May Newsletter
How long does it take?
I often get asked how long it takes to make a given item and it’s usually a tricky question to answer. So many factors go into the whole process and I often do feel a frustration with how long it takes for me to make things. While ideas are instantaneous, action takes hours.
The first thing I consider is the condition of the wood. Because I can work with either fresh-cut timber or kiln-dried boards, the current moisture content will affect the total production time because a wet piece is not a completed piece. In general, the smaller the piece of wood, the faster it will dry, but it varies by species.
Furniture makers have to use kiln-dried lumber so that their joints hold together and their panels don’t warp and crack. I do have to be mindful about how wet wood will move as it dries, but I can often account for this by adding a pause to the shaping process, leaving the bowl an inch thick for a few months before finishing. A trick I learned for tracking the evaporation is to weigh it everyday on a postage scale. When the weight stabilizes, it’s dry enough to finish.
A majority of the work that I do is considered “spindle turning” where the grain of the wood is parallel to the axis of rotation on the lathe. In general, it’s best to work with dry wood because with wet wood, there is always a risk of cracking, but you can also achieve cleaner cuts on dry wood. I have experimented with making handles for cooking spoons and spatulas with wet wood, then I carve the scoop part by hand. Wet wood is best for hand carving, but dry wood is best for turning the handle portion. I still have not mastered the balance for quick production of them.
Once on the lathe and dry enough to work with, you never know what defects you will find when cutting away. A crack may run deeper than expected, or you may uncover a void from rot. Sometimes these can be filled with CA glue or resin, but it adds time to stop and deal with them. With the spindle-grain vases that I like to make, the cracks can add a decorative feature, so it’s worth it to work with them. Filled cracks make a piece feel completed, so I keep a piece of walnut bark that I sand into the crack and set with glue. This adds a dark tone to accentuate the defect, similar to the Japanese Kintsugi practice.
When you make unique pieces, they all take different amounts of time. Repeat work for a production run demands efficiency and consistency. Dried stock is a must. I once attended a presentation given by Richard Findley about strategies to speed up repeat work, and it boils down to reducing any physical movement that is not directly cutting and shaping the workpiece. His suggestions included quick ways to check your diameter and mark your transition points. Master spindle turners like Richard even avoid putting down one tool and picking up another. I’m still far from their skill level, and frequently stopping the lathe to measure and my tool control means that I spend a lot more time sanding.
The question of how long something takes me is not always about the starting point. I don’t always have a consistent end point. I’ll abandon projects and then come back to them. Sometimes my skills improve and I will rework a completed piece that could be improved upon. See my post about revisiting old projects.
So, my answers to how long something takes are all relative terms. It’s either “pretty quick,” or “not so bad, maybe a few hours” or “it’s going to need to sit for a few months.” I’m sorry I can’t be more precise than that!
Coming up in June and July, I’ll be teaching a four-hour workshop on how to turn a bud vase at Brookfield Craft Center in Connecticut.
Thanks for giving us a behind-the-scenes peek into the science and artistry of working with wet and dry wood!
Next month: Does it Open?