How long...?

[CE-1]

Hi all,

How long (approx.) does it take to turn one average bowl by one average person ....using average tools and lathe?
How many bowls can be turnet within one week (8 working hours per day)?


thanks

[RETIRED]

Too many variables.

Depends on skill level of "average" person.

Timber: wet, dry, soft or hard.

Prepared blanks or from scratch. Size of bowls. Natural edge or just a bowl. Gallery or production pieces.

As an idea though we once prepared, turned and finished 120 12"x4"(300x100) normal bowls out of Jellutong for a major retailer in a week.

[ptc]

Festo can tell you !
ptc

[Little Festo]

is right in what he said. Takes me far too long. I imagine it would take time to develop the skills/experience to work quickly and efficiently. If I had to make a living off my turning I'd starve, I'm far too slow. I can draw comparisons to my photography, I don't have to think about what I have to do but this comes from 30+ years of experience. I've only been turning for a little over a year and have a great deal to learn, I'm definatly no expert.

Anyway I don't think I'm cut out to be a production turner, I'd rather spend a bit of time on what I'm doing and try to pay a bit more attention to detail. I'm lucky I can afford to do this as It's still just a hobby.

I heard a story that Richard Raffan can turn a small bowl in several minutes??


Peter

[rsser]

Heard Raffan in half an hour.

I'm down to half a day!!

Takes a long time to get to the point where you can make a living out of turning, assuming you can develop the technique and have some design nous.

[RETIRED]

Just for interests sake Raffan uses the formula Diam x depth in inches = minutes to turn.

E.G. 12"Diam x 4" depth = 48 minutes.

[Darrell]

With work two kids and a wife my last bowl took two weeks
Lucky i have a lot of free time

Darrell

[DarrylF]

Xmas before last I think I made 30 odd bowls & platters as presents. By the end of that lot I could turn out 5 or so a day - so around 1.5 hours each. Last weekend I turned out 3 in an afternoon.

For me at least a lot depends on the blank. In rosewood or jacaranda - nice smooth even grain with few flaws - it goes a lot quicker.

[ptc]

I'm still on one started 3 months ago. !
its to cold in my shed
another couple of weeks and it should be warm enought to finish it.
i hope. [roaring forties]
ptc

[barnsey]

ptc:
If you're prepared to live in a climate like that - what more can I say. :rolleyes:

:
You've hit the nail on the head just too many variables. ;)

IMHO the differences relate to:
Timber
- Well seasoned hardwood vs a soft wood ie extremes of timber density.
- The working qualities of the wood.
Performance
- of lathe.
- of the guy holding the tool.
Finish
- the quality required
- the type of finish used

Not sure that is all of em but the nature of the turning is also an issue :rolleyes:

In any event until you can conquer all of the variables to the highest levels the answer is infinity. Yeah I can turn out a simple design that i've done before pretty quickly BUT :confused:

Jamie

[ptc]

Barnsey
i have just ordered a big wood heater
my shed might end up as a sauna !
ptc

[rsser]

Yeah, that's it Barnsey in a nutshell as far as I'm concerned - is the design simple or not. I like to spend time sketching out alternatives before I start, and then sit with the emerging shape to decide whether I'm happy with it.

Once your technique is more or less sorted, it's the shape of the thing that's going to set it apart, or not.