do YOU start with a plan?

[nev]

A quick poll. (and nobody say Robert Kubica :wink: )
after reading with intrigue the following post...
creativity-devlopment-of-concepts-a-discussion-t53455.html
... it occurred to me that generally i have only a rough idea of what should be found inside a lump of wood once i attach it to a lathe. I am not bad at drawing but do not have the imagination to 'invent' an object, sketch it then turn it. i am probably capable of making something vaguely to someone else's idea/ sketch if requested, but generally i just think - bowl! (hammer) and then see what emerges.
how about you?

 

[Blister]

Nev

I always know what I intend to make before entering the workshop

I think through a design , work out how I will hold it through the different stages of making the item

Then draw it up

If you don't know what you are going to make , how do you know if you have succeeded in the project ?


That;s my way of doing things but other will be different

I even read a post once saying I let the wood decide :? #-o

 

[myturn]

I let the wood decide :lol:

 

[gnu]

I am like Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney or Christain Ronaldo in that everything I do is instinctive and off the cuff and I doubt that these great players think too much about what they do and it is down to the training, natural ability and experince they have.
I have heard that Steve Mclaren might be quitting Forest because of a lack of transfer activity in the window. The lessoon for us turners is that what we do is 95% down to having the right material to work with.

 

[boysie39]

I cant sketch ,draw, design, turn, or remember what I had intended to do when I go down to the shed,
hence all the time on the PC.

Other than that I'm perfect :mrgreen:

 

[chrisbaker42]

I go in knowing exactly what I am going to make and then let things take their course and often come out with something very different. Occasionally the wood decides on the way things go and probably more often (being a beginner) the mistakes I make.

 

[drillbit]

I generally start out with a clear idea of what I want. Then i rough it out to the required dimensions. They I catch it a few times. Then I trim it down with the parting tool to remove the worst bits. Then I see if the skew might tidy it up. Then I trim out the answer. Then I try sharpening my tools. After that, it's a simple step to smooth everything off until I have a small eggcup. Got quite a few now.

 

[gus3049]

The way I work is changing rapidly.

A couple of months ago I would have said I have a good picture of what I want to do in my head. I have never drawn anything before I started.

Now, I reckon the method will be more in line with the creativity thread mentioned. Rough sketch to give me a start and then see where the form leads me. Probably nowhere near where the sketch suggested but that will be half the fun.

I have always had a grasshopper mind. My first act on getting a new plastic kit as a lad was to throw away the instructions. The voyage of discovery was always far more interesting. This drives my wife mad. She sits down with any new appliance and reads the booklet from cover to cover. I just plug it in and press a few buttons to see what they do.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

As I tend to produce finished items composed of multiple turned components I have to start with a fully developed plan. Once upon a time this was on the back of a fag packet - now I'm discovering the benefits of CAD - well worth the effort in my opinion.

Regards Mick

 

[petercharlesfagg]

I always know exactly what I want to make before I start!





Then I change my mind half way through!




Regards, Peter.

 

[Wood spoiler]

Nev

I read your motivation for the post and then thought through what has evolved over the last 14 months of being a Turner.

Initially I was turning dependant on what wood I had and what chapter I had read or what DVD just watched. I was keen to try everything and everything has been a journey of discovery. Then throw the challenge into the mix and I started thinking about what I wanted to achieve and what I was aiming to end up with.

The challenge has then made me try different things and had a few Eureka moments discovering more techniques etc. During this time I have created enough would be firewood to be vying for there place on one of the flat surfaces at home.

As my proficiency at turning increases the capacity to overload the home with treen grows exponentially.

I then thought about things and realised that quantity needs to give way to quality and failing in that objective, each piece needs to be more time abssorbing and creative and that process brought me to the Creativity post.

So for me the journey is about investing time and energy in creating the interesting pieces. I may have an idea about what I want to do but it is also developing the skills to deliver. Hope this is a helpful explanation

 

[Silverbirch]

I like to read " how to" articles in books and magazines and watch DVD`s, but I never copy directly or follow them step by step. I prefer to absorb the information and store it away in my "woodturning subconscious."
I often make a rough sketch of what I intend to make.This initial idea is usually modified and refined as the turning progresses, especially if "design opportunities" occur :lol:

Ian

 

[Jonzjob]

Well Mike there are 2 of us that let the wood tell us, but only 1 appears in the poll?

I let the wood tell me unless I have a particular commision and then I have to convince the wood to do what I am trying to achive. I am not being funny, that is just how I feel.

If I have to do something special then I try to find the wood that I believe is willing to do what I wish?

Stupid to some and when I read what I have tryped (not a smelling mastike) I wonder, but that is how I feel about the medium that I have chosen to work with :?

 

[myturn]

I just plug it in and press a few buttons to see what they do.

Just as well you're not a space shuttle pilot then :lol:

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html

 

[RATWOOD]

I let the wood decide then I change my mind half way through! :lol: :lol:

 

[gus3049]

I just plug it in and press a few buttons to see what they do.

Just as well you're not a space shuttle pilot then :lol:

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html

I wonder if it has a big red button that says "do not touch this button". Infinitely possible.

 

[Wood spoiler]

I just plug it in and press a few buttons to see what they do.

Just as well you're not a space shuttle pilot then :lol:

http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html

I wonder if it has a big red button that says "do not touch this button". Infinitely possible.

Sorry to be going off on a tangent but ....

When I was a lad our Scout hut had a plaque near the door that read "in case of fire lift this flap"

And as you invariably lifted the flap you were treated to:

Not now Stupid - in case of Fire! ....

 

[gregmcateer]

I just attack the wood, (though I have only just started, so it's more about learning to use the b'#;-y tools, rather than actually make anything.

Would you guys recommend aiming at a 'thing', rather than e.g. doing a smooth, straight spindle, then add in some coves / v's / beads?

Greg

 

[Jonzjob]

You really can 'do what you wish' Greg, but if you take some time out and can do some spindle turning and practice some of the coves, curves, beads, etc. then when you come to do something that you want to get right it is just that bit easier.

Bit like riding a bike really you have to be able to walk before you can run? (Did I get me metafours mixed up a bit there?)

 

[Melinda_dd]

most of the time I have an idea in mind (never a very exciting one because my mind just doesn't seem to see things in the wood!)
Then I try and do it... get a dig, or some other problem,and it ends up being something completely different