Shortcut to finely crafted wood turnings - buy it

[Steve Mathews]

When first getting into wood turning I thought how cool it would be to give my creations to friends and relatives as presents. Surely they would marvel at my craftsmanship and think better of me. My name (in)conspicuously located on the masterpiece would serve as a reminder of who gave it to them. Then the reality of how difficult it was to simply make a few beads on a spindle using a skew set in and my dreams of glory began to fade. What would they think of me presenting work with catches, spiraling scratches across the wood, etc? But today I may have found hope in what was discovered on eBay. Scattered throughout the site are beautifully finished bowls, canisters, urns, etc. all for a small price and not much more than it would cost to buy the raw wood. Forget the thousands of dollars spent on equipment and the frustration of learning to turn wood, I could buy the finish product instead. And if the purchase didn't have a name on it I could even sign my own and while presenting it have some wood chips (did that well enough) scattered on my shirt and hair giving evidence of my hard and skillful work in the making. So, for the less skilled among us there is hope - buy it.

[Roger Chandler]

Nope......you will never be satisfied with your own self integrity if you do that Steve. While you my have a period of time spent learning, and that might delay the production of fine gifts, you will overcome the learning process and acquire skill sets with the doing and repetition.

I still think trying to master the skew at the outset is not the best way for every person to learn. While laudable, the learning of the bowl gouge, scrapers, and spindle gouges can speed you to sucess, but none of that as much as having a good mentor or club where you will cut the learning curve by light years.

You will never be satisfied to give turned items you did not produce, claiming them as your own. This is something you can learn and become proficient at.......keep at it!

[Allan Ferguson]

Agree with Roger on this one. True friends will appreciate your efforts, even though less than "Master Pieces".

[Sid Matheny]

I think Steve was just joking, well maybe not!

[Brice Rogers]

An analogy - - people who buy old customized or restored cars and then go to car shows to exhibit what they've BOUGHT. Some of these so-called car guys who bought in, probably don't even know where the dip stick is located. I have great appreciation for the car people who have personally restored their own cars. I have less appreciation for purchasers.

To me, it isn't about the destination but more about the journey.

[Justin Stephen]

Closest I came to that was several years ago promising my niece that I would turn her a bowl while she was visiting. We selected a nice maple log section from my pile and she "helped" me cut it up into a blank, which she then posed in a picture with looking adorable in safety glasses that were way too big for her head. I then showed her how I start a bowl and made a few shavings fly for her benefit before she had to leave, promising to deliver her bowl the next time I saw her.

The day after she left I screwed it up badly and had to toss it. Needless to say, she got her bowl but I failed to mention to her that it was not from the same blank or even from the same tree. I shall take this secret to my grave...unless she Internet stalks me and reads this. This was long enough ago now that the bowl in question is probably sitting in a dusty back corner of her closet anyway.

[Steve Mathews]

Mr. Matheny is correct, my comments were (mostly) tongue-in-cheek. After telling my wife about the post her reply was "if you made something that looked good people would think you bought it anyway". She was either familiar with my handiwork and telling the truth or just trying to get my goat, I never seem to know. Regardless, I will press on with the journey of learning to turn wood despite my critic with hopes of moving beyond making just decorative firewood.

[J.D.Redwine]

Eschew the skew.

[John K Jordan]

Hmm... Another idea: Embrace the skew.

When I started turning several people told me to stay far, far away from the evil skew. It will hurt you. It will destroy your work. But every expert turner I read about used the skew so I decided I would learn to use it or die trying. It didn't take long. It is now one of my favorite tools - so versatile and definitely the best tool for certain tasks. Now when I teach beginners the first tool in their hands is a skew.


As for just buying things: a guy I know who has a lot of beehives said he often sells honey in bulk to beekeepers. They bottle it and sell it as their own. He said, hey, once they buy it from me it is their own honey.

JKJ

[Doug Ladendorf]

I hear you Steve. I was just looking on Etsy the other day and could not believe the pittance for which turned bowls were being offered. Granted, many were not particularly good bowls, but they must certainly be getting wood for free. So much for making money turning bowls...

Doug

[John K Jordan]

...So much for making money turning bowls...

From my observations the money is in either the art, which must be exceptional, or the name, which must be known. When I started turning a friend told me all I'd have to do is put my own name on a piece and not tell people I wasn't the other John Jordan. Ha!

I can't imagine trying to make bowls for sale. There are so many people out there turning bowls as a hobby and many are very good...

For utility bowls the money is probably in the volume and that sounds like too much work. For me, the joy of turning is divided between the process and the giving. That said, I've accidentally made enough money to pay for a new lathe by selling magic wands and related spindle turnings, the only things I've ever made for selling. This, however, is a fairly narrow market niche.

JKJ