Your words “ It’s only a piece of wood” will be etched in gold forever. A shame to loose a 50 year or so old piece of your wonderful collection, but an excellent example of how to have self control when so close to the finish line. Well done and so much appreciated Richard.

This is one of the joys of this community; the willingness to show every aspect of the craft. It gives us mortals hope. Thank you for sharing 🌞

You do my heart good. I know that feeling as I have worked many hour to only have it fly apart at the end and it must be amplified by the loss of an old piece. We say "wood grows on trees". thank your for having the courage to post. I solute you. Cheers mate

Based only on the title of the video, I was riveted, and stressed, the entire time of watching. What an invaluable video, there is so much to learn from it. Thank you so very much. Glad you weren't hurt.

“Its only a bit of wood.” Made my day. Thanks for showing this. Many techniques covered. I feel like this almost every bowl I turn. Great stuff.

I learned new methods to remount pieces from this video . I turned a disk from 2x8 timber mounted on my face plate ,into a friction drive by rounding over the front edge and applying outdoor grade carpet tape and anti skid cloth cut oversize diameter to fold over the sides without creases

Richard, this was a wonderful video demonstrating your problem solving skills which can teach us all, even though the outcome was unexpected. I've been saying that alot lately, "its only wood". I look forward to watching your instuctional videos. Your deliberate attention to detail & good camera work are very much appreciated. You, sir, are a master teacher.

Ouch!!! Yeah, OK, as you say, it's only a piece of wood. But damn, I still hate it when things blow up like that. Also, as a working class lad raised in post-WW2 Lancashie, I doubt my immediate response in that situation would have been as mild an epithet as "crikey" either!!! 😃 Seriously, Richard, this entire collection of videos is simply wonderful in content, style and in every other respect. There is no more thorough and diverse visual treatise on the craft and art of woodturning in existence. There just is not. Your written work on bowl design etc is masterful also What a fabulous act of generosity, and what a wonderful legacy it all is already, even as you continue to add to it at a delightfully brisk pace.

Always trying to make adjustments when things go wrong. What an education. Although disappointing I love your end comment " It's only a bit of wood" and then you go on to turn a beautiful bowl out of thentop!!! You're a master Richard!!!

As you chucked it up that last time I was worried but Yew is such a pretty wood. I have a good few bowls like the one you ended up with, (which is probably at least as attractive as the box and lid you started with) and still a little more of an old trunk to work through. I learn so much from the mistakes I see you and Tomas make on KZfaq, but still my work flies across the garage regularly! Oh well, "It's only a piece of wood."

Thank you for sharing all of your expertise, your thought processes, and how you deal with disasters. I will never forget the words... "It is just a bit of wood." Instead of getting upset, I really need to remember that phrase. Thank you so very much.

Such a shame when so close to completion. Thanks for allowing us to see that you are imperfect along with the rest of us, lol! Richard, one thing that I do if I am unsure how stable a piece is for chucking from the inside is to wrap the outside of the piece with what I call filament tape. It’s got the plastic, I think, continuous strips embedded in the tape for extreme tensile strength. It’s very strong and will not stretch and will allow some pressure to be exerted to the inside without cracking the piece. It might have worked to keep that piece from failing also as you tried to reduce the rim again. One complete wrap with a bit of overlap is all that is needed so you don’t use too much tape and it doesn’t leave much in terms of residue. It can also work on semi oily surfaces because the tape ring will be sufficiently strong without having to adhere completely to the piece. I also use it sometimes to keep the little grooves from forming on the outside of the piece when I chuck the exterior of a piece if I need to fix a blemish or something and don’t want to have to remount to get rid of those marks again. Saves some time. This is probably not new to you but I thought I’d mention it in case someone else might benefit from it. Again you are the best! Take care, Scott

Mr. Raffan you are amazing. I appreciate your teachings and your way of teaching. Thank you for all that you've done in the past, present, and future. The community of woodturners, Thank you!

Oh man, I'm a newbie to both turning and your videos. I feel so badly for your lovely piece. I have an excuse for the two expensive bits of firewood I made yesterday and although frustrated I was OK with it, putting it down to my inexperience, the nice piece of Purple Heart I I went too thin, the cherry bowl I turned the chuck the wrong way and bust the side. To know that even the greats can have things go rapidly pear-shaped is some kind of comfort. I have now made sure I have plenty of sacrificial blanks to practice on.

Nice to see some problem solving, even if it does not turn out as you would want. A shame to lose a memory.

"It's only a bit of wood". Words to live by especially after the surge of adrenaline when this sort of thing happens to me!

As a bit of hindsight, I would have left it alone. The 50 year old fit didn't seem that bad to me. I guess this fits into the "Win a few, lose a few" category. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

I really appreciate you showing this Richard. Your comment after the failure that "it's only a piece of wood, don't worry about it" is something I will remind myself of when I experience failures at the lathe. In fact, I've had a couple of them in the last week. It all went in the burn bin and I've moved on to other pieces. Cheers from a hot & humid Georgia USA!

Thank you for sharing your unfortunate result. "Its only a piece of wood" is now my favorite mantra when things don't go to plan. I understand why you didn't film the lid to bowl transformation, but I would have liked to seen it. Thanks for all you do sir. I hope you have a great day.

Love your work.

Well that was suspenseful. I can unclench my buttocks now and watch the wee yew bowl video. Thanks for posting.

Sei una persona sincera non ti vergogni dei tuoi fallimenti al contrario di altri che nascondono tutto

Thanks for all the videos Richard. Often think how much time it would have taken me as a new turner to learn about wood turning without these lessons. Thanks very much….also bought the books 👍

It happens to us all, relief to see a professional like you, so sorry on a fifty year piece.

It really is a shame to loose an almost antique Richard.

Richard, This reminds me of the last page of your Turning Boxes book: “If you have no failures, you are not trying”! I made a copy many years ago that is hanging behind my headstock with spatters of oil and wax on it. I think of that quote often in my work at home and my career! It gave me the courage to make my bowls thinner and more appealing! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

This is indeed part of wood turning, ( probably a more prevalent part than some would admit). In any case thanks again for another honest demo with more valuable, helpful lessons.

These are the most useful of videos. The way you have freed my mind to get a grip on a piece of timber is excellent and I'm finally at a point where I can watch and anticipate with decent accuracy. It is just a bit of wood. At one point in my photography days a hard drive crashed and I lost a great deal of photos, still being a hobby I didn't have backup plans. But the lesson was that what I'd learned was the most important thing and everything I made from that point forward was going to be better than what I'd lost, anyway. That also makes selling or giving away turning easier. My next piece will be better. Thank you for another great lesson.

Such a difficult wood to predict

Thank you for sharing and bringing us along. The wood is what it wants to be.

Oh what a crying shame Richard, I hope you didn’t love that box to bits, no pun intended. Wow you certainly had some chucking problems and came up with some very innovative ways of turning it. I think you said it it’s only a piece of wood. I hope you were wearing face protection wh3n it exploded. Thanks a lot for sharing this one.

Richard, I always enjoy your videos. Your calmness reminds me of Bob Ross. Thanks for what you do!

Dang..i hate when that happens.. it probably cracked when it first came off the lathe. Your thought process on what you were trying to do was educational.. thank you ..i am glad you were not hurt.

It was indeed exciting video. Even when I knew it was coming, I startled and my heart raced when the box jumped off the lathe.

A new life after 50 years. Reborn yew!

I’m sorry that happened but glad you were able to turn a lovely bowl as a keepsake.

It happens, even to the best of them! Thanks for sharing!

Still a wonderful lesson as you can get a little mad but make a comeback and an awesome bowl from the lid.

A pity about the old box, but it is just a piece of wood. Also a great many techniques for mounting and chucking shown, and that is always interesting. That sock can be used to wax whole regiments of furniture by now, I would think. Like the new glasses btw. Thanks for another great video, even though the end was not what I had hoped. Also nice C.S. Forester reference.

Thank you so much!! Another very good lesson for us. The process and attitude towards loss!!

I like to call these oops , a Redisign Oppourtunity. A shame the base shattered , it was a beautiful reworked piece of yew

I would have been so upset after having something made all that time ago,that was a lovely antique thanks for sharing ,but dont do that again made me jump😬and nobody got hurt .

I would have left it alone. Can't expect wood not to warp a bit; it is it's nature.

Thank you for sharing , I thought that kind of stuff only happen to me . ( It still made me jump just watching it) .

"It's only a bit of wood." 😔 Very sad to see the demise of something beautiful that you had done so any years ago...... but valuable lessons for us mere mortals.😂 ....the tension was killing me!😅

Sounded dangerous when it hit the ground

Yup. Lemon, lemonade.

Lemonade out of lemons

OOOPS!

Good afternoon, Richard! What sharpening angle do you use on your scraper?

True masters show their mistakes, so that beginners can learn. I am sorry for the bowl, but yes… it’s “just” a piece of wood.

Prophetic, "it will be different from what it is now." No saving what's left of the bottom?