Claro in Flight - yet another HF on a Steeck!!

[John Keeton]

This piece has a rather miraculous history!! I turned it with the form glued to a waste tenon. After the collar was installed, all turning done on the form, and completely sanded to 1200 grit, I was parting the base down to leave a 1/2" thick stub tenon on the form to fit in the pedestal.

Suddenly, the glue joint failed, and the piece flew off the lathe!! Seemingly in slow motion, it bounced off the ways, and I instinctively grabbed for it. Bad move! I knocked it about half way across my shop.

It bounced on the concrete floor a couple of times, the first bounce being about 3' high! I finally got to it, grabbed for it again - touched it, but just knocked it further. After a couple more bounces, I finally caught it. Rather nauseous, I quickly looked for all the dents and cracks - not a scratch! Nothing! No dents, dings, cracks - nothing! The title seemed fitting!

Claro walnut, hollowed to just under 3/16", it is 4" wide x 10.5" tall. This piece of wood has amazing chatoyance, but it is so difficult to pick up on that in the photo tent.

The collar, finial and pedestal (aka, upper steeck, lower steeck or as some prefer, steecker upper and holder upper) are all African Blackwood. The lid and pedestal base are Claro.

Sometimes it is difficult to get a feel for dimension, so I took a pic with the penny again.

Finished with several coats of lacquer. All comments, good and bad, are appreciated!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

John,

I am just flabbergasted by the beauty of this thing. I like the overall tapering effect of the spindle portions from the base to the tip of the finial. The slow tapering effect of the bulbous portions of the base and the finial give it a delicate feeling.

The two woods go together beautifully.

The form of the HF portion is proper.

The finish is beautiful.

What a winner!

You have come such a long ways in such a short time!

Nicely done my friend!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Buddy that is beautiful. I really like the form. Your upper steeck and lower holder upper look great. Well done.

[Michael James]

John,
For such a "dainty" thing, those colors are very masculine. As usual, great job all around. I'll bet you don't place these in the grandkids room(s):)
mj

ps - some things are just meant to be, no matter how we interfere:eek: Congratulations!

[Baxter Smith]

I don't know how they seem to get better and better but they do!:) VERY well done John!

[gary Zimmel]

All I can say is WOW. And I bet another cover piece....
Unbelievable work John. You are really taking this to another level.

[David Christopher]

John, that piece is beautiful, glad if didnt break

[Cathy Schaewe]

unbelievable. absolutely gorgeous.

[Ray Bell]

As always John, awe inspiring, and beautiful.

[James Combs]

Nicely done John, "AGAIN".:p

[Aaron Wingert]

The claro gods were watching over you on this one John! Glad it didn't break. I would like to have seen video of you and that thing jumping/bouncing around the shop! :D

Can't say enough nice things about this piece. I'm a sucker for claro walnut, and it just works great with the blackwood. No idea how you do the finials so perfectly, but I wouldn't change a thing.

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey John,

It's really hard to judge the piece from your pictures. Maybe you should just send it to me so I can look it over very carefully. I would probably have to place it on my fireplace mantle to make sure it looks just right. Only then could I get a grasp of how nice it really is.

Excellent job once again. I'm glad it worked out for you!

Doug

[Richard Madden]

Glad the flight didn't damage it. That's always a bummer when you are just about done and bam...something goes wrong. Nice that it survived. Great looking piece.

[John Beaver]

Jose Jalepeño and I think you did a great job. Unbelievable that it survived its flight unscathed. That is definitely a beautiful piece of Walnut.

[David E Keller]

Very nice. I love the colors of the piece. The steecks are nice as always, and the finish on the form is lovely. It's a great looking piece.

[Joe Shinall]

Stunning John. Your next one should have wings. :D

[Don Alexander]

ok you went and did it now :eek:


you made a couple of steecks that even i like :D

glad this one survived the crash landing its B U tee full

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - beautiful work once again!

You know, the more I look at the first 3 photos - the more I wish that where the pedestal transitioned into the hollow form - it was a smoother curve. I am sure when viewing in person this would not even be noticed - but in the photos that transition area looks thick. Probably just the lighting and JMO.

Beautiful work John! Amazing wood and your finish really brought everything to life! Some gallery is going to be thrilled to get it!

Looking forward to whats next!

[David DeCristoforo]

Flying pots. huh? What will they think of next? It's beautiful, John! I especially like the holder upper with the walnut base. Very nice...

[Michelle Rich]

:DCindy Drozda must be tossing & turning & losing sleep..:eek: Astounding vessel I'm heading over now to WoW , and I will just sit there until they choose this as picture of the day. (with dial-up I have to get a jump) You amaze & astound , and supply eye candy. Your turnings are my newest guilty pleasure. Thank you for sharing.

[John Hart]

Sooo..You're saying that you turned a Super Ball? Sheesh man...I would be nauseous too.

Beautiful piece. I especially like the claro foot. It adds a lot to something that doesn't need a lot added to it.

[John Keeton]

Thanks for all the kind words!

John,
For such a "dainty" thing, those colors are very masculine.Thanks, Michael, I do love the Claro walnut, and the dark character of the Blackwood, with the subtle chocolate streaks, really goes well with it.

Thanks for all the kind comments.
You know, the more I look at the first 3 photos - the more I wish that where the pedestal transitioned into the hollow form - it was a smoother curve. I am sure when viewing in person this would not even be noticed - but in the photos that transition area looks thick. Probably just the lighting and JMO.Steve, you are probably right. The first pedestal that was started was ruined by too close of an undercut.

Because the tenon on the bottom of the form was not fully reduced before it 'flew away', I had to have a much larger recess in the top of the pedestal to accept the nearly 7/8" tenon.
159783
When I began turning the first one, I had the hole a little deep, and my undercut came into the hole, leaving me with a neat little detached ring!:o

On the second one, I was a little too cautious, and probably left it a tad thick. For the same reason, it is also has a little larger diameter in the area than I originally intended. I couldn't go any smaller and risk another 'ring.'
159784
There have been some previous comments about the 'process' various turners go through to achieve a completed turning, and whether one might 'ditch' a piece of wood that didn't fit the plan. I thought it may be of interest to post a couple more pics.

This is how I start most of my turnings - not exactly an architectural drawing, but it is to scale, and gives me a good idea of where I am going.
159785

I realize my process is nearly the exact opposite from most, but it is just the way my deranged mind operates. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to just 'go with the wood.'

As to whether one would abandon a chunk of wood in favor of another - this was the piece I originally intended to use, but it had a dark blotch that I felt would have distracted from the finished piece. I wasn't happy with it, and though I may finish it out someday, it wouldn't work in this piece - at least for me.
159781
I had these choices - some Big Leaf Maple burls, a piece of Ambrosia Maple from which I had made a previous turning, a couple of pieces of redwood burl (one lighter than the other), and three chunks of Claro. For the look and feel of this piece, the Claro was the easy choice. It has beautiful figure and the piece I chose has amazing chatoyance that showed even in the rough blank.
159782

[William Hutchinson]

That is a wonderful piece in many respects. The proportions of form and form to finials are perfect, according to Mr. Fibonacci anyway. Spectacular finish just tops it off.

BTW- that was a butterfly taking first flight after shedding it's encumbering cocoon.

[Ken Glass]

John,
The choices you made along the way when turning were great ones. The color, form and proportions are exceptional. What is really nice is how you made changes along the process and documented them as a tutorial, so all could benefit and learn. it is wise to start with a concept on paper of dimensions and shape before putting a tool to the wood and yours always seem to be always on the mark. Very Well done.

[Mike Cruz]

John, I can't tell you how great the form is, how perfectly you executed the parts, or anything else other than, wow. I'm way too new at this to say anything other than how amazing it looks from "the outside". Those whose turn pieces like this (or try to), can appreciate the process. Right now, I can't. I can only appreciate the artistic perspective. Just beautiful.

[Jeff Nicol]

John, The dark on dark is full of depth and drama, the claro is beautiful and I guess resiliant! I have some that needs to be put on the lathe and see what comes out.

Beautiful as always,

Jeff

[David DeCristoforo]

"I had the hole a little deep, and my undercut came into the hole, leaving me with a neat little detached ring!"

http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/Misc/rofl.gif Why am I laughing? Scheech! I thought I was the only one who did that!

[Paul Douglass]

I just don't know anything I could add, It's been said.

Beautiful Beautiful.

[Tony De Masi]

Absolutely stunning piece John. I dont do any turning like this but that doesn't prevent me from understanding what kind of work and patience goes into it.

Love everything about it.

Tony

[Tom Sherman]

Nice work John, that Claro must havebeen a fighter pilot in a previous life.

[Nate Davey]

Beautiful job John. If you look really close at some of the pictures I think you can just make out some sawdust on your lathe:D

[Curt Fuller]

John, you just keep getting better and better. The "steecks" you turn have such a great combination of curves, thicks and thins, everything about them is beautiful. Another incredible work of art.

[kenneth walker]

John you are a gifted turner. Great Job

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

So many have already expressed what I would say, but feel compelled to add. That piece is really magnificent.

Awesome, awesome work.

[Ray Bell]

"I had the hole a little deep, and my undercut came into the hole, leaving me with a neat little detached ring!"

http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/Misc/rofl.gif Why am I laughing? Scheech! I thought I was the only one who did that!

It just proves that maybe he really is human;)

[Ted Calver]

Anything that will hold M&Ms is OK in my book, but this piece takes the prize because not only will it hold M&Ms in a very lovely way, but your creative process combined turning activity with an aerobic hand-eye coordination exercise that resulted in an elevated heart rate and the development of good scampering muscles! Nice!!

[Wally Dickerman]

John, This a beautiful, well proportioned piece. My only suggestion would be that the dia. of the lowest part of the finial would look better IMO if it matched the small dia. of the upper part of the pedestal.

In your post on WoW you mentioned that your glue block was end-grain. I'm sure that you knew that you were living dangerously with that, and the flying HF proved it. I also turn a 1/2 inch tenon on the piece to fit the pedestal. I'll admit that my heart rate goes up a notch or two as I part down to that dia. Fortunately, that slender glue joint hasn't failed me yet.

Wally

[John Keeton]

You guys and gals are just too kind!! Thanks, again, for taking the time to comment.

Wally, I particularly appreciate your observations and comments. I understand and agree with your comment on matching the diameters on the finial bottom and the pedestal top. I knew the pedestal top was a little large, but I was stuck with the 7/8" tenon on the base of the form. The plan was for a much smaller tenon, which would have permitted a smaller pedestal top. The finial base is less than 5/8", so I don't know if I could have achieved that diameter on the pedestal top. I really value your input, and I want you to know how much I do appreciate you taking the time to post. And, you can be assured I won't do the endgrain thing again - I knew it was risky, but I put it through some trial runs with the roughout. Just didn't count on it failing at the end!

[Roger Chandler]

John,

You seem to find the most beautiful "steeeks" I have seen, right up there with Ms. Drozda, for sure! ;) Very nice hollow form, and the turning shows a quality that is once again, a cut above. The claro is beautiful! Flawless finish.

I turned an unusual cherry bowl that came out of my cole jaws twice a few months ago, and I named it "Taken flight" . :eek::eek::eek::D

Thanks for showing the pic tutorial, and the sketch up. It helps others know your process which produces the results you get.

Your skill shines once again.......I predict another WOW cover! :)

[Roland Martin]

Fantastic John:eek: That really is a stunning piece of Claro, and it can fly! Extremely well done in all aspects.

[Gary Conklin]

Your work is simply stunning.