Leaving tool marks

[Darrell Stokes]

In a sidebar on p135 of Richard Raffan’s The Art of Turned Bowls, he says, “The subtle marks of skillful tool handling can greatly enhance on object’s appeal.”

He’s talking about very subtle marks, but I also see a lot of bowls with pronounced tool marks intentionally left, and perhaps even enhanced. A lot of them were turned on pole lathes, but not all. I kind of admire the look as very rustic and handmade, which it seems a lot of people nowadays are looking for. They seem to sell really well. Attached are screenshots of a couple of examples from Instagram, with links below for credit.

I haven’t found a discussion of this on the forum, and much of the focus here is on removing tool marks and achieving a pristine finish. I wonder what you think, and if you ever make pieces this way.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKhmbESDeHC/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKw0-H4g-R2/

 

[William Rogers]

I have never left a bowl that way. To me it looks unfinished. I usually get a better surface with a finished cut. I’m sure some find it attractive, just not I that camp.

Edit: I might add that I have added texture to some bowls though.

 

[Randy Anderson]

In the shot where there is color added I can see where it's an intentional look and the tool marks are used more like a bead to give some variation and depth to the coloring. If not for that then no, I can't see myself leaving tool marks as a "look" to go for. They drive me crazy if I find them after the bowl is done and I'll go back and deal with them. Usually compression marks not cut marks. Rustic and natural looking bowls are popular for me and sell much better than traditional but the look comes from bark, knots, grain, bug activity and even some cracks but not tool marks. Those aren't natural. Brings up that debate I have with myself sometimes - make something just because it sells or because I like it and want to but no one will buy it. It's a balance but I have to at least like everything I make to some degree and enjoy the process or I'm not making it.

 

[Donovan Bailey]

Tool marks give me the shivers and make me think bad thoughts.

 

[hockenbery]

It’s an artist preference. As pointed out above - they often look unfinished.
I rarely sand my tool handles. But you can’t see the tool marks.

The bowls Al Stirt does with milk paint are terrific. The only abrasive he uses is to cut back the milk paint layers. His surfaces are finer from the tools than those shown above.

Many of mark Lindquist’s pieces are all about the tool marks big bold ones from chain saws

A lot of pieces with texturing done with a gouge or a variety of texturing tools intentionally show tool marks with great effect.

I like pieces that have a smooth surface and rough rough surface. Sandblasting is a favorite way of mine to show both.

 

[Forrest Forschmiedt]

There are a few different ways of looking at this in my mind.

Artistically, the bottom line has to be whether you as the artist or craftsperson achieved your creative goal.
If your goal is log cabin chic, it's probably just fine to rough it our with a chainsaw finish, flatten the bottom and call it good.
If you're making pieces to display in a gallery and/or sell as an art piece for max dollars, you probably want to spend more time on a finer finish.
For most of us, our pieces probably fall somewhere between chain-saw and fine porcelain smooth.

I often joke about the "look what I made with an old pallet" people who sell at flea markets and all over craigslist and the facebook marketplace.
The truth is, people buy that stuff. The creator achieved their goal, cost of manufacture was low, and it sold!
You won't find "pallet art" in my house but I can't argue that it isn't a valid medium.

When I have expressed frustration trying to get rid of every tool mark on an uncooperative piece, I have been told by my wife and others that a few imperfections are expected and desirable and it is proof that the piece is hand-made, not manufactured.
Depending on the piece and how the imperfections manifest, it could look unfinished, it could indicate lack of skill, or it could add artistic interest.

Who are you making things for?
Are you making functional pieces or display pieces?
When I sold at the local farmers market this last season was very different from what sold at the artists festival three blocks away.

As an artist, whatever you think is right is valid.
If you are selling and trying to make money, listen to your market. If it sells, make more.

 

[Darrell Stokes]

I often joke about the "look what I made with an old pallet" people who sell at flea markets and all over craigslist and the facebook marketplace.
The truth is, people buy that stuff. The creator achieved their goal, cost of manufacture was low, and it sold!

I think this really nails it. It’s kind of a Brooklyn Etsy/Instagram back-to-nature or old traditions feel, a reaction to mass production, that’s been popular for a while. It is a sort of conspicuous consumption, since something that is very obviously handmade is seen as more expensive and valuable than something from IKEA or a Food Network star-branded salad bowl, which is most of what a lot of people have experience with.

I do like the look in some functional pieces, but there are so many more kinds of texturing and embellishment that I haven’t even begun to explore yet.

 

[John Torchick]

Tool marks would be at the turner's discretion. Sort of like Picasso's paintings?
Avoid pallet wood as one doesn't know what had been spilled on it.

 

[Curt Fuller]

I often see old wooden bowls at antique shops and shows that look like they were mass produced on some kind of bowl turning machine. They're usually sold as "dough bowls". But the wood still shows the concentric tool marks and was obviously not sanded. Probably they were originally inexpensive utility bowls before the advent of plastic. But what makes them appealing to me (besides the fact that I'm a woodturner) is the patina and the usage marks and that they have survived a hundred years or so with no finish. That's the hard part of recreating a rustic bowl, making it look rustic and not just a poorly turned bowl.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, a spray shop that I use for my furniture pieces told me that for painted surfaces, never sand beyond 150 because the paint needs a coarser surface to stick to. If you sand finer than that, the paint is at high risk for peeling off. With pre catalyzed finished, don't sand beyond 220 for the same reasons. For my bowls, the outside surface doesn't make a whole lot of difference if you want to leave it rough like that. On the inside, never! Main reason, and the same reason for not leaving any defects on the inside of a utilitarian piece is that any rough spots provide hidey holes for food to sit in and start growing nasty stuff....

robo hippy

 

[Dave Landers]

Personally I thought those pictures you posted were attractive. Not what I like to make, but I do see the artistic appeal.

I've seen Derek Weidman do a few demos. He said that he often leaves tool marks because otherwise people don't believe the piece was actually done on a lathe.

but not tool marks. Those aren't natural

Of course, neither is your very smooth surface on a perfectly rounded object. I don't like tool marks either, but really nothing we do is completely natural.

 

[Tim Connell]

There is a big difference between leaving, or adding toolmarks for an intentional artistic effect, and leaving toolmarks because the turner doesnt have the skills, knowledge, or patience to remove them.

The former results in beautiful work as shown above, the latter work usually has more flaws than just toolmarks; bad form, balance and finish among them. Unfortunately, I've seen too much of the latter example at local craft fairs and shows locally.

 

[Timothy Allen]

What I notice about the images that Darrell posted is how regular and consistent the marks are, suggesting they were left on purpose by design. I like them! It seems to me to be a valid method of texturing/embellishing one's piece.

Now the tool marks that I find on my work were left by accident, are irregular and sporadic, and clearly detract from what I was trying to achieve.