Question Of The Week... (2023 week 10)

[ripjack13]

Can anyone see what the finished project looks like in their head before it's made? Or do you just wing it, and hope for the best?





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**Rules**
There is no minimum post requirement,
primates, woodticks, wood spinners, and leprechauns are welcome to post an answer.
I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

 

[David Hill]

It depends—
If it’s a construction project, then yes! I tend to overthink them.
If it’s a turning, then not so much. I have a general idea of shape, but the wood “directs” it. I just take off what doesn’t belong.

 

[woodtickgreg]

I think I always start with a vision in my head, sometimes it ends that way and so times it doesn't. Turning is the exception to that, I let the wood speak to me and become what it wants to be.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

I usually have a picture in my head. The wood doesn't always agree with my picture when turning punky or rootball pieces especially.
in building furniture or full construction builds, yes, I have a picture and normally get there at the end. Been building since teens so that is second nature to me to see the shape, weight distribution, support points etc.
I will often doodle shapes for furnishings using pieces and parts I have at hand. Probably wasted a notebook worth of scrap paper for winter evening entertainment. Can hardly build some of it without a shop area...

 

[Mike1950]

Yep, I can vision what she sees, I better, I am married and if it does not, back to the shop... But we are good at mind melt. Our visions are almost always on same path before I start cutting...

 

[Nature Man]

Insofar as possible, I plan & foresee the final product. But that doesn’t mean I don’t make detours if something doesn’t look right in the construction phase. I’m usually not opposed to do-overs when my perfectionism kicks in. This mindset holds pretty much for flatwork, but as for turning, I am more open to allowing the wood have a voice in the final shape, size, etc. Chuck

 

[DLJeffs]

I nearly always have a pretty solid picture in my head of what the finished project should look like and rarely start a project until I do. I'll draw out the design, check dimensions, calculate wood needed, etc. The design and planning phase is directly proportional to the size and complexity of the project. I even think through the production steps and sequence, joints, glue up sequence, etc. Guess that's the engineer in me. Doesn't always turn out that way, which combined with my being a bit of a perfectionist, can be frustrating.

 

[Gdurfey]

I have a vision. My biggest problem is my skills don’t live up to the vision and I have to adjust. Then go back and try again if I have a similar turning block. I have collected a few nice pieces of wood but haven’t attempted turning them yet because of this. Getting there though.

 

[Bigdrowdy1]

I have a idea and kinda figure out the direction needed to get there. Most the time I get loss on side streets or make a right cut when it should have went left. I have a bunch of dead ends laying around the shop though. Not complete failures just haven’t determined how they will finish up being.

 

[Brink]

How do you make it if you don’t know what it should look like?

 

[T. Ben]

I start with a general idea and go from there.