Monthly Newsletter...Vice President’s Message:May 2010 “How long did that take?” is the question I hear most often regarding woodturning. On the surface it’s a pretty simple question but quite often the answer is anything but simple. Let’s look at a pretty typical 10-12” Mesquite salad bowl with a wipe on oil finish. I typically rough turn my bowls from green wood, let them dry, turn the entire bowl a second time to eliminate warping, and finally sand and finish. From log to finished bowl this process typically takes 9-12 months but that’s not the answer they’re looking for. If we added up the actual time spent working on the bowl it’s probably in the 60-90 minute range. 30-40 minutes to rough turn, 15-30 minutes to finish turn, 15-20 minutes to sand and finish. But that number doesn’t factor in the time required to source the wood, cutting, sealing, and preparing the wood to go on the lathe. It also doesn’t factor in the hours and hours spent practicing, and the occasional bowl lost to the turning and/or drying process. Those factors can easily double the total time spent on a finished piece. Experience also counts. I can honestly say that even the most basic bowl today was nearly impossible for me to turn when I first started. If we look at it that way my most recent bowl took me a bit over 6 years to complete. I recently was told of the following experience: A fellow turning was showing his wares at an arts and crafts show. A woman approached his table and looking at the pens on the table proudly exclaimed “My husband could do that!” before turning and leaving his booth. The next day the wife returned with her husband in tow. Approaching the table she told him “I told this guy yesterday, YOU could do this!” He looked around the table and complimented the work. He then asked “You do this on a wood lathe, right? $500-600?” “Yeah, that’s about right” replied the turner. “You need tools, probably another $100?” Asked the husband. “Probably $75-100 to get started.” Was the turners reply. “Probably turned a quite a few before you got a nice one?” “Quite a few” said the turner “But I’m a slow learner, you could probably get a nice one quicker.” “Kits run about $8 each?” The husband clearly knew what he was talking about and the turner acknowledged that the price was in the ballpark. The husband then turned to the wife and said “Yes dear, I can make one of those but the first one will cost you around $1000. Don’t be so cheap, buy the man’s pens!” The moral of the story is that there’s more that goes into a finished product than the amount of time spent working on that single piece. Experience counts just as much as the ticking of the clock. Jason Clark April 2010 Newletter March 2010 Newletter February 2010 Newletter January 2010 Newletter December 2009 Newletter November 2009 Newletter October 2009 Newletter Arizona Woodturners Association © 2009 |