How long did it take you to make that?

[John Vaeth]

This is one of the most common questions I get and I have yet to come up with a suitable answer. Do you mean from raw log to finished bowl? The answer is usually a couple years. Do you mean time at the lathe? Do you mean total work hours? Adding up the true number of work hours (finding wood, transport, chainsawing, bandsawing, rough turning, drying, final turning, sanding, embellishing, finishing, signing, etc.) is cumbersome at best. How do you answer this question?

 

[Wally Crawford]

I am frequently asked this question at the vender shows I attend and I tell them roughly 6-8 hours. That time includes getting the wood (log), processing the wood, mounting and rough turning the blank, tracking and weighing the wood in the drying process, turning the bowl the second time, and finishing and is only a rough approximation by me.
I will be interested in what others have to say.

 

[Randy Anderson]

I too get asked all the time at markets and my answer is consistent with Wally's - 6-8 hours, sometimes less, sometimes more. I also throw in that's just "handling" time and does not include the weeks or months it takes to dry. Sometimes I think it's overstated for some items but when you think of driving to get the log, hauling it home, cutting it up, sealing, storing, checking on it, handling and cutting to turn, etc, etc... I'm sure it's close even for simple items. I certainly don't want them to think that the hour it takes to rough out a 10" live edge bowl is all there is to the process.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

This is one of the most common questions I get and I have yet to come up with a suitable answer. Do you mean from raw log to finished bowl? The answer is usually a couple years. Do you mean time at the lathe? Do you mean total work hours? Adding up the true number of work hours (finding wood, transport, chainsawing, bandsawing, rough turning, drying, final turning, sanding, embellishing, finishing, signing, etc.) is cumbersome at best. How do you answer this question?

Print this out and hang it where it is easily seen, covers it all I think.

 

[hockenbery]

To make a bowl
“2 hours and 20 years of practice”. Stocksdale maybe.

I like the longer answer my friend John Styer wrote
@Leo Van Der Loo posted it above
You can find it here too

Hand-Crafted Lathe Art - Unique Gifts from the Lathe-Meister

 

[Donna Banfield]

With the work I create, I get that question all the time. Sometimes it is genuine, in that they are flabbergasted in what they're looking at, and can't fathom how I do it, let alone how long it takes. And some ask the question based on the price of the piece. They are trying to calculate in their mind whether the asking price is worth it.

It takes skill to 'read the room' and determine the real reason behind the question. But in all cases my response is the same. I honestly can't tell them on the piece that they are looking at. Because I don't work on a single piece from beginning to end. I can't. I am prone to repetitive stress injuries, so I will move to a different piece every two or three hours in the course of a day. I tell them I have between 20 to 30 pieces in various stages of completion, which is true. And that's exactly what I do. But in the past 16 years that I have been making this artwork, (and working as a woodturner for more than 20) I have a pretty good idea of the labor involved, the materials I use, and the skill it takes to make it. In my work, if someone asks, "how long did it take for you..." and walks away after hearing the answer, they were never going to be a buyer. And I'm o.k. with that.

 

[John Ames]

My standard answer:

“2 hours to 20 hours or more and I try to pay myself $40-$50 per hour…. Hence the prices you see…”

There are exceptions, of course, for special pieces that require more attention…

I also need a raise…

 

[Isaac Fisher]

Richard Raffan said he could estimate time for bowls 6 inches and up by the formula:

Height (in.) x Diameter (in.) = Time (minutes)

If I drink enough coffee and really focus I can work at about a third of that pace.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Richard Raffan said he could estimate time for bowls 6 inches and up by the formula:

Height (in.) x Diameter (in.) = Time (minutes)

If I drink enough coffee and really focus I can work at about a third of that pace.

That would be accurate if only referring to the roughing-in of the blank (no pre-work, sanding, finishing, drying).

 

[Robert Kramer]

My standard answer........10 years.

The time it took to get proficient at being a wood worker.....

Most people don't like that answer...

 

[Jerry Bennett]

One should not be offended by the question. It is an opportunity to share not only the experience and time required to make a piece but the thought and passion behind it. There is much more to a handmade work than the time to make it and any question is a golden opportunity to make a friend or….offend.

 

[Randy Anderson]

I've been asked countless times but don't recall any that seemed to be trying to compare the work to justify the price for the piece. It's always out of curiosity, how did you do it, is it hard to do, could I learn how, what tools, etc.

 

[robo hippy]

I have replied, more than once, 25 years ago, this bowl would have taken me 45 minutes or more to turn. Now I can do it in 5 minutes. It takes longer to sand it out than it does to turn it. That seems to explain most of it to customers.

robo hippy

 

[Karl Best]

I usually just say "a few hours". That seems to satisfy most people -- or maybe it sounds like a brush off. If someone wants to get into the details to learn more about the process I'll discuss the steps, but to me it sounds usually like a way for them to decide if my prices are reasonable. And no, dear customer, I'm not going to work for $10/hour.

 

[Marc Banka]

5 minutes per bowl? 12 per hour, 96 in an 8 hour day? Is that really true? Start to finish? I’m not disbelieving of you, just amazed. I feel very slow.

As with everyone else, I get asked, often. I think folks are just curious, have no idea how we make a piece from a log. They are generally fascinated when I explain the steps, the process. As I said above, I’m slow. When I think about the time I actually spend on a piece, from harvesting/ acquiring a log to finished, on the table, ready to go is more than I’m comfortable admitting in this space.

I don’t understand how anyone can mill a blank from a log, rough turn, treat, second turn, sand and finish, and measure that time in minutes.

 

[Richard Coers]

We all get that question because the general public has never heard of woodturning. They don't know why they even need a woodturning except for a rolling pin or salad bowl. It's the reason they walk by woodturning booths so quickly, they don't know how to start a conversation. Except of course for the other most common comment, "my cousin's uncle is a carpenter too"

 

[John Vaeth]

All interesting and insightful replies! Like Donna, I rarely work linearly. I often have 10 or more pieces in some partially completed stage, not because of repetitive stress injuries like Donna but because I'm hoping for creative inspiration. A simple bowl is relatively easy to calculate hours invested but when I get into hollowing, segmented turning, piercing, carving, burning, painting and airbrushing, it's many hours sometimes spread over weeks or months. Marc and Richard are right that people often don't even know what a lathe is, much less all the steps involved in the process. I think buyers respond best to stories rather than the mechanics of creating a piece. For example, "Look at the highly prized zone lines on this beautiful spalted maple. They emerge during the natural decay process in wet woods and the lines are essentially walls created in a war of competing fungi. Timing for when to stop this decay by drying the wood is crucial. Drying kills the fungi yet allows the lines to remain." or "Feel the wonderful texture of this piece. It was created by woodburning thousands of tiny dots." The focus then is on the art and the craftsperson's inspiration rather than how long it took.

 

[Kevin Weir]

I have a 8.5 x 11 page with small photos on it that I take to shows. Each photo is of one step of the process, all the way from growing a tree, chainsawing blanks, rough turning, drying, second turning, sanding, finishing, and final buffing. There are about 12 small pics. I explain that because there are so many steps spread out over a 2 year period, it’s difficult to estimate the time to make each piece. This usually satisfies most people. Those who insist on a more refined estimate are usually looking for price justification. Not interested in those.

 

[John Vaeth]

I have a 8.5 x 11 page with small photos on it that I take to shows. Each photo is of one step of the process, all the way from growing a tree, chainsawing blanks, rough turning, drying, second turning, sanding, finishing, and final buffing. There are about 12 small pics. I explain that because there are so many steps spread out over a 2 year period, it’s difficult to estimate the time to make each piece. This usually satisfies most people. Those who insist on a more refined estimate are usually looking for price justification. Not interested in those.

Good idea!

 

[hughie]

Most who ask me these are angling about cost. So the higher the cost the longer I make the time frame

 

[Tom Gall]

We all get that question because the general public has never heard of woodturning. They don't know why they even need a woodturning except for a rolling pin or salad bowl. It's the reason they walk by woodturning booths so quickly, they don't know how to start a conversation. Except of course for the other most common comment, "my cousin's uncle is a carpenter too""

..... "Uncle Harry can make one of those for us".

 

[Randy Anderson]

A bit different than the original question but often in the same breath is "how did you make that". After many attempts to describe the process and see folks eyes glaze over I made this little model. I take it to all my shows and it gets a LOT of use during the day. I turn the crank and show them how I position the bowl gouge (I call it a long very sharp tool when describing) for each step. It's made a big difference in having them understand the process better and the visual is fairly easy for them to follow. If they have kids I let them turn the crank. I've thought about putting a little motor on it and letting it spin rather than crank it.

 

[Karl Best]

I have a 8.5 x 11 page with small photos on it that I take to shows. Each photo is of one step of the process, all the way from growing a tree, chainsawing blanks, rough turning, drying, second turning, sanding, finishing, and final buffing. There are about 12 small pics. I explain that because there are so many steps spread out over a 2 year period, it’s difficult to estimate the time to make each piece. This usually satisfies most people. Those who insist on a more refined estimate are usually looking for price justification. Not interested in those.

I thought about making a 90-second video that I could run continuously on an iPad or laptop, short enough that people would watch to the end. My video skills are non-existent; maybe I can poach something from Youtube.

 

[Richard Coers]

..... "Uncle Harry can make one of those for us".

Uncle Harry or Pier 1.

 

[Bob Verseput]

An artist friend of mine taught me the correct answer to that question a long time ago. The correct answer is always, "All my life."

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Uncle Harry or Pier 1.

Uncle Chang can make 40 of those a day...

 

[William Rogers]

First I am a much slower turner than most of you. I don’t really hear many negative comments described in the other post. Most are along the lines of “you do beautiful work” or “you are talented”. Usually with that comment they don’t buy anything. That’s ok and I still try to answer their questions. When asked how long, I usually say it takes some time and briefly describe the process without any number of hours. I’m a hobbies and not a pro. I turn because I like it and not trying to make money. It is good when I do sell something so I can buy more sandpaper.

 

[Marc Banka]

I have four 13x19 signs at the end of my booth. One of them is a brief explanation of the process, 12 images with descriptions of that step, starting with logs and ending with a studio image of the finished piece. People are fascinated, spend time there, talk to their kids about it. Often, because of this they come in to talk. They don’t always buy, of course, and that’s fine. Often my sales happen after a nice chat about what I do, and how I do it. My love and excitement for my craft tends to be what sells. Well, maybe it’s also the beauty of each piece.

 

[Graham Dolby]

The late, great, Ray Key said that you couldn't make a living from turning unless you took no more than 40 minutes to produce a salad bowl. That included the time it took to chainsaw the log, rough turn the bowl for drying and then finish turn.
If I had to depend on turning for a living at my skill level, I'd be living in a tent on the sidewalk!

 

[Larry Mercier]

If I had to depend on turning for a living at my skill level, I'd be living in a tent on the sidewalk!

#29 Hi Graham, I often wonder why the need for speed. A lot of us are hobbyists and are more interested in improving our skills rather than how fast we can turn a piece. I wonder if the need for speed is corelated to when we started turning: as a relatively young person on one end of the spectrum to picking it up after retirement from some other field at the other end of the spectrum. In MHO many more threads, in this AAW discussion forum, deal with skill building not on how fast a piece can be turned. I will never be a good and fast turner but I aspire to be a better turner tomorrow than I was yesterday.

 

[hockenbery]

I often wonder why the need for speed.

Everyone will have a comfort level of lathe speed, feed rate of the tool, depth of cut etc.
Hobbiests are in it for fun. Keep it enjoyable. Speed is sort of natural - the more I do of an object the faster I get.

Warren a 13 old student was doing napkin rings in class. He asked if he could do napkin rings again the next class.
He said something like he did 3 today, the first one took 45 minute, the second 30 minutes, and the third 20 minutes.
He reasoned he could easily do 6 the next class. I told him he could do napkin rings but instead of doing 6 do one good one then do another good one…. You might well get 6 good one. If you watch the clock you’ll get 6 but you might not like them so much.

 

[Donna Banfield]

#29 Hi Graham, I often wonder why the need for speed. A lot of us are hobbyists and are more interested in improving our skills rather than how fast we can turn a piece. I wonder if the need for speed is corelated to when we started turning: as a relatively young person on one end of the spectrum to picking it up after retirement from some other field at the other end of the spectrum. In MHO many more threads, in this AAW discussion forum, deal with skill building not on how fast a piece can be turned. I will never be a good and fast turner but I aspire to be a better turner tomorrow than I was yesterday.

I think the proper terminology, rather than speed, is efficiency. Woodturners who make their living as production turners, like Mike Mahoney or Glenn Lucas, must be as efficient and skillful as possible. For example, Glenn Lucas take no more cuts with the gouge than is absolutely necessary. It comes down to minutes and seconds; going over that time limit means they are losing money. You can't charge an extra $50 for an identical bowl that you spent 15 minutes more than all the others.

 

[hockenbery]

@Donna Banfield ,makes a great point.

Many years ago I had a week long class with Liam O’Neil.

Late in the class he did a demo for us returning a 14 “ dried warped cherry bowl.
He mounted a faceplate.
In one pass from foot to rim he had turned it round with a great curve
He did a second light pass smoothing the surface and refining the curve.
Then he shear scraped the surface.
About a minute to get the outside sandable. With most of time being shear scrapping.

I been lucky to spend time with lot of really good turners
Liam’s peformance that day is the best I’ve seen.

 

[John Vaeth]

I took a class at Campbell Folk School a few years ago with an instructor who was a production turner. He showed us a beautifully turned plate and said "I had to make 1000 of those for a client". His skills were truly remarkable but my immediate thought was I never want to do that. You can probably tell from my Instagram page that I rarely make the same thing twice. I'll never be as skilled (or sell as much) as a production turner but for me the joy of this hobby is in discovery and exploration.

 

[Dave Hulett]

How long did it take to make that? All my life

 

[Don Stephan]

After much thought the response I use is "how long does it take you to make a meat loaf?" Does that include time to get a hunk of meat, grind it, clean and put away the grinder, add ingredients and mix, prepare loaf pan, bake, and clean the rest of the equipment used? My thinking is making meat loaf is an activity people can visualize, or have performed.