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Thread: When do you give up on a turning?

  1. #1

    When do you give up on a turning?

    Some recent posts in the forum have made me see and appreciate how other turners think about their wood.... many of the turners I respect a great deal on the forum are quick to chuck wood in the firewood category. Makes me wonder what I'm missing since I pretty much ONLY turn wood with major checks, cracks, holes, mold, defects, punkiness, etc....

    the old woodturner's saying goes "life is too short to turn crappy wood" but I think I actually prefer wood that other people think is crap.

    Perhaps this is is because I don't earn my living with my turning. It's a hobby (although a serious enough hobby that it nearly pays for itself) for me. I can "afford" (in both time and money) to experiment with funky woods that no one else would, apparently, dare deal with.

    i cut off really bad sections of wood and graft in new bits. I might use epoxy resin.
    FullSizeRender 3.jpgFullSizeRender.jpgFullSizeRender.jpg

    Or I might just leave a crazy void.

    im a stubborn SOB, I guess, and I won't give up on a piece of wood until it completely blows apart on me or I completely screw it up. No matter what, I try to learn something or teach myself a new trick at every opportunity. "What would happen if I......??" Is a question I'm asking myself constantly in front of the lathe.

    do you have a general rule on when you will throw something out or give up on a piece of wood?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Good for you! We all have spasms of stupidity on an attractive piece of flotsom now and then and spend hours and anguish on them. THought--go buy a large complete first aid kit--staple fistfuls of bandaids all over the shop--check you insurance depth--make friends with the local emergency room fellows and be prepared to suffer redicule.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    I almost never give up. Yep I'm stubborn. BUT I'm careful. I rough with my cage down, and several times have been saved by the cage. I have had pieces split in pieces and hit that cage. Yes I also have been hit it the face shield with some rather large pieces. Hard enough to turn off the lathe, clean up and be thankful. Learn from that event.
    I love spalted wood, wood with knots, cracks etc also. Unfortunately, they are harder to sell.... People like "perfect" pieces. It's like they not getting all their money's worth if there's a crack or void.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harold Balzonia View Post
    ...do you have a general rule on when you will throw something out or give up on a piece of wood?
    My general "rule" is I prefer to turn things starting from good wood and often toss or redesign if I reveal significant defects.

    I think the personal decision to turn or toss depends on a few things. One is wood availability. With a limited supply of quality turning stock I might be more inclined to complete some pieces.

    Another is the intended use of the piece, turning for function or for something to display? The second bowl in your picture wouldn't be much good for soup or nuts but someone may want it on their shelf. When I make something for a wedding gift I can't predict how it will be used so I try to make it so it can be used.

    Personal preference: as much as I might like the look of a certain bark inclusion or natural edge, unless I know the a gift recipient well I might not guess correctly how she will feel about the look. I don't try to sell, but if I did this would take care of itself, it would either sell or not. I personally do not like cracks in wood and don't like the look of cracks filled with epoxy, metal, etc. For those who do, it's a big world. I do like things with other materials added, but more when it is done on purpose as a design element rather than a defect fix.

    How amazing is the wood? Ugly wood with voids is still ugly wood. How elegant is the form? How is the craft and the finish? Ugly form is still ugly even with natural edges and enhancements. Of course good form is a highly personal thing. Unless solicited, only the conceited will look at another's turning and proclaim out loud the piece ugly. If we all liked the same thing life sure would be boring.

    How much detail do I feel like adding? Turned detail on a piece with natural voids might quickly appear too busy (for me). People using popular "basket illusion" technique always seem to use perfect wood.

    Safety is a big one for me: Ain't no way I'm going to turn a large piece if I think it likely to come apart. The adrenaline thrill of danger seems to ebb with age - the longer you live the more stories you hear of risks that went terribly wrong. Even following all the "rules" at the lathe like staying out of the line of fire is no insurance. Stubbornness is a different issue - the line separating healthy persistence and dogged stubbornness is a philosophical topic in itself. I find my own level of stubbornness varies with mood.

    JKJ

  5. #5
    JKJ and I are in the same camp. Most all of my projects start with a design concept - often scaled drawings. I choose the wood appropriate to the design. If it develops flaws that present a hazard or do not fit the intended result, I do not hesitate to throw it in the firewood stack. Shortly after I started turning I chose to complete every piece as if it were going to a gallery - the absolute best I could do given the materials available. That certainly isn't for everyone, but it is what I need to satisfy my own artistic expression. I don't collect art - even my own, so everything I turn is either sold or is donated to one of a couple of charitable endeavors I support.

    I see folks speak of "letting the wood talk to me" and I have listened intently and strangely it never says a word!!

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    I have turned questionable pieces keep the rpm down as low as you can stand. do the outside first when you go to turn the inside wrap the outside with a elastic bandage snuggly to minimize the centrifugal forces effect (have used large hose clamps before too.) And be cautious if you just gotta have that piece of wood turned.

  7. #7
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    The obvious, wisecracking answer here is "when the diameter of the inside of the bowl exceeds the diameter of the outside."

    I'm with Kyle and the others; I almost never give up. Yes, I'll sometimes put it aside, coming back to it when my energy and creative juices are afresh. Sometimes it just takes a new outlook.

    That's not to say that I haven't chucked up a worthless piece and walked away. Those are the pieces you have suspicions about to begin with -- cracks, rot, or ugliness -- and two minutes in you know it's a dead end.

  8. #8
    I struggle with this subject. Most of the time, when I give up on a piece of wood, it is because I fouled it up, not because the wood was at fault. I don't like to give up but I also don't want to spend much time on a piece that does not look good. I sometimes turn a piece that might come apart while hollowing, but will not turn a piece that might come apart when I am shaping the outside. I agree that "life is too short to turn crappy wood" but sometimes have trouble separating "crappy" from "character".
    _______________________________________
    When failure is not an option
    Mediocre is assured.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Atikokan, Rainy River district, Ontario
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    In all the years and the few thousand turnings I made, I have only started and finished one or two pieces that had a split in it, why would I go through all the trouble to end up with a split bowl, if for less effort and safer working I can turn a bowl without a split, wood grows on trees.So to show how far I’d go with wood that is not totally solid, here they are.

    This Manitoba Maple had very nice Red color and the wood was quite solid, so I turned it, of course the red is gone and the bowl doesn’t look too bad as is.
    Manitoba Maple.jpg

    This Black Walnut I turned from a piece of wood that showed the ripple and it was the reason I still turned the piece even so there was a split in it, done very carefully, and then stitched the split with brass wire.
    Stitched Walnut.jpg

    This Apple graft had some splits in it, and I shaped the outside, then used a hose clamp to prevent the wood from coming apart, after hollowing and finishing, I repaved the hose clamp with brass wire, LOML like it.
    Apple graft area.jpg Brass wired split Apple HF.jpg

    This Black Walnut looked quite nice, but did get a split in it while drying, finished it for the looks of the wood, but not really happy with it, because of having a split in it.
    Walnut with split.jpg

    This is an Apple graft that had voids in it where it grew only partially together, wood was solid all around, and so safe to turn.
    Apple graft .jpg
    Have fun and take care

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
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    South Carolina
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    I usually give up on a piece of wood only if I feel unsafe. That said, some of your examples (while certainly beautiful) would have fit into that category.

    So... I'm not sure my answer is of any use to you.

    For blanks with large cracks before I start, I tend to not even begin working them, because I don't generally like to leave them and repairing the cracks during the turning process is not exactly on my top ten list of fun things to do.
    Last edited by Aaron Craven; 07-21-2017 at 4:12 PM. Reason: adding more info

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
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    Jasper, Alabama
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    70
    Quote Originally Posted by Harold Balzonia View Post
    Some recent posts in the forum have made me see and appreciate how other turners think about their wood.... many of the turners I respect a great deal on the forum are quick to chuck wood in the firewood category. Makes me wonder what I'm missing since I pretty much ONLY turn wood with major checks, cracks, holes, mold, defects, punkiness, etc....

    the old woodturner's saying goes "life is too short to turn crappy wood" but I think I actually prefer wood that other people think is crap.

    Perhaps this is is because I don't earn my living with my turning. It's a hobby (although a serious enough hobby that it nearly pays for itself) for me. I can "afford" (in both time and money) to experiment with funky woods that no one else would, apparently, dare deal with.

    i cut off really bad sections of wood and graft in new bits. I might use epoxy resin.
    FullSizeRender 3.jpgFullSizeRender.jpgFullSizeRender.jpg

    Or I might just leave a crazy void.

    im a stubborn SOB, I guess, and I won't give up on a piece of wood until it completely blows apart on me or I completely screw it up. No matter what, I try to learn something or teach myself a new trick at every opportunity. "What would happen if I......??" Is a question I'm asking myself constantly in front of the lathe.

    do you have a general rule on when you will throw something out or give up on a piece of wood?
    Harold, I really like these bowls. I call it having charector. Is that colored epoxy resin on the first bowl? Did you have to use tape on side of bowl to pore in the resin?

  12. #12
    Thanks Lamar... yes the first bowl has epoxy resin. It has a slight amount of blue tint in it. I turn the rough bowl shape and then I build a form around the walls inside and out and pour the resin.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Jasper, Alabama
    Posts
    70
    Quote Originally Posted by Harold Balzonia View Post
    Thanks Lamar... yes the first bowl has epoxy resin. It has a slight amount of blue tint in it. I turn the rough bowl shape and then I build a form around the walls inside and out and pour the resin.
    Thanks Harold for in information. Well done indeed. Happy turning.

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