Turning design....

[Doug Rasmussen]

Anybody follow "rules" of design in your turnings? If so, anything you'd care to share? Or links?

The link below is one person's set of rules I stumbled on to. The recommendations of catenary curves and golden mean were especially interesting to me.

https://www.craftsy.com/woodworking/article/woodturning-design/

 

[Bill Boehme]

I like the guidelines in the link. They pretty closely match my own ideas of good form. I use my fingers to feel for smooth flowing curves. I can feel bumps and flats that my eyes may not as easily notice.

 

[hockenbery]

Ed is one of the AAW demonstrators in Portland.
I usually hang a chain in intermediate classes
I also use a straight edge to show there are no flats in a curve.

Rules I tend to follow .
Hollow ball Christmas ornaments I make the finial 2x the diameter of the ball.
My hollow forms mostly have a wide spot.
I usually locate it at 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 the height

1/3

1/2

2/3

 

[Odie]

Anybody follow "rules" of design in your turnings? If so, anything you'd care to share? Or links?

The link below is one person's set of rules I stumbled on to. The recommendations of catenary curves and golden mean were especially interesting to me.

https://www.craftsy.com/woodworking/article/woodturning-design/

A good article for sure.....The one rule I was going to point out, was addressed in the article, and that is the rule about the foot being approximately a third of the width of a bowl. Other than that, I don't subscribe to many rules of design, because I consider them to be limiting factors, or obstacles to freedom of imagination. All of the established rules do have some basis in aesthetic design, but if the rules can't be broken, or completely ignored.....they are barriers to creativity.

-----odie-----

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

For a very thorough course on bowl design and execution, I recommend Richard Raffan's book "Turned-Bowl Design". If you are looking for design inspiration, I recommend John Hunnex's book "Woodturning, A Source Guide". He has lovely examples of bowls, containers, closed forms, vases and much more, and at the same time gives examples of many different woods. This is my go-to when I need inspiration.

I also use a straight edge to check profiles or unwanted flat spots or bumps. I find that an old key card or credit card is convenient for this. It can be used with the work spinning if desired.

 

[john lucas]

I've read all the books but mostly now I go with my experienced eye. Some times it's wrong. I spend 40 year or more as a photographer and constantly studied shapes and how light changes the shape. I've also been turning for about 35 and trying to apply what I've learned over the years. You have to turn a lot of the same thing to really understand how shapes work with that piece. I'm constantly fussing with myself over the length of finials on ornaments. I did 50 ornaments once and really nailed the shapes toward the end. But now since I don't do as many I fuss over it again.
Glass and ceramic artists are really fussy about this stuff so if you read any of their literature on design you will learn a lot. Raffen and Mike Darlow's books are both good as it relates more directly with wood.