Tradition vs efficiency

[Keithie]

So after a couple of months of being back to mucking about with wood again, I reckon I'm back to about as good as I used to be (ie terrible at it but happy). Obviously still room for improvement i lots of ways (eg reverse sanding...do youdo bothforward and reverse at each grade ?)

Given that a decade or more has gone by since I was last trying, it seems that things have changed in the world of turning.

I've got a fairfew simple end grain hollowings (tumblers, boxes) to make for finish testing and requested 'gifts' .. and as authentic as it is to carefully bore a centre with a spindle gouge and carefully bowl/spindle gouge out to a nice wall...it takes a tad more time than whacking in 3 succesive forstner bits and then a swift tidy with a big-ass scraper.

And thinking forward to slightly more elegant hollow forms.... is it all just efficiency these days?

Do experienced folk just turn for efficiency or take pleasure in taking it slow and knowing that tradition is important, regardless of perhaps no difference in the end product quality ?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Same as with the rest of life - if there's money involved as quick as is practically possible - i.e. without lowering standards.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

If you want to get an idea of how efficiently you can hollow an end grain box with a spindle gouge, have a watch of Richard Raffan's back hollowing method (gouge at 2 o clock basically). There isn't a forstener bit yet made that can do it that fast or with as good a finish off the tool. Sometimes, the "right" way is also the fastest way

 

[Keithie]

Crikey ... just seen his promo ..

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FIbhuYxkn0w

He's got skills that Richard Raffan ... not sure I'm ever going to be that good!

 

[Keithie]

This video made me feel much better! ... the guy (who is massively better than me with a skew) starts off trying Raffan's back hollowing method for end grain, messes up a few times and then returns to a more mainstream method... quite a good education for folk at my novice level of knowing your limits!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QskYxx47u3g

 

[skipdiver]

Most of the woodwork i do is to earn a living, so efficiency wins over tradition but if i have the time and am making something for myself, i try to do it with as little machinery as possible, to keep my eye in.

 

[Dalboy]

I don't care how long it takes me as it is for pleasure mainly, I do sell at craft fairs and the like but will never gain back the time spent making something well I have to find homes for it somewhere and the family only will end up getting fed up if I keep giving to them when ever I make something so I keep that just for Christmas presents

 

[Dave Brookes]

I was lucky enough to go on the 2014 Woodturning Cruise and watched Richard Raffan close up making a hollow form, I couldn't believe the amount of wood he could remove from the inside with one cut. He had to stop to clear the inside out after nearly every cut, if only I could have remembered the exact shape of his grind!

Dave