Who are you turning for?
This may sound like a really stupid question, but the honest answer can eliminate most of the stress you might be feeling when you stand in front of your lathe. What I mean by this is “who is going to receive the finished product?” It could be a gift for a family member, a friend, a coworker all of whom are non–Turners. The reason you need to know who you’re making the gift for will help you decide how much time and energy and effort will go into the project. Are you going to take this project to show–and–tell at your local turning club where it will be closely and carefully examined by your turning peers? Are you going to enter it into a competition? Are you making this for sale at a gallery? Or, are you just playing?
Your target audience will have a significant impact on how much time you spend on each step and how you proceed. For example, if you’re just turning for your own fun and pleasure you may not care if you blow it up. You probably won’t sand to 12,000 grit and you’re not likely to put on 40 coats of lacquer. Or, you might do exactly that. If you do intend to sell the project, is it higher–end lower end or, somewhere in the middle. Sometimes the pieces which receive the most effort in making are the ones we’re making for a loved one. If these are relatively low value production items you may stop sanding at 320 grit, maybe the only get five or six coats of lacquer and maybe only sand once. From a production evaluation perspective, time is definitely money. The more time you spend sanding, buffing, smoothing an object either your profit goes down or the price has to go up. So obviously the faster you can make something of sellable quality the higher your profits will be.
Under the category of Ron’s Pearls of Wisdom, there is a Perl which states “your family will love whatever you make.” This is true universally whether it’s your wife or your children or your relatives. If you hand make something and present it as a gift it automatically becomes a family treasure. 99% will not look at your creation through anything but eyes of love and admiration. On the other side of this fence, may well be your fellow turning club members. The more mature members will only focus on what you did right and will offer words of encouragement never mentioning your mistakes.
I know you may find this hard to believe but I don’t always sand to 8,000 grit. Shucks, sometimes I don’t sand all! But I’m always keenly aware of how much time I’m spending on a project and I understand why I should or shouldn’t spend more time.
As I prepare for the AAW symposium in Phoenix later this week I will be among Turners of all skill levels. Some are dramatically more skilled than I am, some are less skilled. I will be bringing turned samples with me, some of which will undergo intense scrutiny. Some pieces will pass, some are not up to professional standards but all serve a purpose. Most are there because of an object lesson of one kind or another but each piece has earned its place on the shelf and I’m good with that. I’ll write more when I get back from Phoenix.
Your Friend,
Ron Brown
