Black Ash burl

[Roland Falk]

Last night finished my first burl hollow form, kept my fingers crossed. Tung oil finish, first time I used that oil and I like it! Nice finish and it hasn't been buffed yet. Black Ash burl with ebonized maple.

5" tall, 8 1/2 tall with finial and just over 4" diameter - 1/8" thick. I think I'm really going to enjoy burls- now if I could just find them instead of buying them I'd be happier.

Welcome your comments and thanks for looking.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roland - very nice work! Beautiful burl! Love the grain swirl! Really nice form to this piece and I like the overall color combination.

Looking forward to seeing whats next!

[Thom Sturgill]

Lovely, only recommendation would be to thin the finial at the top, which is something that takes some nerve until you get used to it. That's a real beauty, good lines, gorgeous wood..

[Baxter Smith]

Very pretty. The black ash has a very different color to it. Will agree about the thinnes of the finial. Not that I have done one but I could quite easily see losing my nerve!:D

[Roland Martin]

Very nice job Roland. The black ash has nice grain pattern & color. I hope my first burl hollow form comes anywhere close to that.

[John Keeton]

Nice work, and beautiful wood!! Very appealing piece.

I am curious as to the ebonizing of the maple. What process did you use? The finish looks very smooth and well done. Seems the water based method I used on one lifted the grain too much to get a really good finish.

[Sid Matheny]

I think it looks great all over! I really like the way you brought the lip up to meet the finial.


Sid

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice looking vase. Wood has a lot going on.

[Donny Lawson]

Very nice piece of work.Wish I could do that.
Donny

[Ron Bontz]

Nice work. I like the form.:)

[Richard Madison]

Beautiful wood and a very nice piece Roland. On the next one you could make the base diameter just a tad smaller and radius the bottom edge (round the side into the base) to give the piece a bit of "lift" off the surface. Our first finial (or first few) is always, always too fat. You could practice finials on some cheap wood. When they get thin enough to scare you, you're getting close.

[David E Keller]

Beautiful piece of wood and a wonderful form! I agree with the finial suggestions... It just seems a little bit prominent for the overall piece. Great job!

[Scott Hackler]

....Our first finial (or first few) is always, always too fat. You could practice finials on some cheap wood. When they get thin enough to scare you, you're getting close.

Aint that the truth. I swear that while practicing on my ornament pendants (finials) It has taken some nerve to get to that really thin and delicate shape!


I really like the form, but as some have meantioned a thinner and longer finial would better suit it for my taste. Or a longer finial with the angled top cut.

[Rob Cunningham]

Nice looking hollow form Roland. That's a beautiful piece of wood.

[Roland Falk]

Thanks everyone- looks like I'll try making another finial for it this weekend. Thinner and taller I agree.

The finish used on the finial was - brushed on Artisian black dye straight out of the bottle. Couple coats, it dries pretty quick. Buffed with 0000 plastic pad and then a couple coats gloss spray lacquer.

[Roger Bullock]

Nice, really nice.

[Thom Sturgill]

Not sure it needs to be taller, the one you have could probably be reworked. I am NOT a computer artist and the lack of contrast between the finial and background made this harder, but I attached a retouched photo, only slimming the top of the existing finial.

Another option would be not to make a finial but rather a lid with knob to lift it by. You might experiment with both ideas. Think about the golden ratio (1.61:1) for height vs width to determine the finished height of the finial on the form.

Still a very nice piece.

[Roland Falk]

Thanks Thom,
I think I'll just start a new one -its always good practice anyway.

[Michael Jasani]

Great job Roland! The hollow form is excellent. Superb choice of wood. Once you work with burls, you only want to work with burls! Love the way you have dyed the finial, looks like African Blackwood!

Michael