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Turning "good practice"

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apw99:
Hi Folks,
I have been turning for a few years and have only had a few brief lessons at the very start, so I am self-taught. I like the artistic aspect of turning rather than being the perfectionist. I tend to like to turn chunky bowls which are quite thick, I leave any holes, bark or features that I possibly can. I even made a goblet once which cracked and I stitched it up with copper wire and it went down a treat!
However I am interested in what is considered 'good practice' or considered 'correct'? Some things I believe I have heard are
- Thinner is better
- remove the divot
- never use varnish
etc etc...
I am just wondering what you guys as well accomplished turners regard as 'good practice'
Thanks - stay safe.

bodrighywood:
You are talking design not turning practice and there are no set rules. Thinner for exmple is fine of you want to lmpress other turners or make lampshades but not a lot of use if you are making things for use such as a goblegt or fruit bowl. As a proturner I make lots of pieces with holes, splits etc, also lots of things without. At the end of day the main rule should be is it fit for purpose and if it is meant to be decorative only then that is totally up to the individual. I have a gallery of my work on my website and to be honest some of the things I have made, in hindsight, I am not keen on at all but they sold, someone liked them. Only thing I would say is whatever you make do it to the best quality you can.

Pete

seventhdevil:
Pete is right you are mostly talking design with you question so you can do what you like and finish it how you want.
personally i still go by "the only rule is, there are no rules"

Twisted Trees:
I had a few lessons with a turner named John Davis, also bought my first tools and my bandsaw from him, one of the main things he taught me was function rules for functional items. sort of his quote, but it was a long time ago... "A fruit bowl is not a fruit bowl if it is so thin and light that it falls over when you drop an apple in it, and a goblet is not a goblet if it is so thick you can't drink from it."

When making bowls for yourself always leave the chuck mount on, then you can remount to refinish or change the shape, it is frowned on by other turners but if done well nobody else notices.

Art is in the eye of the buyer, here you can let your imagination run a bit wild. Personally I have absolutely no taste, if I turn something and think what an ugly monstrosity, it will probably sell, if I love it, I probably get to keep it! Myself and many other turners will look at a natural edge heavily spalted and split piece and think, wow that was hard / brave / insane to turn often before we look at it as a piece of art, we have all had a go at the knuckle tappers and the ones that would have hit us in the face if not for CA glue and duct tape.

Don't use varnish well not in a wood turning shop anyway the dust will drive you mad!
Don't use water or oil based colours unless you want to.
Don't mix oak and iron except where rust and staining is the objective

Bottom line is:
Keep your cutting tools (including abrasive) sharp,
Pay lots of attention to how your wood is connected to the motor so it  stays where it was put. 
Be aware of dust and use sensible precautions to keep it outside of you.
Decide the primary purpose of the piece, and blend form and function to meet that primary objective.

Look shamelessly at what everyone else is doing, there are only beads, coves and straight cuts available to us we can only choose size and materials, and people have been spinning wood for a lot of years, so everything has been done before, making your version of someone else's design is fine, if you think theirs is perfect get as close to it as you can, if you think it is almost perfect, then improve on it, you are doing it right when someone else copies you.

Most important is stay safe, and enjoy the process.

Twisted Trees:
On the copy issue, I thought I was a right clever clogs when I saw a shape in nature while on holiday, spent a few days cutting it in my mind got home and did it for real, and was very pleased with it. Put in the local club competition and someone said "saw that on YouTube" .... got home looked it up, and there it was, even worse it was better than mine!

In reality it didn't matter, I enjoyed figuring it out and cutting it, his method was similar but improved as he had cut several and worked some of the kinks out, and I had a few lathe free days occupied by working out the cutting order.

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