I wouldn't
start
with wood.

ANY finish takes away the subtle feel of the wood. I like the look
AND feel of wood.

A pristine shop and a gleaming lathe are a sure sign of an armchair
turner with dull tools and a storebought salad bowl.

Remember Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic strip - the kid who
walks around in a cloud of dust and dirt? Make that sawdust and
shavings and you'll probably be able to pick me out in a crowd.

I WOULD keep the floor clean - but the grand kids absolutely
love to wield the 4" dust collector hose and make all sorts of
things that get near the end - DISAPPEAR! So - for their sake
- I overcome my urge to be neat and tidy. (and if you believe that,
I've got a half dozen bridges I'd like to sell you - cheap!)

A sad sight is watching a local expert
show you how to sharpen your brand new bowl gouge as your expensive
steel is rapidly disappearing as he pontificates.

I don't need help with that - though pontificating is sort of fun.

Like trying to keep squirrels from getting to the bird's seeds, no
matter what you do some bowls are going to crack. We all know which ones
or we soon will, but hope springs eternal and we keep on calling our
cracked abortions fine art.

As a cheap *******, and an impatient one at that, I turn what I
can get for free - which usually means "green" or been on the ground
too many years before I get it. If the cracks can be sort of fixed
with CA glue - and the piece looks promising - I'll finish it and
maybe
keep it. If not, a neighbor has a fireplace.

Maybe some day we can change lead into gold, but there will never be a
stain that can change slash pine into pink ivory or even black walnut.
Maybe cheap ebony, if you can stand the smell of vinegar and iron
filings.


Two words - India Ink.
One word - FIRE!

Do people really pay that much for some of the work I see priced on some
web sites? No turning can be bad enough that someone won't buy it, but
the price just might be bad enough to break that rule. Clunky
candlesticks live under the banner of pricy shabby chic!

Audacity sometimes pays off.

I've almost finished my beer, but I'll throw one more splinter in the
fi To paint, fenestrate, scallop, add metal, waterboard and
generally wreak acts of torture on a bowl is against international
law, even if the poor thing is released and later on terrorizes a museum
or results in a sale.

I'm of two minds on this one (formerly I had the distinct impression
that I'd lost the one mind I was issued at birth but now realize I'm
schizophrenic- and so am I).

What Graeme Priddle, Andi Wolfe and Clay Foster do with a piece
when the turning's done tilts me one way. Then I see some charred,
scortched, red painted abomination - and want to scream.

When 100 mm cigarettes were first introduced, one outfit made a
101 mm cigarette and their ads used the catch phrase "A silly
millimeter longer", to which the competition answered "It's not how
long you make it, but HOW you make it long" - which was considered
pretty suggestive at the time.

So it's not the post lathe "treatments" I object to, but "treatments"
that add nothing to the piece and often screw it up.

My beer bottle is empty and I'm running for cover. Oh, BTW, if you turn
a nice exotic wood beer or wine bottle it's ok to paste paper lables on
it. That's real art.

Only if you created the label yourself - and maybe using PhotoShop to
do it might be OK

I agree. I make them both ways, depending on my mood and how large I
want the bowl to be. I have heard customers comment on just how much
they like the varied grain patterns in bowls they buy. Most of the
time the patterns they are referring to are the ones where the grain
is NOT centered.

Ted J
thelatentlog.com

On Apr 24, 12:15*am, robo hippy wrote:
How about having the grain perfectly centered in the bowl? I won't
waste a good piece of wood just to center the grain any more than I
will cut a bowl in half to see how consistant my wall thickness is. No
one really cares, and you won't get that Taco Bell neck crook if the
grain isn't centered.
robo hippy

It seems like there are a lot of off topic spam posts. I had to sort to
find anything related to turning. I saw this post and really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the musings. Happy turning, or not turning!

"Arch" wrote in message
...


Today I feel like the guy who innocently starts an argument then moves
to the end of the bar, quietly sips his beer and watches the fight. Of
course that's not true, I'm too young to be served beer in a bar.


Anyway here's some perennial turner's differences and personal wisdom
for y'all to fight over. Meanwhile I'll just sit & sip a cold bud. If
only Robert were here, we'd have barbecue with our beers and shoot nails
instead of darts since neither of us is doing any turning these days.
Dang!


How come it's ok to bang the knock-out bar hard to get a stuck Morse
taper out of the spindle, but banging a spindle blank onto a spur center
is a big no-no and supposed to hurt the bearings?


Do hollow turnings really need to have skinny thin walls? How does a
customer or giftee know those are gossamer walls when the piece is up on
a shelf too high to reach? Does she care? Most turners seem to care a
lot, but get around it by calling their thick walled pieces "bud
vases". Sometimes (most) I don't care either.


What about bottoms? (the bowl's, not the customer's). Do they need to
be smoother than an infant's bottom and decorated like a Roman fountain?
Real turners think they do, real customers don't seem to care that much.


Perfect tool bevels sure look nice, but funny how those ugly facets and
cross grinds will cut pretty well so long as the edge is sharp and it's
a good turning day.


Didja ever warm up before starting on an expensive exotic blank by
turning coves and beads on a chunk of scrap and wind up making of the
best pieces you ever turned out of that scrap.


Used sandpaper might not cut, but it sure seems to finish & smooth
things up. Well, sometimes it does. I use sandpaper like it's a toxic
loan. The best quality and lots of it was forced on me. Yeah, sure!


They say close only counts in horseshoes, but dontcha think maybe
sometimes close is good enough. Must we always sand to 3000 without
skipping a grit? Of course, I always do. Sure, again!


Ain't it ok to tarnish a turning's golden ratio on occasion? A perfect
10 is nice for women, but a lovely personality wears better. Usually the
same thing is true about a bowl with perfect curves, but the salad keeps
falling out.


Small feet and narrow ankles may be good to look at, but a tippy bowl is
an abomination. The turner's an agent of the devil and ought to be shot.
So say we all.


A high gloss finish may be about as natural as a vinyl rug, but most
people do like a shiny bowl. If truth be told most of us do too. I
prefer the natural look of wood so I hide my can of gloss lacquer.


A pristine shop and a gleaming lathe are a sure sign of an armchair
turner with dull tools and a storebought salad bowl.


A sad sight is watching a local expert
show you how to sharpen your brand new bowl gouge as your expensive
steel is rapidly disappearing as he pontificates.


Like trying to keep squirrels from getting to the bird's seeds, no
matter what you do some bowls are going to crack. We all know which ones
or we soon will, but hope springs eternal and we keep on calling our
cracked abortions fine art.


Maybe some day we can change lead into gold, but there will never be a
stain that can change slash pine into pink ivory or even black walnut.
Maybe cheap ebony, if you can stand the smell of vinegar and iron
filings.


Do people really pay that much for some of the work I see priced on some
web sites? No turning can be bad enough that someone won't buy it, but
the price just might be bad enough to break that rule. Clunky
candlesticks live under the banner of pricy shabby chic!


I've almost finished my beer, but I'll throw one more splinter in the
fi To paint, fenestrate, scallop, add metal, waterboard and
generally wreak acts of torture on a bowl is against international
law, even if the poor thing is released and later on terrorizes a museum
or results in a sale.


My beer bottle is empty and I'm running for cover. Oh, BTW, if you turn
a nice exotic wood beer or wine bottle it's ok to paste paper lables on
it. That's real art.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


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

In article ,
"John Gbur" wrote:

It seems like there are a lot of off topic spam posts. I had to sort to
find anything related to turning. I saw this post and really enjoyed it.
Thanks for the musings. Happy turning, or not turning!


You need a new service. I haven't seen one via this one (via Google,
well.... it's bad)

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