Ash & Ebony Hollow Form

[Steve Schlumpf]

Couple of firsts for me - first time turning Ash (thanks to Ed Sandle for his generous gift) and my first time turning Ebony - which was a gift from Bob Hainstock. I really like the color of the Ash but found it likes to chip out on the edges. The Ebony was amazing to turn! Very strong and dense wood that takes detail work exceptionally well! I can understand why everyone likes using Ebony for finials!

The Ash hollow form has a little spalting, some curl, couple of worm holes, a void and lots of rich color variations. It is 6" diameter x 8" to top of finial x 1/8" thick. Sanded to 400 grit and has a few coats of Minwax Wipe-On Gloss Poly.

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As always, I would appreciate your opinions, critiques and comments!

Thanks for looking!

[Bill Bolen]

Love your broad shouldered form and the finial is an excellent fit. Really pretty piece of Ash you used..Bill..

[David Christopher]

Steve, thats a very nice HF, and that ash has alot going on.....

[Robert McGowen]

I really like the overall look. You really have the hollowform/finial look down pat.

I am not sure if I would have angled the tip of finial on this one or not. It is such a delicate little tip that you almost think that it broke when you first look at it.

[Rich Aldrich]

Nice work, Steve. How hollow is it - how thick is the wall?

I built an ash bar for a freind in Munising a few years back. It is really nice to work with, but easy to chip like you said. It isnt near as splintery as oak, but the grain is similar. If you stain ash with oak stain it looks like oak.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Steve. Form, finish and finial all look great. That is some cool looking ash.

[John Keeton]

Steve, I really admire your ability to consistently nail these forms. The ash has such a nice character to it. I have worked with it on some flatwork, and it does have a tendency to leave rough cut lines at times, and handplaning it can be challenging, to say the least.

I like the finial, and maybe this was the week for the "clipped" look! Kind of like the top of the knob/finial I just did.:D I have never worked with ebony, but that was a nice endorsement. I did check the price on some - and it is not cheap!

1/8" is one breath away from kindling for me. It will be awhile before I try that!

[Curt Fuller]

Very, very nice Steve! I really like the form but I love that finial.

[patrick michael stein]

steve


very nice agree with others,you do some amazing work.





patrick:D

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey Steve,

Are you sure you weren't in cahoots with John on the matching finials?

I really like the color. The ash goes well with ebony.

I've turned a couple of bottle stoppers with ebony and I love it. On one of them I just finished it through 1,000 grit and used no finish. I wish it wasn't so expensive!

Doug

[Michael Jasani]

This is very beautiful Steve! Your work is very consistent in terms of form and technique. I like the anlged tip for the finial and was wondering how its to be done, do you do it with the lathe running or you do off it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for the kind words everyone - I do appreciate it!

Rich - the hollow form is anywhere from 1/8" to 3/16" thick and most likely 3/16" - 1/4" at the base.

Michael - the slant was done off the lathe by gently holding the tip of the finial against a disk sander. That is one of those times you really want to be in control or you lose the form and get to start over.

[Gary Chester]

Oh yeah!... that's another nice one... great work!

If you're going to force me to critque... that little piece in the finial in between the upper part and the lower part doesn't seem to fit to me... but that's just me.

Let's see... 6" wide, that little hole in the top must be 1" at best... how do you guys get your tools in there... :confused: Tommorrow I practice!!!

[David E Keller]

Very nice piece. I like the finial a lot.

[Jim Slovik]

I like everything about it. Beautiful work.
Jim

[Baxter Smith]

Great color, variation and grain to the ash. I like the shape a lot as well. A little different than the standard perfectly symmetrical ones. I was trying to visualize this grain in the standard shape as well and how it would have looked. Was this shape something that you decided upon as you saw the grain appearing? Fits well and looks great!

[Richard Madison]

Another beauty Steve. Consider a larger radius at bottom edge without changing the base diameter. Nice finial with a different look.

[Steve Mawson]

Very nice Steve. Are you getting to the point with so many that you can do them in your sleep??? I have some Redbud left that I may try a very small one.

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
As always your form is spot-on. Great looking wood also. The finial really stands out and I love the different top you put on it. Excellent piece. Well Done, my friend.

[Keith Burns]

Steve, a very nice and well done piece. A couple of things caught my eye though and they are nit pics and only my opinion. First the base seems large to me. Second is the transition from the body to the lid. Does not seem to flow. Third is on the finial. I really like your design but wonder if the top should be a little larger and flare out some more ? Just my thoughts.

[Roland Martin]

All the proportions are very pleasing, I think you nailed it perfectly. Really nice colors & figure on the ash and the finial looks perfect on this HF. Nice work Steve!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Keith - appreciate the observations!

I noticed the base after posting and looking at the photos. Everything looked fine while in the shop.... But, I agree, the base is to large.

The transition from the body into the lid - again - looked great while on the lathe! Believe that the proportions are wrong due to the over-sized base and also some of the lack of flow could be due to camera perspective.

The finial height was kept to 2/3s the height of the body and was turned thin - just cause I wanted something approaching delicate.

Overall - I learned a lot of this one - most of which is to pay attention to the curve!

[Pete Jordan]

Nice wood and you certainly did it justice!

[Rob Cunningham]

Nice form, wood, and finish Steve.

[Craig Powers]

Very nice. I really like the balance of the piece.

[James Roberts]

Beautiful piece of wood and you did fine work bringing out all the different things it had to offer. I really like the finial and the little angle at the tip. Amazing work Steve, as usual.

[Brian Effinger]

Outstanding HF, Steve. Keith had some good observations, but it is still beautiful. I can't wait to see what you come up with next. :)

[steven carter]

Steve,

Very nice hollow form, I guess I can see what Keith is saying, but to tell you the truth, I never really noticed it until he brought it up. I might disagree a little on the size of the base, I guess it could be a little smaller, mut not much IMO. I am certainly no expert on hollow forms having only done one small one, but I have looked at hundreds and when I looked at yours I find myself getting lost in the grain of the body and the overall great look that I don't really notice the smaller things. One thing about turning that never ceases to amaze me it how different a turning looks on the lathe than it does sitting on a table.

Steve