Why you want to start and finish a HF if at all possible PHOTOS FINALLY

[Ken Fitzgerald]

in one session.

Primarily all I've turned since getting my PM3520B is pens and bottlestoppers. I had this little non-descript piece of maple sitting there. So.....I screwed it to my faceplate and grabbed my new David Ellsworth bowl gouge and shaped the outside. Well...that was 2 months ago. It sat on a pile of wood through the holidays and a couple of weeks ago, I decided to begin working on the inside. Lo and behold....several cracks had appeared.....major cracks. I drilled a 1 1/4" hole to depth in the middle and began the task of turning the inside of the HF. Then I got side tracked on some other projects. This past Sunday afternoon, I got on it again and had it ready to turn off.....Uh Oh! It had not only cracked but warped! Today I took the day off and tried to turn it off but it had warped side to side...terribly! So....I sawed off the excess. I mounted it into my donut chuck and turned and sanded the bottom. It will turn out to be a fairly nice HF for my amateurish skills. It's turned upside down over a 1" piece of dowel attached to some scrap plywood. The first coat of Antique Oil is drying. I'll put a 2nd coat on tomorrow.

Lesson learned....try to start and finish turning a HF in one session!

Photos to follow after the finishing process is completed.

[David Christopher]

Ken, thats not fair. you get our hopes up and then just let us fall'''no pics till later....guess we will have to wait

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ken - looking forward to seeing the HF! Sounds like it should have a lot of character!

I usually rough out my HFs, DNA, dry and then finish turn. Am tempted to try the all-in-one turning method - just not sure how to go about sanding & finishing something that is green!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve....this piece of wood had been sitting on the driveway outside the door of my shop for 18 months. I figured with exposure to two summers of sunshine..it would be dry. Wrong! While it was primarily dry, it obviously wasn't dry enough or I wouldn't have experienced the cracking and warping.

[Don Carter]

Ken:
Sounds like a good save. Looking forward to those pics. Have you got any "in process"?

All the best.

Don

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Don.....no in process photos. I will post some.....probably Wednesday. I've only done 1 other HF and my forms are still pretty crude. This one ......so-so. I have a SIL that's been begging for one of my bowls. I think she may have to do with a HF...this one.

I'm watching Cindy Drozda CD right now trying to determine if I want to attempt a finial for this one.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Which DVD? Seems like she has 3 of them. Been tempted to pick one up - especially after seeing Keith and Neal's versions!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve...I had a gift card given to me and I picked up "Elegant Finials" by Cindy Drozda. I believe it's her first DVD.

[Jeff Nicol]

Ken - looking forward to seeing the HF! Sounds like it should have a lot of character!

I usually rough out my HFs, DNA, dry and then finish turn. Am tempted to try the all-in-one turning method - just not sure how to go about sanding & finishing something that is green!
Steve, I have done some of the green sanding and I use some water and wet/dry paper to get it as smooth as I can. The air to dry it off faster and remove most of the water. Then do a finish sanding with the friction and speed of the lathe drying it further. If it is turned thin enough a HF will stay mostly round since all the tension is gone. The piece will still change shape but not as bad as some just roughed out and left alone with no sealer. Other times turn the out side to your finished shape and seal it with anchor seal. Then go in and finish the inside in a week or so then do a final cut on the outside the next day and that works sometime too. Red oak seems to work best when I rush the process!

Have fun,

Jeff

[Jim Kountz]

Ken?? What HF are you talking about?? Wait I cant see it!! LOL Looking forward to seeing how it came out. You said something about your form well I can relate!! I turned "something" yesterday that was supposed to be a large finial for my deck posts. Im ashamed to let anyone see it!! Talk about dumpy looking. Form is the hardest thing to learn for me other than the %^$&&^## skew.

[charlie knighton]

try to start and finish turning a HF in one session!



i try to start and finish in one day, but you know Murphy's law, not everything goes as planned

on days when i have an interuption i have of box of dry shavings sitting in the corner of basement ... studio... i just cover the part finished turning in shavings and try to get back to it the next day :D

[Bob Hallowell]

in one session.

Primarily all I've turned since getting my PM3520B is pens and bottlestoppers. .

Uhmm... Ken your first problem is the Mustard is not a mini, it's just getting mad at you for not turning big bowls and HF's. I think it's just feeling under appericiated and told the wood to misbehave to get back at you. If you start treating her right and put some 50lb blocks on her things will go better.:D

Bob

[George Guadiane]

Ken - looking forward to seeing the HF! Sounds like it should have a lot of character!

I usually rough out my HFs, DNA, dry and then finish turn. Am tempted to try the all-in-one turning method - just not sure how to go about sanding & finishing something that is green!
I didn't know that you couldn't sand green wood, so I do it... Usually with oil, but the finish seems to come up fine for me... The only disadvantage I have noticed is with burl and curl materials that sometimes pucker as they dry.
Shifting is something I accept in turning green...
I had a piece of apple (crotch no less) that I mounted so a friend could try my "new" (at the time) Rolly Munro hollowing tool. We got distracted about half way done and left the piece on the lathe and uncovered - as it turned out, it was several days before I got back to it... LUMPY as it is known did get finished, and looks kind of interesting, but that got me to trying to finish all at once when I can.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ken I had one when I first start HF's that did the same thing. It cracked so bad that when I was almost finished it exploded. So I don't start one now unless I can finish it. Lesson learned.

[Ryan Baker]

Boy, I know the feeling about finishing in one session. I've worked on some HFs that start to crack faster than I can get the inside hollowed out, and that's with pretty dry wood to start with. It's very dry here at this time of year, which isn't helping things. Right now, if I rough out the outside and leave it overnight without roughing out the inside, it will crack for sure. I've got to keep the CA close and stay ahead of the hairline cracks before they become problematic.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well....it's finished.....gonna set up my photo booth.

Pictures at 1100!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well the photos, such as they are, are done. This is the first piece of wood that I turned from an odd shaped chainsawed blank to a round blank using my MM-16. This is the first piece other than pens and bottlestoppers I have turned on my PM3520B. It was truly a joy to have a round blank and the PM3520B turned flawlessly.

What's unique about this piece and my turning it..I started it in December. I turned the outside shape and hollowed about the top one third of the inside. Then I was off to New Zealand. Excited about the trip, I just left the blank screwed to the faceplate and set it on a stack of lumber. I turned the thermostat on the shop down to 50ºF and left. 3 weeks ago I decide I'd try turning it but duty called and I didn't get very far. I noticed then that some fairly serious cracks had popped up in the lower 1/3 of the HF.

This past Saturday I put it back on the lathe and began hollowing it. Then I noticed the upper 1/3 which I'd hollowed in December was warped and the base where it was attached to the faceplate was warped. The upper part was hollowed to 3/16" and there was no way I could turn out the warp, so I had to work with it or pitch it. I don't have a wood burning stove so I saved it, I guess.

It started out as a nondescript little piece of maple from a larger burled piece. Here's what I found inside. The wall thickness is approximately 1/4"..the height is 4" and the diameter is 6 1/2". The finish is one coat of Min-Wax Antique Oil and then Beal buffed. This is my 2nd HF.

The form is what it is due to the warping.

I think I saved it. Critiques and comments welcomed.

[David Christopher]

Ken, thats a nice save...if you hadnt said so we couldnt tell that it is a save...I dont have any Critiques.I think its a beauty

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice work on the hollow form Ken! Great form, beautiful wood and finish! Congrats on sticking with it! In my opinion - it was worth the trouble! Thanks for sharing photos!

Looking forward to seeing hollow form #3! Nice work!

[Ken Glass]

Ken,
Come on now.... only your second HF? Great if it was a 50th. I think it is a fine looking HF and I like the shape and finish too. I don't see much of a warp in it either. I think it looks really great. Well Done!! We now require more. Get those blanks mounted and spin, spin, spin.

[Barry Stratton]

Nice save Ken, it came out looking real good!

The only critique I can offer is TURN SOMETHING BIG.........YOU OWN A PM3520b now:D

[Don Carter]

Wow! I hope all my disasters turn out that good! Looks great to me. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but this ain't it. I am starting to do some small boxes and I have a new found respect for HF's. You are blazing the way.
Thanks for showing it.

All the best.

Don

[ROY DICK]

Ken,

That really turned out great.
Great save.

Roy

[Steve Campbell]

Ken if that's a save I can't wait to see you come up with next. Just beautiful.

Steve

[Bob Noles]

Great job on both the HF and the pics Ken!

[Glenn Clabo]

Wow...that sure will look good on a mantle.

[Dewey Torres]

Finally the pics!!! sweet.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Ken I stole the last picture, I love the look of that HF, you did a beautiful job turning that, really nice shape to it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Leo....coming from a turner of your skill level....I'll take that as a huge compliment! Thanks!

[Westley Rosenbaum]

Wow, Ken, nice save and nice work. That thing looks awesome. I really like those couple cracks in there actually, adds a nice touch. Really looks good overall

[Bill Bolen]

That turned out sweet Ken... With all the trouble it gave you I'm thinking you will find a place of honor to display it. Great form and pretty grain working there...Bill..

[Keith Burns]

Ken, all I can say is ya done good. Nice save and worth the effort. Looks good !

[Wayne Bower]

Ken, beautiful save. I really like it.

[Jim Becker]

Nice work, Ken. I've always enjoyed going from a hung of "something" to a finished piece in one session, too.

In the area of critique, the base is a bit wide and flat. You'll get used to refining that over time, both in parting from a tenon or waste block and after you reverse to finish the bottom. In the last picture (the only one that is somewhat a side view) it appears that your curve from the center line up to the top is a little irregular. Again, this is something that you'll refine over time and undoubtedly, the warping you mention has played with this a bit, too. It's a great piece! And a nice save. Bravo.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thanks everyone for the compliments, comments and critiques.

Jim,

I originally turned the outer shape and hollowed the upper 1/3 in December. The wood I thought was totally dry....wasn't. The base warped where it narrowed down to the part I had turned narrower than what you see. The upper part where I had hollowed it out didn't warp as much but did warp. In the end, I turned off more than was originally planned and had to saw it off the remaining tenon ( lathe off OF COURSE) using a hand saw. Then when I put it in the donut chuck, I didn't want to get too thin and create a an oval funnel thus a flat bottom. I was really surprised I was able to save it.