What is the piece you are "PROUDEST" of?

[scottp55]

Think I asked this before when I was a TOTAL newbie. But what piece that you have ever done that made you feel the best, that you were proudest of at that stage of your skill? I just took a hand tooled piece off the wall I did 14 years ago and noticed the oil had turned white since I last rubbed it(it was 14' up and I'm in a wheelchair so I have an excuse"I'm not good with ladders")
I was looking at all the things I did by hand, compared to a 1 day project that turned out nice and I could not carve in ten years and compared the two.
Not sure which I prefer. One took 3 weeks plus and the other a day (finishing not included Joe C.) With two pieces in my hand tonight, wondering if making several hundred of something is worth the pride of one of kinds that most people will never see. What's the best you have ever done from YOUR viewpoint?
I like what I've done but worried about my values and satisfaction vs. SALES.
At this point I do NOT have to do this, but having second thoughts about pursuing batch production even if it helps kids but takes over my life. Selfish I know.
What's your best piece in your estimation, and keeps you going? Will post pics of the two pieces that got me going in the morning with Natural light, so apples are apples. Rambling, very long day. scott

[rcnewcomb]

This piece was done for the grandson of a Lakota Elder on the Rosebud reservation. I remember his face and the face of his grandparents when he received it. The original image was purchased but I did a lot of editing including removing an element I didn't care for. The glazing was done very carefully to keep the contrast crisp. I can see every flaw in it, but it is still my favorite.

[gene]

Thats a very good question

[carl_vallance]

This is one of my Best.

[dana_swift]

Scott- what an interesting question. With me its as much about HOW I made a part, than the part quality itself. Each time I create a technique that makes a quality part possible my satisfaction is just as great as it is in the part.

When I get one of those moments where I think to myself "what I really need is..." and then answer that question with something I can create. That is deep satisfaction.

I was looking at Mr Burkhardt's exploration of mazes. Quite likely the process of coming up with the software to create the mazes is more satisfying than the maze. Obviously he speaks for himself, and doesnt use those words, but I suspect the feeling is there just as it is for me.

Scott probably the best answer I can give, is the software I write to create SBP files is the most satisfying. The cutting is one step in the production process, but creating the design software is just awesomely fun! When somebody admires the final part, I have a deeper sense of how it came into existance.

D

[Bob Eustace]

Truly beautiful work Carl and Randall.

[roney c]

Hand carved by me when I was 9 or 10 (don't really quite remember). Was my most prized possession. Until I gave it to my wife as a wedding present five years ago.
As I don't know how to post more than one picture at a time, I'll post again showing my best work using my Bot. image.jpg

[roney c]

30 person conference table for the corporate Hqtrsof The International Union of Elevator Constructors in Columbia, Md. image.jpg

[Burkhardt]

.........I was looking at Mr Burkhardt's exploration of mazes. Quite likely the process of coming up with the software to create the mazes is more satisfying than the maze. Obviously he speaks for himself, and doesnt use those words, but I suspect the feeling is there just as it is for me...........

Ha....could not have it said better. The road is more fun for me than the destination. But I seem to suffer from permanent ADD and once I got something working I have already the next thing in mind. Needless to say that I sometimes don't finish a project when another interesting idea comes along. Getting the dovetail software to work in principle I consider an achievement for myself and it took a lot of discipline to do the next step to debug and package it for distribution.

Otherwise I have realized a few nice ideas that I like. If they look like useful for others or pretty like the Lazy Susan or trigger new ideas I like to share them. Other projects may be a bit exotic. Not sure if somebody would for instance be interested in my motor-less CNC table tripler? It is very machine specific and probably more relevant for the CNC-Zone forum.

I got interested in CNC work about 3 years ago and built my own machine from scratch. Since then it has given me fascinating opportunities for new projects. I also hope it will give me something meaningful to do (and make some money?) when I retire in a few years. Maybe I can afford a Shopbot by that time

P.S.: I don't mind if you guys use my first name (Gert). I usually prefer pseudonyms for forum handles due to privacy reasons (big brother Google and Co.)

[nailzscott]

This was mine. I never made an instrument before and this bass guitar took a year and a half - a few hours on many weekends. I've been playing it for about a year and am just about to start on serial number 2.