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Keeping Track

Dave Fritz

Dave Fritz

Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
754
Likes
217
Location
Montfort, Wisconsin
Do you keep track of your work? If so how do you do it? Is there a software program you use? I've searched this site and am unable to locate any information on the subject, perhaps I didn't use the correct key words in the search.
I do have photos but would like to have some additional information such as finish, date, wood etc.
Thanks.
 
Dave Fritz said:
Do you keep track of your work? If so how do you do it? Is there a software program you use? I've searched this site and am unable to locate any information on the subject, perhaps I didn't use the correct key words in the search.
I do have photos but would like to have some additional information such as finish, date, wood etc.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
I finally started doing this a few years ago. I just use a spreadsheet (Excel) - you can even include a photo of any size.....but sometimes that can be tricky - at least for me.
 
Haphazardly
i have a pretty good collection of representative work from slides submitted for art shows, exhibitions, and some postcards we did for club shows.
the last 15 years it has just been mostly digital photos for demos, symposiums, and articles.
 
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After uploading photos to a PC right click on it and hit the rename option. You can enter all kinds of information right in the picture name.

I was uploading pictures that were taken at our club's monthly meeting to the clubs website. I renamed the pictures with the members name, date, wood species, and sometimes other information. This way the pictures are searchable.
 
I do as Larry does and rename photos with relevant info. In addition, I create a directory structure with year and then month as subdirectories.

Also, I keep a notebook with sketches, notes on who was gifted what, finish recipes and schedules. When I do a new type of project, mini BB bats, birdhouse ornaments, inside out ornaments, etc I write up a brief how to with dimensions, order of steps and other info that will let me reproduce specific projects in the future. Some of these projects are only done once a year, or less often, so having a how to saves a lot of time.
 
Lou Jacobs said:
I keep a notebook of bowls and other turnings that I’ve given away. Helps me know who I’ve already “blessed” with the fruit of my labors. I simply note date, size and species, and if there was anything distinctive about it, and of course recipient’s name.
Click to expand...
I do much the same but use Excel. It helps me from giving the same thing twice to a recipient. I have the date, recipient, occasion and a brief description of the turning.
 
I keep pics of items I have gifted. As far as giving the same thing twice well no two of my turnings are the same . Wood, finish and dimensions are not pertinent to what I turn. Even tho someone may ask for a duplicate I can just tell them it can be similar but will not be exact.
 
Thank you I didn't realize you could write that much in renaming the image. That's all I'll need. I'm amazed when looking at older work how old it really was. Time seems to fly by.
 
I use a spreadsheet. I turn for pleasure and to explore what is possible. I don't turn to sell. Since I turn a variety of things, I use the spreadsheet to see where my interests go, the ebb and flow.
 
Keep pictures of everything you make; in no time, 10yrs will have passed and it’s great to see where you were 10 years ago and how far the journey has taken you!! Since I suffer from CRS (can’t remember sheet), it’s amazing what a picture can do for your recollection!!
 
Russ Braun said:
Keep pictures of everything you make; in no time, 10yrs will have passed and it’s great to see where you were 10 years ago and how far the journey has taken you!! Since I suffer from CRS (can’t remember sheet), it’s amazing what a picture can do for your recollection!!
Click to expand...
I can remember 'sheets'. It's the other "S*#@&" ("stuff") I can't remember! ;)
 
I do it like your grandpappy would have done it......with an old fashioned index card file.....several of them, actually!
4 x 6 index card file.jpg
Every bowl gets an index card with an inventory number. Noted is the initial purchase date of the wood block, the size, purchased from whom, how much it cost me. Initial MC reading. For roughed bowls that go through a seasoning process, I mark the monthly weights until equilibrium. Special notations, such as significant aspects of the wood, where it came from, whether repairs/or fills were done. I do a little quick profile sketch of the bowl during it's progress, noting what surfaces have been finished to what level, and sanded to what level. (This little drawing is necessary for me to come back to it at a later time, and know exactly what was done, and where it was done. (Otherwise it could get confusing for me, because I usually have at least a dozen bowls in active progress at any one time.) Every bowl goes through a photo session, and linked to the inventory number. After it's sold, I note the name of the person who bought it, where they reside, how much they paid.

I have other index card file boxes, holding the index cards for bowls that were given away, and those that were failures. For the failures, I jot down what went wrong......sometimes it's the wood, and not my fault......sometimes it's me who blew it! There are at least a couple hundred failures in that file, and probably 500 bowls that were given away over the years........(The ladies at my church have gotten quite a few of my bowls, and are delighted that I attend their congregation!.......besides my wife(s), parents, MIL, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, friends!)

-----odie-----
 
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Lou Jacobs said:
Odie, I assume you mark a corresponding inventory # on the bowl bottom. How do you do that? I started with Roman numerals, but it got out of hand. Now I use letter combinations starting with AA, AB, AC, etc.
Click to expand...

Hello Lou.......No, actually I use a little sticker that is removed after the sale. The only thing I put on my bowls is my stylized logo, which is the letters of my initials. This is a personal preference of mine to keep it very simple. I realize other turners choose to put a variety of information on the bottom of their bowls.

-----odie-----
il_794xN.1821644348_ql8h.jpg
 
The personal albums and image pages on this AAW site are an excellent means to keep track of turned items. Each image has a description with sizes and construction details (if you have included it in your text).
 
When a piece is complete I number it and take some photos that I keep in a computer file. Hasn't been a problem for the few dozen pieces I've done so far, but I can see from the above discussion that it wouldn't be a bad thing to get better organized. I like the spreadsheet idea.
 
Actually, what I've found most useful since I tend to try all sorts of turning, is documenting the process with a series of photographs, and then notes on what I did, why, and results. I've found that it has been invaluable when I circle back to something I haven't done for some time -- I can see what I have forgotten about what to do, or not. I can make new mistakes, not repeat old ones.

My approach to turning can perhaps be described the way my academic path to a doctorate was by a fellow grad student -- "an admirable breadth of interest, or a deplorable lack of direction"
 
There are a number of database apps out there for keeping track of art/craft projects, and some of them appear to be useful for other purposes, too. A combination of Word and Excel works for me because I am an inveterate data collector (as well as tool collector).
 
Mark Jundanian said:
I do this, too, and invariably there are at least two steps I forget to photograph. :D
Click to expand...
Absolutely -- or taken from the wrong angle etc etc. Sometimes the notes help, sometimes they don't. Usually I make at least a couple versions of an idea as the results of one suggest ideas for another, so photo sequences from later pieces may fill in the hole. And occasionally the idea was abandoned for good reason. In that case, the photos are a reminder of why.
 
odie said:
I do it like your grandpappy would have done it......with an old fashioned index card file.....several of them, actually!
View attachment 38408
Every bowl gets an index card with an inventory number. Noted is the initial purchase date of the wood block, the size, purchased from whom, how much it cost me. Initial MC reading. For roughed bowls that go through a seasoning process, I mark the monthly weights until equilibrium. Special notations, such as significant aspects of the wood, where it came from, whether repairs/or fills were done. I do a little quick profile sketch of the bowl during it's progress, noting what surfaces have been finished to what level, and sanded to what level. (This little drawing is necessary for me to come back to it at a later time, and know exactly what was done, and where it was done. (Otherwise it could get confusing for me, because I usually have at least a dozen bowls in active progress at any one time.) Every bowl goes through a photo session, and linked to the inventory number. After it's sold, I note the name of the person who bought it, where they reside, how much they paid.

I have other index card file boxes, holding the index cards for bowls that were given away, and those that were failures. For the failures, I jot down what went wrong......sometimes it's the wood, and not my fault......sometimes it's me who blew it! There are at least a couple hundred failures in that file, and probably 500 bowls that were given away over the years........(The ladies at my church have gotten quite a few of my bowls, and are delighted that I attend their congregation!.......besides my wife(s), parents, MIL, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, friends!)

-----odie-----
Click to expand...
Odie, now you sound like the engineer. ;) Actually it's apparent you're a detail person. Your work shows it too, it's very nice.
 
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