#31 "Magma"

[John Keeton]

Woodcraft was having a sale with 25% discount on wood. I stopped in to buy some African Blackwood pen blanks for finials, and saw a piece of quilted maple. My first impression was that a dyed piece using black and red would look like fire. My experience with using dyes has not been great, but challenging enough to make me want to try it again.
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This piece is 6" wide x 5.75" high. The walls are a little less than 1/4" thick. The finial is African Blackwood, and is 3/32" at the neck. The top accent bulb is undercut, as is the lower bulb - something not possible for me until I got my lighted magnifier for the lathe!!:D The finial is sanded to 2000 and waxed only.

I started with wipe on poly, but ended up going with lacquer on this piece, and it has given me fits. I was careless, and it stuck to my painted stool, and had to be reworked. I ended up with some lint in it, and it had to be reworked, and on and on..... I need to seriously address my finishing techniques, and, I need a buffing system - badly.

This old flatworker needs to realize that finishing round things, particularly things that are going to be inspected with scrutiny, requires different techniques!!

I also noticed that I failed to dust the piece before taking the pics - sorry!:o Just can't get it right with this one!

[Steve Vaughan]

John, dust and all, that is an absolutely stunning piece there! I love it and your design is quite an inspiration.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Now John that is a beauty. I really like the finial and form on this one. Well done.

[Donny Lawson]

Another great piece John.I really like looking at your pieces.They add some inspiration to us all.
Donny

[dan carter]

Very nice, John. Your finial is exceptional.

[Matt Owen]

I don't know how you do it, John. Just when I think I choose one of your pieces that I like the best, you come out with another that I like even more. Great work!

Matt

[Brian Effinger]

I think you need to have a talk with the maid. :p :D

Beautiful piece John, and I think you gave it a great name. The dye experiment went well. The form and final are great, as well.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian....we created a monster!

John....you did well my friend! I like everything about this one.....everything!

[Joe Shinall]

Very nice John. A real eye catcher. Belongs in a display case for sure.

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - exceptional work on this one! Love the darker color scheme as it is not something you see every day.

Very nice detail work on the finial! Looks like the magnifier makes a difference! I'll have to remember to give that a try - should I ever decide to try some detail work!

Overall - very nice work! You should be happy with this one - other than the dust! :D

Looking forward to seeing the next one!

[Maylon Harvey]

Just beautiful John. Love the red and black. Looks like a keeper to me.

[Baxter Smith]

All I could think of was "You're getting creative" but I guess that isn't really new!:) Looks great and my eyesight isn't good enough to see the dust!

[Sid Matheny]

Outstanding work John, no need to say more!

Sid

[Roland Martin]

Very, very well done John. From form to finish, you just keep amazing me. As Steve said, The dark colors are a pleasing change from the majority. The precise detailing on the finial is spot on, I'm assuming in part from the lighted magnifier and maybe from steady personal development?;)
P.S. If you've absorbed yourself in law the way you do in turning, I would really cringe being on the other side!:eek:

[Scott Hackler]

Very nice John, you are definitely a natural to the spinny world!

[GLENN THOMAS]

Very nice. This is definitely one that made me do a double take. I even like the name.

[David DeCristoforo]

I look at this forum every day but I don't contribute too often here because I'm still in "One day I want to..." status. But, John, your lathe work is really nice. I have been watching the development of your turnings and thinking more and more about dusting off that nice old Delta lathe sitting in my shop.

I am a chess aficionado and one of my "treasures" is an extremely fine ebony and boxwood chess set. When I look at something like the finial on your latest piece, I feel like asking you to consider turning a chess set. With the exception of the Knight and the cross on the King which have to be carved, a chess set is almost all turnings. The set I have is characterized by fine crisp, elegant detailing like that of your finials.

[David E Keller]

Another beauty... This is my favorite finial of the pieces you've posted. The detail is wonderful and blackwood is such a great choice because it is so tight grained. I don't think more porous woods do well for finials.

I like the coloring on this one. The red seems more natural than artificial.

Very nice piece.

[James Combs]

Dust, I thought that was accents...:p Very nice John:)

[Curt Fuller]

John, very very nice! I think the finial is superb. I'm not usually too fond of dyed wood but I'm impressed that you were able to see the "Magma" look in the wood and then break out the dye and achieve it. Again, just a very nice piece of art!

[Larry Marley]

John,
Like Curt said, your finials are superb. Very Cindy Drozda like.
You keep cranking out beautiful pieces!

Larry

[Doug W Swanson]

John,

You keep cranking out excellent pieces. This one is no exception.

Doug

[Jon Lanier]

Dude! That's awesome.:eek: I love that finial. Wish I could do them like that.

[Jim Slovik]

John,
This one is my new favorite. When I opened your thread I literally said "Wow" aloud. This piece truly is a work of art.
Jim

[Frank Van Atta]

A really great piece, from the great finial to the fantastic color.

[Paul Atkins]

My newest favorite too. Best finial ever.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, thanks for sharing

[Toney Robertson]

The finial is exceptional. IMO your best by far.

Toney

[Roger Chandler]

John,

Once again, beautiful work! I like the color combination, and the pop of the grain. Your execution on the form and finial is certainly artist level, and you challenge the rest of us to step it up a notch!

Great job!

[Jeff Nicol]

John, By all aspects this is just plain spectacular! Everything works on it and I can say no more!

The trouble witht he finishing on this one is that you said you used wipe on poly before the lacquer. They are not compatible as the lacquer will break down the poly and make it gummy or sticky or whatever and most of the time you will have to start over. That is my take on your finishing troubles.

Great finial, just perfect.

Jeff

[Mike Golka]

And you say you've only been turning how long? John your talent never ceases to amaze me. Once again a beautiful piece.

[Tony De Masi]

Another beautiful piece of art John. Exceptionally well done. Did you happen to get another piece of that maple? I'd love to see that with a more natural finish on it just for comparison.

Tony

[Rob Cunningham]

Outstanding piece John. I really like the detail in the finial, and the form and figure of the wood is very nice.

[Mike Minto]

appropriate name, great piece - you're an artist, john!

[Mike McAfee]

ANOTHER beautiful piece John! Unique lid and excellent work on the finial!

I have been thinking of using a magna light for detail work myself and now the motivation to devise a mounting system has struck!

Another fine Keeton piece added to my ever growing file of inspiration!

MMc

[alex carey]

great form and the dying looks pretty dang good.

[John Keeton]

Guys, you all are a great bunch!! You are supportive and helpful, and I appreciate it. Thanks!!
Looks like the magnifier makes a difference! I'll have to remember to give that a try - should I ever decide to try some detail work!Now that is hilarious!! Steve, your work is precise and beautiful, and one doesn't achieve that without "detail" work! BTW, you are largely responsible for pushing me to improve, and for that, I owe you big time!;)


When I look at something like the finial on your latest piece, I feel like asking you to consider turning a chess set. With the exception of the Knight and the cross on the King which have to be carved, a chess set is almost all turnings. The set I have is characterized by fine crisp, elegant detailing like that of your finials.David, good to have you come over from the flat side!! Be careful - I came over and can't go back!! A friend of mine suggested a chess set, as well. However, I don't know if my inability to stay focused long enough to do duplicates of anything would let me. Paul Atkins amazes me with the work he does. If someone told me I had to turn 28 ballusters, all alike, I think I would sell my lathe! My limit is 4 table legs!:D


The trouble with the finishing on this one is that you said you used wipe on poly before the lacquer. They are not compatible ...Jeff, I didn't have adhesion problems. The poly was a sealing coat, and the lacquer went on fine. It just seems I am having a difficult time getting the brush on lacquer to lay down flat on these "round" forms. It is so easy to get runs. My impatience doesn't help, either! And, then setting the piece on my painted workstool while it was "green" with lacquer was just plain DUMB!


Did you happen to get another piece of that maple? I'd love to see that with a more natural finish on it just for comparison.

TonyI did, Tony. The piece actually was about 24" long, but had some end checking. I have a 9" round blank left, and a piece of square stock that doesn't have as much quilting.


I have been thinking of using a magna light for detail work myself and now the motivation to devise a mounting system has struck!Mike, you need to do it! The light I bought came with a clamp bracket, into which the base of the light (tubular) was inserted and removeable. I just drilled a hole in the top of my lathe stand for the base to insert into. Works great.

[Phillip Key]

Wow, that is just plain cool. Definitely saving this one in my inspiration folder.

[Mark Burge]

Beauty John. I love the interpretation.

[David Hullum]

Man O Man I would buy that. That is amazing. So primal!! Nice work.

[steven carter]

Great job John! That is one hot turning, no wonder you call it magma;).

Steve

[Bill Bolen]

Glorious colors you got on this one John. Love your finial work too. Must be using your new "Drosda" tool on them?...Bill...

[John Keeton]

Thanks guys - except for the finishing (always a pain for me) I enjoyed doing this one quite a bit.

Glorious colors you got on this one John. Love your finial work too. Must be using your new "Drosda" tool on them?...Bill...In fact I did Bill!! Works great for those really fine undercuts. The heel of the detail gouge gets in the way a little on those.

[Bill Bulloch]

John you are becoming quite accomplished with those finials. Excellent job -- keep em comming.

[Bill Wilcox]

Beautiful piece John. I really like the color of the wood. Could you please fill me(us) in on your dyeing process. What type of dye was use and how it was mixed and the timeframe on applying it and wiping it off.
Thanks,
Bill

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Bill!

On the dye process, I had some water based Arti "toy" dyes from a project some years ago. The black was premixed and the others were powders that are mixed with boiling water. I think they came from Highland Woodworking.

I knew the process was going to require a lot of sanding after applying the dye, so raising the grain wasn't a concern. I have had better success with the water based dyes - they are much easier to achieve an even application.

After sanding out the form and while it was on the lathe, and I applied a fairly heavy coat of the black. Mu understanding is that black is nearly always used first to highlight the grain.

It took about 20 minutes for it to dry, and then I sanded it back to the point where I felt it would provide the effect I wanted. Actually, when the finish was applied, it darkened more than anticipated. If I were doing it over, I may have sanded it out a little more, but I think the effect turned out OK.

Then, I mixed a small amount of the bright red, in a fairly heavy mixture, and did the same process.

I turned the lid after dying the form. The underside is turned with a slight recess to permit mounting on the chuck in expansion. I dyed the underside after finish turning that part of the lid. Then I removed the lid from the waste block, flipped it to mount in the recess, and finish turned the top surface. Then did the same process.

You just need to be consistent in the sanding process to get the same look on all pieces of the turning.

[Keith Burns]

John, I just wanted to add my kudos on a totally excellent piece. Bravo

[John Keeton]

Keith, thanks so much!! I have admired your work, and studied several of your pieces. You have been an inspiration.