Turning opinions wanted

I just stumbled upon this thread at SMC that discusses why most turners are inclined to go as thin as possible. I want to ask the same question here.

Why are we obsessed with thin walls?

As you've probably seen, lately I've been making some thick bowls after looking at lots of turning sites such as Mike Kaplan, Peter Andres, and many more. I enjoy anything related to turning, but I have grown very fond of thick bowls or "massives" as Ron Kent called his.

I attended the local art festival a few weeks ago and there were artist from all over the country as well as 5 turners. All of them had absolutly beautiful hollow forms, vases and bowls that were feather light. Each of them said thank you when I complemented their work but added, "I'm very stressed", or "I'm having a heart attack" because the wind was strong and they thought there work would blow over and shatter....just thinking of another reason why thicker is better.

Hoping for some good discussion here. thanks.

I attended a demo by Todd Hoyer where he touched on this subject. He said that previously, thin was 'in' but he's gone the total opposite, turning really thick pieces, even going further and only turning pieces that he's let dry out and crack up before turning.

Gari Biasillo said:

I attended a demo by Todd Hoyer where he touched on this subject. He said that previously, thin was 'in' but he's gone the total opposite, turning really thick pieces, even going further and only turning pieces that he's let dry out and crack up before turning.

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Gari, Todd Hoyer is another turner that got me hooked on thick pieces.

What do YOU think?

Jeff Bower said:

What do YOU think?

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I think that once you've done one, that's enough Binh Pho's thin walled turnings are great but I personally wouldn't want to turn pieces that thin. I personally prefer pieces with a bit of 'uumph'

I belive we are conditioned to relate thin walls with high levels of skill. I have pieces of thin stuff laying all around the shop to prove that theory.

Frank Fusco said:

I...I have pieces of thin stuff laying all around the shop to prove that theory.

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You and me both.

I suspect a lot of people try to get things as thin as possible for bragging rights, and to impress other turners. Personally, I like a little substance to most of my pieces. Aside from a few very particular collectors, I doubt the general buying public really cares if a hollow form as 1/16" wall or 1/2" walls, as long as the form is pleasing to their eye. I've said before that I've never had a potential customer pick up one of my pieces and say "This is nice, but it's just a bit too heavy for my shelf." On the other side of the argument, it's interesting to see people's reaction when they pick up a hollow form and discover that it's lighter than they expected.

With bowls, I think most people want enough apparent thickness to actually make the bowl useful. I feel the form and finish are more important than making it as thin as possible. I think people want a bit of heft in most bowls.

At the symposium I attended a demo by Larry Hasiak and Al Stirt. Larry said everyone should try hollowing a HF thru a 1/2" hole with 1/8" walls and turn a bowl with 1/8" walls. He said get it out of your system, be done with it and move on. He said his HF's and bowls are generally no thinner than 1/4". Al Stirt touched on the same thing and pretty much said what Larry said. Do a thin one of each and hollow thru a small hole then move on. He says I like bowls with a little heft to them and probably never go thinner than 1/4".

I like my bowls about 1/2" thick, I've done some thin ones, but prefer 1/2". HF I do like thin, last week did some miniature HF one about the size of a dime and thin. It depends on the form, function, and purpose of the product I'm turning. It is nice to see that everyone doesn't like the same thing, it would be a boring world if they did. I turn for fun only, I'm sure it must stress a lot of production turners to turn thin. It just a piece of wood and my time both are cheap! The reason I like going thin is it takes all your attention, you can't be thinking about anything other than the cut. Thats my Zen time...love it...Bruce

My feeling is if you like it, its great, thick, thin, color, plain, turquoise, burnt, carved, what ever...everyone has different tastes.Thats what makes the world go around. I get a lot of enjoyment trying new things, sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't.