Time Required To Do Turnings?

[LarryG]

Okay, I know this is one of those "How big is a breadbox?" questions because there are many, many variables, but ...

... could the experienced turners we have onboard give me an idea of how long it takes to turn various objects? For example, things like:

A candle stick?

A finial for a four-poster bed?

A leg ("Early American" style) for a table?

And so forth.

I have a potential opportunity to do some turnings for sale. Right now I don't have a lathe, and I don't know how to turn. Since those two minor details are the only things standing in my way, naturally I'm interested in pursuing it.

Seriously: while the opportunity is there, it would be pretty small scale at first; but in the long run it could lead somewhere, and in the short run it might provide me some incentive to go ahead and get a lathe. That's something I do want to add to my shop, but for a variety of reasons (money being one) have not yet purchased. I would not expect this opportunity to pay for the lathe any time soon, but it might be all I need to push me over the edge.

What I don't know is whether making a few turnings for sale would eat up virtually all my time in the shop. (I do realize, of course, that I'd have to invest some time in learning. Also realize that turning can be addictive and can eat up a lot of time in THAT respect, too.)

EDIT: Understand, please, that I'm not asking how long it will take to LEARN how to do such turnings; that would REALLY involve a lot of variables. Rather, I'm asking how long it takes to do a certain type of turning once one has become reasonably proficient (whatever that means ... obviously, how often one practices the craft of turning will hugely impact how proficient one is).

If all those variables make this is an unanswerable question, so be it. But I'll appreciate any insights anyone might have to offer. Thanks!

[Doug Jones]

It would all depend on your own personal learning curve. Some people can pick up turning in a snap, while others it takes months to get this turning down (me).

[Tom Miller]

Are you asking how long it takes to do those turnings from start to finish, or how long it takes to learn to do that kind of work?

If the former, I'd say they're all around 30min to an hour, add 30 min max for finishing. If you require that all four bed finials, or table legs match, [)] you might have to add a little time for marking and measuring as you cut. Also, this doesn't include stock prep which might be gluing up 4/4 stock for thickness, etc.

I think spindle turning (which all your examples are) is the easier form of turning, and is especially enjoyable given the fast turnaround time. And you can do useful things in a short amount of learning time.

I banged out 8 finials for a sister-in-law's Victorian house about a month or two after getting my Jet mini. They needed to match the existing sample, and she couldn't find anything close anywhere. I did it all in a short afternoon -- no finish required.




Regards,
Tom

[RayintheUK]

There are quite a few more variables than you might expect, Larry.

1) Are the proposed turnings required to meet a specification - i.e., will you have to follow drawings, or are they "freehand" or "freestyle"?

The reason behind this consideration is that it will obviously take longer to mark up, dimension with calipers and turn, if following a pattern or drawing.

2) Supplemental to the above point, if the turnings are more than "one-offs" and you will need to produce several identical pieces, this might sound like it won't involve any extra time, but it will, even if the first one is "freestyle." Matching turnings can be time-consuming, because although you get the feel of a shape fairly quickly, the difference in pieces of stock can be amazing once you start turning them.

You will have seen the difference in a number of pieces of board stock when cutting them - one will warp, the other won't and so on. The main difference with turning pieces is that you're going "beneath the surface" of the stock and sometimes you cannot predict what you'll find.

In other words, a piece can blow apart because of a hidden fault which is a circumstance you are unlikely to encounter when using boards, as you'll have a pretty good idea of what the board contains.

3) You'll have seen Nahm knocking off the corners of square stock prior to mounting on the lathe. He reckons that it "saves time" but - in my experience with the BT - by the time you've lowered the blade, moved the fence over to the left, raised the blade, tilted the blade and run the four corners through, you could have had a completely rounded cylinder - providing that your tools are sharp, of course!

4) Which leads on to sharpening - a rare thing to have to change a saw blade during a cutting operation, but when turning you'll be surprized how often you will want to touch up the edge on your tools once you get proficient at using them.

So, although I'd broadly agree with Tom's 30 minute estimate above, I'd say that there are a few more things to chuck into the equation, some of which I hope to have covered here. I'm sure that there are more, but those are the ones that spring readily to mind. I've just finished routing 28 lines of 1" on center adjustable shelf holes in some kitchen cabinets I'm making, so my mind might not be at its best right now!

Ray.

[Tom Miller]

quote:Originally posted by RayintheUK

...You'll have seen Nahm knocking off the corners of square stock prior to mounting on the lathe.

Which reminds me, you should include a little time for doing something so insanely stupid that you have to take a 30 min. break to stop laughing at yourself. As an example, the first time I knocked off the corners to save some time on the lathe, I made the following cuts:




I kid you not. [:I]

Regards,
Tom

[sdmaker]

quote:Originally posted by Tom Miller

quote:Originally posted by RayintheUK

...You'll have seen Nahm knocking off the corners of square stock prior to mounting on the lathe.

Which reminds me, you should include a little time for doing something so insanely stupid that you have to take a 30 min. break to stop laughing at yourself. As an example, the first time I knocked off the corners to save some time on the lathe, I made the following cuts:




I kid you not. [:I]

Regards,
Tom

Lol, been there and done that.

[bmyers]

That is funny. You really do a job right when you do it eh?

Bill

[gerti]

If there are a lot of identical pieces, by hand they tend to be slower than one-off pieces due to the measuring. However a lathe duplicator might be an option in those cases, and would reduce the time required quite a bit.

BTW seasoned production turners will be producing the items you mention above in a couple or three minutes each...

Gerd