Ready to jack it in.

[shedhead]

As i am not keen on turning in my shed in sub zero temperatures, i have not turned anything since last Oct/Nov. I went out today and put a good looking Yew log between centers. I was planing to break into turning slowly and turn a weed pot, for my mum. ( like to keep in the good books!!! )
Oh what a disaster, i was so lost, as if i had never turned before. I had catch after catch, and the Yew branch got thinner and thinner. After about 1 hour of shear hell i spat the dummy out and marched into the house in a right down. Thinking about this during the hours that have passed since, i really feel at this moment that i will pack the woodturning in and sell my things.

Is this normal to feel that i have lost anything i have learnt by my self, to start right back at the beginning.

 

[cornucopia]

its not unususl to get bad days, the main thing is to walk away and try again-
maybe you should have invested in some thermals and kept your hand in :wink:
ironically I do all of my turning in the winter as my workshop will soon be too hot to use!!

 

[BMac]

Dermot,

It's a bit like getting on a bicycle after a few years, you're going to wobble for a few feet before you get all the old skills in order. Try again tomorrow.

Brendan

 

[Blister]

Dermot
,

Dont jack it in :evil:

Just have a play , don't try and make anything , just rough something between centres , true up the ends , put a dovetail on both ends ,

do a few coves and beads

Just play for a day or 2

then it should come back , when you get in the spin of things

or , GET A HEATER :lol: :lol:

 

[Paul.J]

Shedhead wrote

After about 1 hour of shear hell i spat the dummy out and marched into the house in a right down.

I hope you dusted yourself down first :lol:
Dermot i know how you are feeling in one way as i haven't turned for what seems like years now,two months not having a lathe.
But i enjoy turning in the winter months,even though i do have an heater in the shop it just gets comfy enough on the coldest days.
Don't get giving up as everyone gets bad days,just like you get good days.
Chuck another piece on tomorrow,the weather is going to get warmer now,and keep at it.All will come good in the end

 

[jpt]

Yes, nearly 6 months without turning you will be very rusty but like riding a bike it should come back quickly.

Dont despair it is forcast for a nice sunny day tomorrow so a perfect day to get back in there and have another go.

Instead of going for a project just put any old wood on and have a quick practise and get used to the tools again would be my suggestion.

john

 

[stevebuk]

hi dermot
been there done that, if i had sold my things when i said i was just because i couldn't do something on a particular day, i would be bored out of my skull by now.
Not sure of the kind of setup you have, but i have a couple of plug in heaters in my cabin, and they keep it nice and warm and dry, surely you can fit one heater in there, and turn it on 1/2 hour before you go in to warm it.
keep practising mate, it will soon come back to you. :lol:

 

[wizer]

I can't tell you how many times I've done that with woodworking. But it's a lot! My problem is not cold, it's pain. So my time in the workshop is few and far between. Luckily so far this year things have been ok and with turning I can produce something in a couple of hours, so morale's up.

Oil filled rads are good and a bit cheaper to run than the fan heaters.

Just keep plodding away, you'll get it. As Blister says, slow down and just make shapes in scrap wood for the time being. Even if it's a warm up exercise when you go into the workshop. Take a piece of scrap, rough it to a cylinder, plane it with a skew and then make some beads and coves. 20mins practise a day has got to help? I think it's helping me. I'm making my eggs every time I go into the workshop. Good skew practise and getting a repetitive shape.

DONT GIVE UP ON US BABY..... :lol:

 

[shedhead]

I now know that not turning for so long was my first mistake. I was just so shocked at how much i had lost in the months away from my shed. I can add a heater for next winter, but it will be like starting out again.

I will look around and see if i can find somewhere i can go to pay for lessons. If i do keep going!!!! :?

 

[maltrout512]

Not turning for so long doesn't help, but what really doesn't help one bit is giving up. Has been said DON'T GIVE UP.

 

[mikec]

Hi Dermot

I don't think there are many of us that have not been where you are now.
I have had days where everything I touched turned into firewood
On the plus side there are days when something magic happens and from a rough looking piece of timber a thing of beauty emerges.
On the bad days I think you can get into a vicious spiral, the more you try the more the frustration builds. :evil: :evil:

Walk away, do something else and come back another time.

Don't give up :!: :!:

Mike C

 

[TEP]

Mornin' Dermot.

We all have days like you describe, just be thankful you don't HAVE to turn. You can walk away and come back later.

IME you haven't forgotten what you knew, your just a little rusty. Turn out a few dibbers, cord pulls, and things similar and you will be surprised how quickly your skills will return. Possibly you went in the shed with ideas of some grand project. You need to get yourself back into the swing of things. Even when I've just been away from the lathe for a couple of weeks, I always rattle out a few bits and pieces before I do anything else.

Good luck mate, give up if you wish. But think it through first and give yourself a chance.

 

[duncanh]

As others have said - don't give up. Just introduce yourself back into it slowly with a few practice sessions.

As for the cold workshop - make sure it's insulated. Mine has 5cm rockwool on all walls, the door, the ceiling and under the floor. Then there's a layer of chipboard/plywood over that.
I also use a thermostat controlled oil filled radiator which is on a low setting most of the time and I turn it up about an hour before I go in.
Even then the shed gets a bit nippy so when I first go in I fire up the dust extractor for a whilst as that generates a fair bit of heat.
I also wear extra layers including thermals and ski salopettes.
Most importantly, I wear a hat.

Hope that helps

Duncan

 

[boysie39]

Dermot, dont give up you cant expect to start where you left off 5/6mnts.ago. Even footballers after theclose season have to spend a couple of months to get get back to where they were at the end of their season.
Mind you some of them would be better walking away,you have gotten advice from far more experienced people than me of what to do like practice. All I can add is if I had not found this wonderful hobby I would have found it hard to find a reason to get out of bed each day. And even now when things are not what they were I know in a few months I will have my turning to help me even if it means starting off from scratch again. Have I ever got away from scratch?? :lol: :lol: Get down there and try to hollow a piece to two mm as if your life depended on it and you wont need any heaters. Chin up. REgards Boysie.

 

[shedhead]

Ahh the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the buds are almost open on the trees and the days are getting longer!!!!!!

And i have given myself a shake ( or should i say my wife gave me a lecture ) and i have had a much better day in the shed turning. :lol:

I have learned to not panic and slow down guess i will keep on turning. I will need to go and get professional help......... Woodturning lessons not a quack.

Thanks all for your words of encouragement.

 

[Blister]

Ahh the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the buds are almost open on the trees and the days are getting longer!!!!!!

And i have given myself a shake ( or should i say my wife gave me a lecture ) and i have had a much better day in the shed turning. :lol:

I have learned to not panic and slow down guess i will keep on turning. I will need to go and get professional help......... Woodturning lessons not a quack.

Thanks all for your words of encouragement.

If you was down south you could come and spend a day with me :lol:

 

[TEP]

Glad you've decided to stick it out with the rest of us addicts Dermot.

On the subject of instruction, haven't you got a club close to you where you may find some of the members might help. I do agree with you all the same, IMO the easiest way to learn is with someone, next is as a member of a club, then maybe DVD's and books. To go it alone can be very hard IMO.

Ditto with Blister - If you where just closer my door is open. The workshop that is. :lol: :lol:

 

[Jenx]

Good Lad, -- just caught this post now.

I'm still a real beginner, so on the 'turning' front, I'm not qualified to pass too much comment.. but to use other different 'life' anaolgies ---
I have been riding big bikes all my life ... lots and lots of miles, every year without fail.
Some days I'll go out, and the bike will feel like its running in rails, and every corner is judged to perfection, everything is smooth.. little or no braking involved in the entire ride, and everything is 'right' with the world.
Other times - I'll set off, in a perfectly good frame of mind.. focused and ready, and I'll ride like a doddering old fart, and if truth be told.. the bike would have been better left in the shed.

Thats because life is like that.
sometimes, and for inexplicable reasons, things don't go according to plan, and it can be demoralising, frustrating and make you feel like throwing the towel in.
The secret, and I also believe the 'measure' of a person, can be partly defined in the way he ( or she ) deals with these 'downs', and the resolve which one employs in 'bouncing back'.

If you were a fantastic turner, each time, every time, without fail... then you'd have peaked, and have nothing to learn.. everything to lose, and basically be bored out of your tree !

Have a wee look at occasional comments made by the likes of the two Marks, Tam, Chas, John Taylor, Corny, Oldsoke, Duncan, etc ... these fellas ALL say in places, that they are a long way from being 'exempt from disasters', and that they are not above learning .... and from that, take great heart - and know that to be slightly less that 100% perfect is 100% acceptable, and is part of what makes us 'human'.

Do not give up ... don't even THINK about giving up ! ....

Seriously though .. there are those who have 'had' to, because of health deterioration for example.. who'd give their right arm to be in a position to say, "I wish i still could.." -- but that luxury has been lost for them, forever.
We are priviledged to have all our faculties, both physical and mental.. and to get all upset with ourselves just because we dropped the ball, isn't really a viable option, when you think of it in those terms.

You've not 'lost the ability or forgotten' ... you've got 'out of the habit' .
Just like being a guitarist who didn't practice, or an artist who didn't draw for a long time, - you get out of the habit.
The more you put back into practicing, the more easy it becomes to reach that peak performance evey time you go back to your machine.
:wink:

Stick with it Dermot... absolutely.
Without ANY DOUBT, stick with it.

All the best to you, take care... and lets have some pics of your 'journey' back to the top !
You'll get there... guaranteed. 8)

 

[Steve Blackdog]

Ahh the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the buds are almost open on the trees and the days are getting longer!!!!!!

And i have given myself a shake ( or should i say my wife gave me a lecture ) and i have had a much better day in the shed turning. :lol:

I have learned to not panic and slow down guess i will keep on turning. I will need to go and get professional help......... Woodturning lessons not a quack.

Thanks all for your words of encouragement.

I'm very relieved to hear you've not given up Dermot. I haven't been at the lathe since October when our building work started. My shed is packed to the rafters with everything from a freezer to a couple of old bicycles.

I won't be able to get going again for a couple more months. I'll learn from your experience and take thinks slow when I start again.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dermot
on my way to your neck of the woods (Gelston, C. Douglas) sometime after Easter Monday ... I'm happy to pop in en route if you're about during the daytime ... and there's room for a 6m m/home :lol: