Flatwork vs. Roundwork - a Philosophical Question of Sorts

[Mike Golka]

Each of us have different natural abilities and different learning abilities that makes it difficult to make a fair analysis IMO.

I think Ken pretty much answered this question, everyone is different and thus what challenges every individual is different.

[Jim Seyfried]

Don’t you think the answers might be a little skewed in the turners’ forum?

If you ask over in Neanderthal Haven it will be plane to see the correct answer.


With flat work I’ve destroyed parts, but I’ve never blown up the whole project. I can’t say that with turning.

[Dan Hintz]

If you ask over in Neanderthal Haven it will be plane to see the correct answer.

But the answers in the general woodworking forum will be a cut above... here, they start at one point, go far afield, but always come back around to the same conclusion.

[robert baccus]

One can be an artist at anything, even whitteling a cedar limb sitting on a stump.

[Bruce Lewane]

Interesting question but all the important factors remain pretty much the same
as it applies to all levels of craftsmanship.
It is what it is and you know it when you see it.

[Paul Bylin]

I think they are about equally difficult to "master". However, I do think that someone that can do both makes them better at both.

[Prashun Patel]

I understand that we're all being respectful of the respective skills, but which did YOU personally find harder to master?

For my part, I have mastered nothing yet, but have found achieving a moderate level of proficiency in flat machine work easiest, turning next, and flat handwork the hardest.

How about you?

[Marty Tippin]

I'm pretty awful at both round and flat work, so am finding them both to be plenty of a challenge...

I do find myself generally doing one or the other almost exclusively for periods of time - I was going hard-core turning bowls and such last fall but then resumed work on a workbench project that's been in my way for about 18 months and have hardly touched the lathe since Christmas or shortly after...

[John Sanford]

I'm going to say "I don't know", but...

One KEY difference between the two is time. Setting the carving aspect aside (which I suspect is more difficult to master than either flatwork or turning), with flatwork you pretty much have near absolute control over time. By that I mean there's very little need to react immediately to changes in the material. Turning is more dynamic, more demanding of immediate response by the turner. in this respect, turning is karate, whereas flat work is tai-chi. With turning, you must always be on your toes, there is no real "contemplative" zone. Flatwork, especially with hand planing, allows one to zone in. This is the dynamic as it applies to hand tool work. Once the tailed apprentices enter the equation, things only change slightly. One doesn't have a good opportunity to go contemplative, but at the same time, everything is done in very discreet, atomic steps.

[John Sincerbeaux]

For me flatwork is way more involved than roundwork. My comparison is based on only my woodworking experience based on nearly thirty years. My typical flatwork projects involve maybe 10 different machines, 4 different routers, sanders and a variety of hand tools. Marrying commercial veneer with solid curved wood perfectly is about as challenging of woodworking I know. I relate difficulty to "fatal errors". Working with thin veneer is like playing in a mine field.
On the other hand, I have been turning for about a year now and the third thing ever off my lathe was my first ever attempt at a hollow form. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to to create a form and hollow it. I then tried make a lid and finial. I did try three different finishes on it till I was happy. It is now in a gallery in Hawaii with my other flatwork. image.jpgimage.jpg

[John Sincerbeaux]

Have no idea why the hollow form pic posts upside down?
BTW it is an 8" Koa HF With a gaboon Ebony lid/finial.

I would like like to hear how a guy like David Marks answers the question. Obviously a master at both mediums.

[Dan Hintz]

For me flatwork is way more involved than roundwork.

Marrying commercial veneer with solid curved wood perfectly is about as challenging of woodworking I know. I relate difficulty to "fatal errors". Working with thin veneer is like playing in a mine field.

One thing I have not seen often is veneer (inset) work on turned items... the toughest of both worlds, I imagine, but the results could be quite amazing.

[Ken Barney]

I've done flatwork for over thirty years and have been turning for just under six years, and while I might say that I'm accomplished at both, I excel at neither. Both types of work are only limited by the imagination and since imagination is boundless I don't see how anyone can truly claim to excel. But then, I am probably my own worst critic.

Round work or flatwork, I do both for myself - for my own self-enjoyment and the personal challenge. I rarely sell anything that I make unless it is to help support the habit. Like most here I woodwork for the enjoyment. For the self satisfaction (or self-loathing) in stepping back after completing a project and being able to say, "I created that."

Both are challenging - if they're not then you simply haven't pushed yourself enough. Both take skill - how much skill depends on what it takes to satisfy you.

[Lee Koepke]

Think its been said a couple of times - excel - as the key word. Not sure I will have excelled - I do OK.
for me, I enjoy turning - my flatwork is limited (no high end furniture) and its where most of my $$ comes from.

What I found that I personally like the most is I very quickly realized that turning exposed more true beauty of the natural wood than flatwork can ever do. That seems to be my driving force to turning.

[Rick McQuay]

I can't answer the question. Turning requires specific tools, proficiency with those tools, specific techniques, and a level of machinery. Flatwork can be done in a wide variety of ways with a wide variety of tools and covers many different disciplines. I believe that most people hold bowls and other one-off work in much higher esteem than it deserves. There is more skill in creating 30 identical spindles than creating one free form bowl which is mostly repetition of a few techniques. But then you have segmented turning which can take months and involve several thousands of pieces, but only minutes of actual turning. So I don't believe the question, which is more difficult, has a useful answer.