Someone recently gave me copies of the three compendiums of Fine WoodWorking Techniques (1 to 3) published by Taunton press back in the late 1970s. They were a selection of articles from the early editions of Fine WoodWorking magazine. I never got any copies of that magazine back then as I was elbow deep in clay at the time, although I had been a woodturner before that. So, it was fascinating to read an article in the 1st compendium (p.22) that was written by Bob Stockdale in the mid 1970s.
Three things struck me about his article: his tools, his techniques and his prices
His prices
His article included black and white photos of 22 of his bowls that were turned from exotic woods. Each piece has a write up about the species, where it came from and how it turned, but also included are the dimensions and selling price for each piece. The prices ranged from $35 for a 11" Wenge platter up to $350 for a 10" Cocobolo bowl. That last piece was on the cover of that edition of the compendium. To get some perspective on those prices, the rate of inflation since the mid 1970s makes US$1 worth US$5.86 now. So, if he was selling now at the same stage of his career his cheapest pieces would be selling for $200 and his most expensive piece for $2,050. Taking into account the cost of exotic woods that Bob was using, are our prices keeping up with inflation?
His techniques
His techniques include centre screws or faceplates for mounting the blank to turn the outside of bowls and 'trays' and then for turning the inside of the bowls holding the foot in a three-jaw geared chuck and for the trays glued to a mounting block. I remember those limitations very well and, although some still do things that way (I still mount small to medium blanks on a screw), I for one extoll the subsequent developments in chucks that has made turning so much more versatile and easy. So, I do admire what he could achieve within those limitations.
His tools
At the time of writing the article Stockdale was using just two sizes of traditional shallow spindle gouges (1" & 1/2") to do all of his bowl and platter turning. That was also what I had to use myself back then and we referred to them as continental gouges. In the article he describes how he grinds the corners well back to create a "half-oval" shape on the tip and uses them with a "shearing cut". He then refers to the long-and-strong gouges that Peter Child had developed about that time and says he doesn't use it "because I don't need all of that metal" as he puts very little strain on his turning tool. This is an interesting snapshot from that stage in turning tool development before Stockdale's collaboration with Jerry Glaser that brought us the next significant development after Peter Child's initial work (well, actually Roy Child's work) in improving and giving us the modern bowl gouge. I was oblivious to all of this at the time but having lived with the limitations of continental gouges and scrapers back then I can't image not having the great bowl gouge designs and steels that we now have!
PS - I could have included some selected scans from the article, but not being familiar with fair dealings under US copyright law I erred on the side of caution.
Three things struck me about his article: his tools, his techniques and his prices
His prices
His article included black and white photos of 22 of his bowls that were turned from exotic woods. Each piece has a write up about the species, where it came from and how it turned, but also included are the dimensions and selling price for each piece. The prices ranged from $35 for a 11" Wenge platter up to $350 for a 10" Cocobolo bowl. That last piece was on the cover of that edition of the compendium. To get some perspective on those prices, the rate of inflation since the mid 1970s makes US$1 worth US$5.86 now. So, if he was selling now at the same stage of his career his cheapest pieces would be selling for $200 and his most expensive piece for $2,050. Taking into account the cost of exotic woods that Bob was using, are our prices keeping up with inflation?
His techniques
His techniques include centre screws or faceplates for mounting the blank to turn the outside of bowls and 'trays' and then for turning the inside of the bowls holding the foot in a three-jaw geared chuck and for the trays glued to a mounting block. I remember those limitations very well and, although some still do things that way (I still mount small to medium blanks on a screw), I for one extoll the subsequent developments in chucks that has made turning so much more versatile and easy. So, I do admire what he could achieve within those limitations.
His tools
At the time of writing the article Stockdale was using just two sizes of traditional shallow spindle gouges (1" & 1/2") to do all of his bowl and platter turning. That was also what I had to use myself back then and we referred to them as continental gouges. In the article he describes how he grinds the corners well back to create a "half-oval" shape on the tip and uses them with a "shearing cut". He then refers to the long-and-strong gouges that Peter Child had developed about that time and says he doesn't use it "because I don't need all of that metal" as he puts very little strain on his turning tool. This is an interesting snapshot from that stage in turning tool development before Stockdale's collaboration with Jerry Glaser that brought us the next significant development after Peter Child's initial work (well, actually Roy Child's work) in improving and giving us the modern bowl gouge. I was oblivious to all of this at the time but having lived with the limitations of continental gouges and scrapers back then I can't image not having the great bowl gouge designs and steels that we now have!
PS - I could have included some selected scans from the article, but not being familiar with fair dealings under US copyright law I erred on the side of caution.
