Doing a reset

[Pat Patterson]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

Sharpening- Started using the pattern templates from Carl Ford. Www.carlford.us. My bowl and detail gouges now cut. For the skew, I followed Robo Hippy’s advice and set his platform to 3. I t wasn’t far off from where I was so I did not take off much steel but it really improved my cuts and positioning.

Now I am in phase 2. I have decided to turn wine stoppers until I have mastered them. Another dozen or so and I will be ready to move on to weed pots, candle holders, and finally small bowls. I’ve attached a couple pics of my progress so far.





You folks inspire me to be more than I am. Thanks. And thanks for listening.
Pat

 

[hughie]

I think if you can turn wine stoppers you can turn anything . I Iike the little engraving on the top, nice touch.

I find if I dont challenge myself on a regular basis it gets a bit humdrum

 

[Pat Patterson]

I think if you can turn wine stoppers you can turn anything . I Iike the little engraving on the top, nice touch.

I find if I dont challenge myself on a regular basis it gets a bit humdrum

Yeh, that's my new toy a laser engraver. Got it from the big A for around $250. I bought it to sign the bottom of my bowls, for which it works great, but I am finding more and more uses for it. I don't know about turning anything, but the repetition is helping me reach a comfort zone I have never before experienced.
Pat

 

[Stan Pressner]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.



Sharpening- Started using the pattern templates from Carl Ford. Www.carlford.us. My bowl and detail gouges now cut. For the skew, I followed Robo Hippy’s advice and set his platform to 3. I t wasn’t far off from where I was so I did not take off much steel but it really improved my cuts and positioning.



Now I am in phase 2. I have decided to turn wine stoppers until I have mastered them. Another dozen or so and I will be ready to move on to weed pots, candle holders, and finally small bowls.



I’ve attached a couple pics of my progress so far.



You folks inspire me to be more than I am. Thanks.

And thanks for listening.



Pat

Slightly off topic, but I did a ten week course(one day a week) with Carl this spring, and it was very helpful.

 

[Brian Deakin]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I would suggest watching Stuart Batty's 34 videos on Vmeo as an essential step to underpin your journey

SB Tools

Stuart Batty combines his unique heritage with thirty-five years of experience as a world-class instructor to offer a breakthrough in both tool design and method,…

vimeo.com

 

[Tim Tucker]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I would suggest watching Stuart Batty's 34 videos on Vmeo as an essential step to underpin your journey

SB Tools

Stuart Batty combines his unique heritage with thirty-five years of experience as a world-class instructor to offer a breakthrough in both tool design and method,…

vimeo.com

I just attended the AAW Symposium in Chattanooga TN. Stuart Batty was one of the demonstrators. After watching one of them -I watched ALL of his presentations. Yes, he is very convinced of his own philosophies in turning. I am o.k. with that and pretty much "fan-boy resistant". But it is hard to escape the fact that his skill allows him such clean cuts that sanding can begin a - sometimes 220, but certainly 180 - from every piece I saw him turn. Tearout is almost completely eliminated. Speed/efficiency is greatly improved over other methods I have seen.
And - for the record....I am in the same club as David Ellsworth and several other nationally recognized turners.....so it may be considered heresy....but I am going to focus more effort on gaining proficiency with he 40/40. I will still use my "Irish-worth" grind as needed, again - not a hardcore, oneway only kind of thinker. But I do recognize "smart" things that will improve my turning. Much to gain in watching Stuart.

 

[Randy Polisky]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.



Sharpening- Started using the pattern templates from Carl Ford. Www.carlford.us. My bowl and detail gouges now cut. For the skew, I followed Robo Hippy’s advice and set his platform to 3. I t wasn’t far off from where I was so I did not take off much steel but it really improved my cuts and positioning.



Now I am in phase 2. I have decided to turn wine stoppers until I have mastered them. Another dozen or so and I will be ready to move on to weed pots, candle holders, and finally small bowls.



I’ve attached a couple pics of my progress so far.



You folks inspire me to be more than I am. Thanks.

And thanks for listening.



Pat

Hi Pat - I really like how your engraved bottle stoppers turned out; they definitely add a touch of class to them. I also like your shapes, but I have one comment/suggestion: don't put too sharp of a point on the tops of them. There are certain idiots out there who believe that when they put a stopper in a bottle they must "slam" it down into he bottle forcefully to get it to seal properly. A rounded point will diminish the possibility of one of your stoppers piercing the hand of one of these moronic users. It happened to a couple of folks who purchased stoppers from me many years ago and taught me a very valuable lesson. As I said - I like your designs. Keep up the good work. . . . Randy Polisky ("Romancing the Wood").

 

[Doug Freeman]

I believe its very helpful to learn different experts’ methods, tools, grinds, etc. D Ellsworth and S Batty both have had a huge influence in my turning practices.

The 40/40 does what Stuart claims - heavy matl removal with little to no tearout. I use it in conjunction with a long wing 60 deg Ellsworth/Michelson grind. I find them to be complimentary vs choosing one or the other.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Pat,
I have been turning for about 4-5 years and have found that one of the reasons I sort of got stuck in a rut was that I was reluctant to start on a piece unless I was sure that I could make a piece that I liked and felt was worth it. In the past year I have done a couple of pieces I would never have attempted before realizing that it doesn't matter whether the piece turns out great or not. What matters more is that I got something out of it. In the process I have turned at lease 2 pieces that were much better than anything I turned before; unique and better in technique. I got to this point because I spent some time during Covid attending online demos which gave me ideas and made me want to do pieces different than I was doing. I also took 2 classes from Trent Bosch over the past year. Whether you like Trent's pieces or not, he is a great teacher, always willing to answer questions, make suggestions to move you forward, and, most of all, encourages experimentation - which I feel now is probably one of the best ways to get better and to change your style (if you're not happy with it). Classes can be expensive, especially these days, but I do think it broke me out of my rut and was worth it. So, if not classes, go online and find pieces you like and try to make them.

Oh, by the way, I'm still not a pro, but I'm much better than I was and my pieces tend to be more interesting.

 

[Dean Center]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I would suggest watching Stuart Batty's 34 videos on Vmeo as an essential step to underpin your journey

SB Tools

Stuart Batty combines his unique heritage with thirty-five years of experience as a world-class instructor to offer a breakthrough in both tool design and method,…

vimeo.com

I respectfully disagree. Anybody disappointed in their turning skills should NOT watch Stuart Batty. Instead, they should watch me, and then they will feel an ego boost.

 

[Pat Patterson]

Hi Pat - I really like how your engraved bottle stoppers turned out; they definitely add a touch of class to them. I also like your shapes, but I have one comment/suggestion: don't put too sharp of a point on the tops of them. There are certain idiots out there who believe that when they put a stopper in a bottle they must "slam" it down into he bottle forcefully to get it to seal properly. A rounded point will diminish the possibility of one of your stoppers piercing the hand of one of these moronic users. It happened to a couple of folks who purchased stoppers from me many years ago and taught me a very valuable lesson. As I said - I like your designs. Keep up the good work. . . . Randy Polisky ("Romancing the Wood").

Thanks for you insights. If I sell the pointy one I will attach a warning

 

[Pat Patterson]

I respectfully disagree. Anybody disappointed in their turning skills should NOT watch Stuart Batty. Instead, they should watch me, and then they will feel an ego boost.

 

[Pat Patterson]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I would suggest watching Stuart Batty's 34 videos on Vmeo as an essential step to underpin your journey

SB Tools

Stuart Batty combines his unique heritage with thirty-five years of experience as a world-class instructor to offer a breakthrough in both tool design and method,…

vimeo.com

I have watched several of Stuart's videos and he is awesome. I will follow your link to see more. thanks
Pat

 

[Pat Patterson]

Well I have spent the last month on my reset project. Working my way up from winestoppers, bottle openers, my first little box and finally a bowl. What I discovered was that my technique was not all that bad. The real key was sharpening. I thought my tools were sharp. Wrong. I encourage anyone having problems like mine, to look at their sharpening skills first. Thanks to all for their advise you all were a great help and encouragement

 

[Tim Tucker]

I have watched several of Stuart's videos and he is awesome. I will follow your link to see more. thanks
Pat

I was so impressed at Chattanooga - that I am going to CO in late Oct. for a class with Stuart.

You are making progress, clearly. When I asked an old mentor of mine about how to know you were making attractive bowls - he said "First you make about 200 ugly ones".....He was kind of joking of course - but there is a little truth in that statement. You will find you become more discriminating about shapes, and ratios, and little details a you make more and more....
T

 

[robo hippy]

Oh, Dean's comment made me laugh. I do like to watch Stuart from time to time, and he does change some of what he does. Some things he does, I agree with. Some I don't agree. That is pretty much the same as every turner I have ever watched. The whole point of watching others turn is to see what they do that you don't do. Then you go home and try it to see what happens. If it works for you, fine. If not, tinker with it to see if it does work better. Some things I keep, some things I discard.

As for getting surfaces that can be sanded starting at 180 or 220, for me, that is as much the wood as it is my skills. Pacific madrone is a wood that cuts beautifully with just about any tools. Big leaf maple always has tear out. Remember this when you see some one turn a bowl 'with no tear out'. As far as I am concerned, when ever you cut up hill against the grain, you will get tear out. Finding out what reduces the tear out is huge! Some times I have to start at 80 grit. Big leaf maple, usually at 100 grit. Pacific madrone usually 120. Some times I can start at 180 or higher, but it is faster to start at a lower grit. Sanding usually takes me at least twice as long as the turning.

robo hippy

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Over the past 5 years I've made significant progress in both my sharpening skills (also the effort I make sharpening more often) and my skills using bowl gouges. While I have reduced the amount of tear out I get, sometimes I just can't get rid of it all before sanding. The extra sanding required (and still sometimes a tiny bit of tear out remains on the inside) really has stopped bothering me.

For example, I have an ash bowl on the lathe right now that I turned and shear scraped smooth to virtually no tear out on the outside but I spent a long time yesterday scraping the inside to get rid of tear out, with multiple sharpenings of a NR scraper I have. I got rid of most of it and, of course, still need more work on my inside bowl technique but, at some point, I just moved on to the next step which will be more sanding than I had hoped after my success on the outside but . . . Since the ash blank was already dry I suspect that contributed a tiny bit to the result (at least I can tell myself that). Plus, since I've started to do more carving on my bowls, sometimes the tear out isn't all that significant.

For me, getting the result I want, whether more sanding is required to get it or I get it right from my gouge, is the most important. That's what gives me the most satisfaction.

So, my advice to any beginners is to do the best you can with each bowl, whether more sanding is needed or not, and move on to the next one. Each piece of wood and bowl is different and a learning experience for me.

 

[RichColvin]

Pat, this is brilliant. I would love to see a track of your progress as you go.

 

[Pat Patterson]

Pat, this is brilliant. I would love to see a track of your progress as you go.

I am currently working on a weed pot made of red cedar. A friend dropped an entire tree with a 10" base in my drive. Boy my shop really smell good. I'll post a pic when it is done. Another thing I have learned is to really slow down my cats and be much less aggressive.
Thanks for your interest Rich.
Pat

 

[Odie]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I truly believe one of the best ways to learn, is to isolate yourself from all the voices giving you advice......and, listen to your own inner voice.

By doing so, you'll blaze a few trails of your own, and promote your own individual style.

By far, this is the path less traveled, but the rewards are great. Make your mistakes, listen to yourself in solving them.....and persevere. This may involve trying many things, and failing again and again.....before coming to a final conclusion......but, the solutions will be yours, and yours alone.

-----odie-----

=================================================


persevere

pûr″sə-vîr′

intransitive verb​

1. To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I agree with Odie for the most part. One has to start somewhere, and learning various experts’ methods, tools, and grinds provides the foundation to then build your own “thing” upon.

Each of us only know what we experience, hence the need to build said foundation on which to build further. It is very much a journey. Building a knowledge and experience base then allows one to develop and test out various educated hypothesis to evaluate, typically to address an issue in a certain type of situation.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, kind of.... I do like seeing how other people approach their turning. I will try to figure out what they do, and why. Then some times I will use those techniques, some times I modify them to suit me, and some times they just don't work for me....

robo hippy

 

[Pat Patterson]

Well I continue to progress. My latest step forward was to my a new lathe!!! Thanks to all the discussions here, I got the bug. I purchased a Galaxy 1644 and I could not be happier. Turned a few small things and could no believe what an improvement in output I have experienced. I now have a Grizzly 462 for sale although I do not expect anyone here to be interested, but if you know of any newbie who might be interested please send them my way. I am about 40 miles north of the southern tip ILL.
Thanks for all the help,
Pat

 

[Steve Chaplin]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

I would suggest watching Stuart Batty's 34 videos on Vmeo as an essential step to underpin your journey

SB Tools

Stuart Batty combines his unique heritage with thirty-five years of experience as a world-class instructor to offer a breakthrough in both tool design and method,…

vimeo.com

Going to second this suggestion. Listen to few voices, and and Batty is one to listen to. Also recommend this video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7BjRcSDurM

My personal advice to you is to commit to learning better technique and don't be afraid to make mistakes and throw away work. This will greatly accelerate the learning process.

 

[Bill Blasic]

One thing Stuart Batty, Nick Agar or any myriad of turning pros cannot give you is 30 or 40 years of experience. Most definitely they can give you instruction that will help but it is up to you to get the experience. Where I'm at in my turning journey is not because of one pro that I have seen or hosted or studied with but with parts of all of them and it is now my own. Finally there is always something to learn, don't ever stop learning.

 

[Odie]

Going to second this suggestion. Listen to few voices, and and Batty is one to listen to. Also recommend this video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7BjRcSDurM

My personal advice to you is to commit to learning better technique and don't be afraid to make mistakes and throw away work. This will greatly accelerate the learning process.

One thing that Stuart Batty mentions around 17:30, is "How do I turn faster?"

I said the same thing to myself at one time, and this is fine for roughing, as Batty is in the process of doing just that......but, at some point for me, the need for fast results became less important, and "How do I turn better" replaced it.....especially during the final stages of turning. To me, turning better can be summed up by one self-evident axiom.....and that is turning with the express purpose of eliminating the need for sanding. The most important element of eliminating sanding, is you (by default) are eliminating the distorting effects of aggressive sanding.....and, when you do that, you are maintaining geometric integrity. Geometric integrity is extremely important, if you intend to have crisp details in your turnings. Eliminating sanding is really the only way to achieve that goal.

Doing all of this takes time, and doing this also takes the "experience" that @Bill Blasic mentioned in the post above this one! I believe Bill will agree that there really is no way to get "instant gratification" in achieving a refined result.....other than to do the time in the saddle. The amount of time in the saddle necessary to achieve goals may vary with the ability of each individual to benefit from it!

-----odie-----

 

[David Wrate]

I have become increasingly disenchanted with my turning skills particularly in view on the marvelous work I see here. Therefore I have decided to go back to the beginning and start over.

Sharpening- Started using the pattern templates from Carl Ford. Www.carlford.us. My bowl and detail gouges now cut. For the skew, I followed Robo Hippy’s advice and set his platform to 3. I t wasn’t far off from where I was so I did not take off much steel but it really improved my cuts and positioning.

Now I am in phase 2. I have decided to turn wine stoppers until I have mastered them. Another dozen or so and I will be ready to move on to weed pots, candle holders, and finally small bowls. I’ve attached a couple pics of my progress so far.

View attachment 45489

View attachment 45490

You folks inspire me to be more than I am. Thanks. And thanks for listening.
Pat

Beautiful work Pat!
Thanks for the link to Carl's site, those templates are great for a beginner like myself.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Try to turn as many items as you can starting out and have fun with the learning process, there are countless numbers of items you
can turn on a lathe other than the one's everyone else is turning and selling in the marketplace. The smaller items are quicker to make
and provide an instant gratification over a prolonged turning and finishing process on bigger items. Some of the large segment turnings
can take weeks or months to complete, which require a great deal of patience and discipline. Various small turnings will increase your
tool skills and techniques which can then lead you to master any of the bigger and more complex projects. Christmas is right around the
corner, ornaments are fun to turn, and everyone enjoys receiving these as personalized gifts from the wood turner.

 

[Pat Patterson]

I have watched Stuarts videos and they were helpful. Right now, I am following the suggestion in another post of changing the angles just a tiny amount at a time this has been most informative as I am playing with angles on a medium bowl I am turning. My next project is to turn a platter for this months challenge. I have come up with an idea for the rim. We'll see if it works.
Pat

 

[Pat Patterson]

Beautiful work Pat!
Thanks for the link to Carl's site, those templates are great for a beginner like myself.

They were key to my getting sharp gouges. My work is all pretty basic at this point. Do not be reticent about posting your results. The folks here are very kind and will point out aspects that will help you become a better turner and build up your confidence. As far as sharpening goes use a light touch. Once you get a profile you like, it only takes a couple of strokes to get sharp again.
Pat

 

[David Wrate]

They were key to my getting sharp gouges. My work is all pretty basic at this point. Do not be reticent about posting your results. The folks here are very kind and will point out aspects that will help you become a better turner and build up your confidence. As far as sharpening goes use a light touch. Once you get a profile you like, it only takes a couple of strokes to get sharp again.
Pat

Thanks Pat, I appreciate the encouragement.
I'm in the midst of renovating my shop for what seems like the umpteenth time. As soon as I get sorted I'll be able to spend more time at the lathe.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

Another thing I have learned is to really slow down my cats and be much less aggressive.

The cats and the wood respond best to stroking in the right direction.

 

[Dave Bunge]

Yeh, that's my new toy a laser engraver. Got it from the big A for around $250.

I too like the engraving. Who (what) is "the big A"?

 

[Pat Patterson]

The cats and the wood respond best to stroking in the right direction.

Some times misspelling can be humorous and appropriate.

 

[Pat Patterson]

I too like the engraving. Who (what) is "the big A"?

Amazon. If you need a url for the one I got let me know.

 

[Dave Bunge]

Amazon. If you need a url for the one I got let me know.

Duh, should have known. Yes, I'd appreciate a link to the one you have.

 

[Aaron Harris]

Well I have spent the last month on my reset project. Working my way up from winestoppers, bottle openers, my first little box and finally a bowl. What I discovered was that my technique was not all that bad. The real key was sharpening. I thought my tools were sharp. Wrong. I encourage anyone having problems like mine, to look at their sharpening skills first. Thanks to all for their advise you all were a great help and encouragement

^THIS^ all day every day. The better I get at sharpening, the better I get at turning. And after two years of doing it, I am gradually grinding my tools MY way while paying close attention to the relationship between my edge and bevel shapes and the cuts I am making. It makes a huge difference. I am also sharpening much more frequently these days. When that bowl gouge starts bogging down and chattering (like on a super-hard curupau blank from last weekend), it's back to the grinder instead of grimly bearing down, which is just begging for a catch or a lousy surface. And your work looks fine to me after your "Reset"-maybe I need to do that.