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How many have one of these

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I have a shelf for all those that for whatever reason dont get finished on the day, many stay there and some are finished on the bandsaw :)

Lately I have been cleaning up the “not quite finished shelf". Its one of those areas that collects the lost, those that have come to be products of a curious mind that has wandered onto something else that appears far more enticing. Its also perhaps a shelf of lost vision, of frustration as to the next step should be when doubt is around. Where the self talk starts with ‘this is not going well’ and 'what the heck was I thinking'
Its also a shelf that is kept small to prevent it becoming a monster it could be and its also a shelf that requires attention so as to not to be over looked a place I should visit more often.
 

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I have one of those, I call it my "probably firewood" box - where I toss stuff that is too good to go in the firewood pile, but for one reason or another deemed unsuitable, or I started something only to realize I don't have the skills yet to finish it, or it has some beautiful grain but has cracks or flaws making it unfinishable as planned, but might be cut down and turned into something else later (finials, box lids, knobs, etc), or last but not least, it was green turned, but I was too slow and it moved or warped before I could finish it, so I let it dry completely and maybe can "rescue" it when it finishes moving where it wants to.
 
?, the ones u carve, they have large depressions, how thick do you finish turning them, do you let them dry or carve them green?
 
Yep, I have a reject shelf for things that didn't quite work out, not sure what I was thinking, failed in the final steps, etc. I clear it every once in a while to the burn pile but I leave some pieces there. It's rare but I have salvaged a piece from there a couple of times for something completely different than it was intended for. This was one of my first hollow forms. All wrong but couldn't stand to just pitch it. One day it struck me, it's a flying saucer bank for one of my nieces. Alien pops out to get the coins out.
 

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I have a couple shelfs (or piles or whatever). Some are reminders to "not do that again". Others are pieces I got partway done then moved on to something else.
Others I just didn't know where to go with it at the time. They just take time to figure out. I'm working on one of those right now.
 
Multiple shelves and a pile or two. Things that just did not make the grade. Did not finish for some reason or another. A new load of wood arrived and I moved on to that instead of finishing what I had started. Should just bring in the wheel barrow and haul it all to the fireplace. Designer firewood.
I used to have a "Yard Art" pile outside the shop. One day I took a piece that had been out there for a couple of years and gave it to a local "Art" group to auction off. It sold for $250.
I have since removed the Yard Art pile to the fireplace as it is a fire hazard.
 
?, the ones u carve, they have large depressions, how thick do you finish turning them, do you let them dry or carve them green?
Large depressions, voids and all manner of defects. Thickness depends on what I am doing with them, for example with convex spirals the centre will be much thinker than the ends, up to 10mm or 3/8ths" while the ends maybe 3-4 mm 1/8-5/32 or so. Green? Nah its not wise to carve to green with the carving embellishments I do.
 
I've got a shelf like that. Stuff that I haven't got to yet, a stack of rough turned oak bowls that cracked while drying but may be salvageable. I seem to have a pretty low survival rate with green turned oak. Only 1 in 5 make it to the second turning. Anything that is hopeless get's taken to the fire pit.
 
I dedicate a plastic crate to "what do I do now" unfinished projects. Sometimes the passage of time helps determine what to do next.
Have fun. Stay safe.
Larry




i
 
I have a couple shelves. Mostly once turned hollowform to dry and just have not gotten back to them. Also some I want to carve just don't know if it will be grape vine or cat tails.
 
I took a bunch of cracked bowls camping with the intention to burn them all. My kids and their cousins took many of them to play with and refused to toss them in the fire when the flames were getting low. More bowls have been requested for our next camps. Lucky for them I'm really good at making fancy fire wood.
 
?, the ones u carve, they have large depressions, how thick do you finish turning them, do you let them dry or carve them green?
Sorry missed your comment Charlie. OK thickness and all that. I tend to vary the thickness into three separate dimensions, all largely for aesthetics. So by and large the bottom would around 8 mm to give the piece stability , the central region 8-12mm and the top 3-4mm. The central region is the thickest as I like to carve the spirals a little deeper here to improve the piece visually.
 
I took a bunch of cracked bowls camping with the intention to burn them all. My kids and their cousins took many of them to play with and refused to toss them in the fire when the flames were getting low. More bowls have been requested for our next camps. Lucky for them I'm really good at making fancy fire wood.

I did the same thing last October, the only difference is that no one minded me burning them. They thought it was a good idea. I tell myself that it was because it was cold and rainy.
Sure, that's it...
 
Yes, I have many unfinished pieces/projects in my shop. I also have an old motorcycle, model airplanes, antique safes, and other unfinished projects at home. It's not just turning for me.
 
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