# What do you like best



## Graybeard (May 8, 2015)

I've got some bigger pieces of cherry that I'm coring out. Darn that's work. And messy. So far I'm about 1/3 done with the blanks and the management has four bushels of shavings for her flower beds so far.

Compared to turning ear rings there's a tremendous difference in waste and effort. When someone says they turn it doesn't mean much IMO until you see what they do.

So what do you like best roughing out big blanks or working with littler things like bottle stoppers, pens and jewelery?

Graybeard

Reactions: Like 1


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## ripjack13 (May 8, 2015)

This could have been a great Question of the Week topic....

I like the roughing out of blanks but mostly I like the small stuff like pens n stoppers. Quick and easy and move on to the next one.
I get bored easy...

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Final Strut (May 8, 2015)

I don't mind rouging out stuff like bowls in fact it is kind of fun but I hate seeing all of the wasted materiel on the floor when I am done. I would rather turn smaller stuff that doesn't generate so many chips. I am also kind of like Marc in that I like to finish and move on. I don't necessarily get bored, it is more like my ADD takes over when I spend to much time on a piece. Then when I venture off to who knows what it takes me forever to come back to what I started.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Kayakerjim (May 8, 2015)

I like both! That's what keeps me from getting bored. I will work on smalls for a while until I'm tired of them then switch to hollowing out some bowls. After a few of those I go back to smalls which is new & fresh again. Also I sprinkle in a few new items to improve my technique. 
Happy Friday,
Jim

Reactions: Agree 1


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## TimR (May 8, 2015)

I do like working on bigger pieces, but they typically require some added level of commitment to not be on the lathe too long and end up being problem children. If you've had bigger pieces on your lathe that have any moisture in them, you know what I mean. 
When I can't find that sort of time, working on a small piece works, as does making strides for working on various pieces 'in process'.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## barry richardson (May 8, 2015)

I agree with Jim, I mix it up, both have their good and bad points. Roughing out a big turning is fun if the wood is green, dry though, not so much. But you make a huge mess either way, if you have a small space, it's a problem.


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## NYWoodturner (May 8, 2015)

I like doing both but tend to think more like Tim. If its a big piece I won't do it until I have adequate time to get to even wall thickness. Big blanks are too hard to come by and expensive to have split because you didn't get back to a piece for several days. Bigger pieces seem to be the ones I experiment with more as well.


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## DKMD (May 8, 2015)

I like roughing the big stuff better than finishing anything... Big wet shavings make me happy!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## gman2431 (May 8, 2015)

As much as I hate to say it the bigger stuff (especially if it puts up a fight) is more enjoyable to me. Well.... Not while I'm doing it! Haha

I feel in the end tho the satisfaction from something more time consuming and more of a hassle is greater than quick projects.

I guess what I mean to say is the quicker the project the faster it wears off me. When it's a pure PIA, and has many swear words involved and threats of burning in the wood stove, I appreciate it alot more.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## Patrude (May 8, 2015)

I also like both. What I like best is variety. I switch between a full size floor lathe and a midi lathe. I've done lengthy production runs but mostly steer wide of those. It gets boring which seems to make it last forever.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Horatio (May 15, 2015)

I like variety. I enjoy putting some time into a project that requires some forethought and planning...and that right piece of wood. Its much easier to find some spalt, figure or burl in small chunks but to be able to turn a larger item like a good sized bowl takes a little more hunting. 

The smaller stuff uses up alot of those bits and pieces that are too small to do much else with. I never had an adequate set up to assembly line segment pieces accurately or the fine skills necessary for jewelry but I did at one point turn a whole mess of bangle bracelets from all sorts of scrap wood and some of them came out really nice. I worked out a system on my Nova G2 chuck to get them down.

I gave some away but I have a big bag left over and my 13yo picked through them tonight and I let her keep what she wanted. 

In the end, I like to turn all different sorts of things and mix it up. I suppose it would be more efficient to hone a skill set specific to turning one type of thing and then move on but I like to pick through my wood pile and see what "jumps out" at me. 

When all else fails and I get frustrated, I'll turn a plain mesquite bowl because its more or less the simplest thing I do and it comes out alright most of the time.

Reactions: Like 1


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## ghost1066 (May 28, 2015)

I turn what is stuck in my head at the time but that wasn't the question. I don't rough turn bowls I turn to finish and I love doing that. I let them dry and do what they do then hand sand and throw a finish on them. I turn all manner of small items and find more to turn all the time. I did sort of rough turn a couple of bowls but those are going to someone that will carve them so I didn't have to take them to finish. Having rough turned stuff sitting around would dry me nuts.


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## David Hill (Jun 4, 2015)

I'm with @ghost1066 ---I have numbers of blanks cut so I try to go to finished product in a day or three. When I want a new project, I usually just find the slab/blank that will fit the need. It would drive me to distraction to have rough turned stuff sitting up all over the place. But I often do have more than one project in the queue at any one time.


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## Kevin (Jun 5, 2015)

Warm moist shavings covering my hairy arms is almost a sexual experience for me. I detest turning dry but I do it because once I'm done I can finish it, so that's what drives me when I'm turning dry pepper mill blanks.


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## jmurray (Jun 5, 2015)

I guess I'm the minority. I like big dry pieces. Well I'm working with a midi lathe, so big to me isn't all that big to you lucky fellas with big old 3hp machines. 

Turning a 10+ inch bowl start to finish in one sitting makes me a happy boy.

I haven't been able to bring myself to turn pens or stoppers, because I hate spending money.

I have turned some small stuff lately, I got weird friends who want these big earings to stretch their poor earlobes :(
It's hard to get small pieces to show figure and I don't find it as satisfying


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