Wood turning projects aid in teaching a newcomer to the craft two different kinds of sharpening. One is simply the idea of sharpening wood turning skills and the other different skill needed in putting a sharp edge on the turning tools.
Like all crafts, wood turning has its own set of skills. There is a certain immediacy to wood turning skills determined by the activity itself. Fast spinning wood being cut with hand held tools regulates a speed of action needed for careful cuts or else the wood and tool together produce a "catch," as the tool gouges the wood and the wood tries to throw the tool away. Preventing the catch is a result of good technique, sharp tools and proper presentation.
Wood turning projects are generally divided by skill level into categories of beginner, intermediate and advanced, although these tend to be fairly wide open to interpretation. A project will have a well defined shape for final achievement and a hopefully clear set of instructions for getting there. While some are chosen because they look interesting, others are picked for their skill development potential. Especially in the latter case it is good if the project meets a couple of standards.
First it should be inexpensive to perform. Remembering the project is a training ground for the preferred piece, it is likely that the greater part of the wood budget will be saved for the desired turning. Plus the project should likely be duplicated a number of times so that the skills may be not only learned but learned well. Noting that every practice project is another piece of wood, it is good if the wood can be procured either as fire wood or free wood so as to keep prices down. On the other hand, the wood should have similar characteristics to the wood desired for the final piece so as to hone one's skills in the medium in which it is intended to be used. For the same reason, it is often good for the experienced turner to consider a project in the same wood he or she will use, just to become familiar once again with the characteristics of the particular species of wood.
The other side of sharpening one's skills is continuing to acquire skills in sharpening. While a user of a table saw may need to have a blade sharpened every six months or even once a month, a wood turner will need to sharpen as often as every five minutes and in some circumstances even more often. In other words, wood turners sharpen their own tools.
Much of the character of a piece is determined by the clarity of a cut and therefor by the sharpness of the tools. Wood turning projects ease anxiety in the sharpening process. A simple project of inexpensive woods means that a cut that is less than perfect from a tool that is less than sharp is not only not the end of the world, it is not even the end of a piece of wood that cost five hundred dollars. Whereas a cut that may require a lot of anxious moments sanding and scraping to repair in a piece of expensive exotic wood will cause some frantic moments, in a noncrucial wood turning project it will instead mean a return to the grinder for a new edge and then a new cut.
As wood turners progress in their craft, new challenges arise calling for new types of cuts to be learned. Sometimes new styles of tools are acquired calling for new sharpening requirements. Other times a particular cut may call for a familiar tool to be sharpened with a new and peculiar shape. Wood turning projects help us to do this with a minimum of fuss and great deal of enjoyment.
Darrell Feltmate is a juried wood turner whose web site, Around the Woods, contains detailed information about wood turning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? Follow the page links for a free video.
There are several wood turning projects fully explained on the web site. In particular, a selection of beginner's projects may be found on the Beginner's Projects page complete with explanation and step by step photos.
Propertyinspection
No comments:
Post a Comment