Courage + Wisdom + Understanding = Success

Using these three attributes together is what enables us to produce such phenomenally beautiful pieces of turned art out of little more than firewood.

If you have been turning for any length of time at all, you have probably spent time on the YouTube channel watching Woodturning videos. While some are excellent, others are just scary. I have found many examples of turners with plenty of courage, but without wisdom or understanding. One fellow in particular was trying to demonstrate why roughing gouges should not be used to turn bowl blanks. So, live on camera he got that almighty catch which resulted in two very smashed and bloody fingers requiring a trip to the hospital. This fellow exhibited plenty of courage and understanding, but zero wisdom. As many of you know, I live in the southeastern United States. Some of the most famous last words in this area are “Hey Bubba, watch this!”

Some of the projects we undertake as Turners can require large amounts of courage in order to produce those incredible finished works of art, many of which are destined for the holiday dinner table. I’m thinking of larger platters, large salad bowls and larger hollow vessels in particular. The methods and techniques needed to safely turn these items require more thoughtfulness and contemplation than smaller items and most small spindle projects, i.e. wisdom and understanding. With the holidays quickly approaching many of us will be turning larger salad bowls and larger platters for use at family gatherings. When you chuck up a platter blank 15 7/8 inches in diameter, or larger, which may not be centered and balanced, it takes a certain amount of courage to fire up that lathe. Wisdom says that you wear all of the safety gear and stay out of the line of fire should something go wrong. And then, of course, there’s the ever present possibility of a catch. When you are turning a bottle stopper catches are just usually annoying while catches on a bowl or platter of this size may have more serious consequences. Understanding will allow us to think before we touch tool to wood and use a more deliberate approach. The rewards of spending the extra time thinking about what we’re doing are usually tremendous. As we apply our oil finish to that newly turned salad bowl and enjoy the beauty God built into it, we realize the impact it will have on the folks we made it for. Someone once remarked “No one remembers how quickly you did the job, but everyone remembers how well you did the job.” It’s easy to see why we picked Woodturning as our hobby of choice, because wherever you go there you are.

Here is my inspiration for this message:

Proverbs 3 ESV – 13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, 14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Numbers 13 ESV – 17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan. . .20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. . .