An Observation

[dicklaxt]

I do not have a lot of turning experience as turning goes,I'm sure there are many here that have much more. I have been a member of a local turners club in the Houston area and have also been an active member in a few forums.

The observation I spoke of in the title of this post is that inexperienced people who aspire to become good to better than average turners never do so because they are afraid to broaden their horizons.I found that I was never afraid to try a lot of different things in the turning world .

The problem I also see is that most folks start off turning pens,now there is nothing wrong with that as long as you say okay I mastered that facet of turning,Its time to move on to other challenges in the turning world and not be afraid to do so.

If I can do it so can all of you that are at the rookie/learning stage.

I started off taking chunks,shavings and slivers off of an old pine 2 x 4. I then got brave and jumped into a pedestal bowl 11 inches in diameter.I learned more on that one turning than any thing I have turned since.My oldest daughter has it and she is more proud of that POS than I am.I did a terrible job of smoothing the surface it was so bad sandpaper didn't help much.It was Pecan wood and I stained it Walnut and covered it up with Poly Urethane,see how green I was.

One more thing to remember there are a lot of WW'ers turned Turners but damn few Turner's turned WW,see where the vortex leads.LOL


I haven't turned anything in probably two years and will never turn another for reasons beyond my control but I surely would love to.

Here's a pic of the turning and a toy box attached,don't know how that happened.





dick

[sawduster]

Yep. It's dat first picture size. If'n you could shrink it down to 600 or 800 pixels wide itd be a whole lot sharper and much less wide.

Ah, mucho mas better.

You're right, though, Dickie. If you don't reach beyond what you're able to do today, you'll never expand your horizons.

Truth be told one of the things I like about woodworking is that no matter how long you do it and how much you learn, there's always more to learn and tougher challenges to take on.

[Doug B]

I understand what you are saying Dickie, but I've been trying to master pen turning for over 2 years now...when do you know you have it mastered?

I still have lots and lots of things I want to try with pens, and I am not bored just yet. I do like to make a few other things occasionally, but I have found pen turning to be my main interest. There's nothing wrong with those who get tired of trying to master pens and move on to other, less demanding turnings either...to each his own ;D

[Doug B]

Ha! I have not even mastered the lowly pen and you are already teasing me about hollow forms?!?!

Seriously, I have played around with a hollowing tool just enough that I have great respect for anyone who does that kind of art.

[dicklaxt]

Looks good Beez,what kind of lumber,is it spalting a bit?

dick

[CajunRider]

Nov 13, 2009 14:58:28 GMT -6 dicklaxt said:

I do not have a lot of turning experience as turning goes,I'm sure there are many here that have much more. I have been a member of a local turners club in the Houston area and have also been an active member in a few forums.

The observation I spoke of in the title of this post is that inexperienced people who aspire to become good to better than average turners never do so because they are afraid to broaden their horizons.I found that I was never afraid to try a lot of different things in the turning world .

The problem I also see is that most folks start off turning pens,now there is nothing wrong with that as long as you say okay I mastered that facet of turning,Its time to move on to other challenges in the turning world and not be afraid to do so.

If I can do it so can all of you that are at the rookie/learning stage.

I started off taking chunks,shavings and slivers off of an old pine 2 x 4. I then got brave and jumped into a pedestal bowl 11 inches in diameter.I learned more on that one turning than any thing I have turned since.My oldest daughter has it and she is more proud of that POS than I am.I did a terrible job of smoothing the surface it was so bad sandpaper didn't help much.It was Pecan wood and I stained it Walnut and covered it up with Poly Urethane,see how green I was.

One more thing to remember there are a lot of WW'ers turned Turners but damn few Turner's turned WW,see where the vortex leads.LOL


I haven't turned anything in probably two years and will never turn another for reasons beyond my control but I surely would love to.

Here's a pic of the turning and a toy box attached,don't know how that happened.





dick

Thanks for posting Dick, I'm right at the edge of the vortex. Only my honeydo list keeps me from falling in.
Your post some how reminds me of Dano. I wish he's still around.